The company wanted to automate the manually operated temperature control of water supplied to the condenser as part of the water/glycol separation process during the manufacture of polyester polyol. The existing temperature variation of only 1-2ºC resulted in an unacceptable level of wasted product, so the success of the project relied on the achievement of exceptionally accurate temperature control, within +/-0.1ºC. The application also called for full automation, operating from a 4-20mA control signal.
Rotork Australia proposed an all-electric control package, consisting of a V-port ball valve operated by a CVA actuator and, following a product demonstration, this package was selected as the ‘stand-out’ best option. With the equipment now installed, the CVA has successfully and autonomously operated with the sophisticated site control system to maintain the water temperature within the required parameters, delivering a ten-fold improvement in performance. As a result, product waste during manufacture has been greatly reduced.
The CVA is designed to provide precise and fully modulating valve operation, with repeatability and resolution performance within 0.1% of full scale. The actuator also features quick and easy non-intrusive setting and commissioning using wireless Bluetooth® communication technology, whilst an integral data-logger stores an extensive record of operational and maintenance related information, including valve torque profiles and dwell times.