Zinc ore dressing plant
Handling abrasive fluids can be tough for many industries, especially in mining. Traditional valves, like stainless steel and iron cast valves, often wear out quickly, leading to high maintenance costs. In this case our Ramén Ball Sector Valve KSG proved that soft natural rubber in certain cases is much more resistant than steel.
Challenge
The steel tube in the outlet from the valve experienced significant wear and tear within just four weeks of operation.
Solution
The steel tube in outlet from the valve was replaced with a rubber lined one.
Result
After 12 weeks of continuous operation, the condition of the KSG valve was nearly identical to a new, unused valve.
Application: Outlet throttling from rubber-lined centrifugal pumps
Flow with 35% solids
Grain size: about 0.5 mm
Inlet pressure: 1 bar
Pressure drop: 1 bar
Background
Controlling abrasive fluids is known to be a challenge for any industrial applications. Each valve technology has its strengths and weaknesses, and they need to be evaluated based on the specific media being handled. Key considerations to be considered are purchase cost, installation cost, and, most critically for abrasive media, maintenance costs. Prior to the development and use of rubber lined valves, the standard solution found in mining operations handling abrasive media were stainless steel or iron cast valves. This proved to be an inefficient solution, both technically as well as financially.
Challenge
In this case as a first solution a standard stainless steel ball sector valve featuring a hard chromium faced ball sector, stellited inlet cover ring, and seat ring was installed. After four weeks the steel tube in outlet from the valve was worn out.
Measures and results
We replaced the valve with a rubber lined tube. After 12 weeks the valve was inspected and the condition was very near that of a new unused valve.