Hopkinsons® 28” forged gate valves for the 40 MTPA Refining-chemical Integration Project.
The application of forged isolation and control valves in high temperature applications is fast becoming the norm across a wide range of industries. Although cast valves offer a lower cost solution to high temperature sealing situations, forged valves offer long-term plant reliability largely due to the quality of materials. Traditionally forged valves have been mostly applied to the power market, but now they are being widely applied across a range of industries where there are potential thermal issues.
One such project is for Zhejiang Petroleum Chemical Co., Ltd., where, although the valve design pressure and temperature are not excessively high, the customer specification called for valves manufactured in forged A182 F91 material.
The Zhejiang Petroleum Chemical 40 MTPA Refining-chemical Integration Project is the largest integrated petrochemical project in China and the third largest petrochemical project in the world, with a total investment of USD 200bn.
The project’s first phase consists of 20 million tons/year refining and 1.4 million tons/year of ethylene. The larger second phase of the project is expected to follow.
As with any chemical plant, there is a high demand for steam across a wide range of systems. Through the combined effort of the Weir China Sales and Operation Team, Weir was able to satisfy the demand for a wide range of isolations valves, including relatively small bore carbon steel valves through to the larger high grade F91 materials.
Of particular interest on this project is the Hopkinsons 28” Class 2500 forged A182 F91 isolation valves. Hopkinsons specialise in valves for high-temperature applications, where the valves offer superior isolation under a wide range of operating conditions, while maintaining material integrity. The valves are manufactured from a one-piece body forging with no welded joints anywhere across the complete body assembly.