Speedy payback for steam system upgrade

An investment of just GBP 35,000 netted first year savings of over GBP 70,000 when Voridian called in Spirax Sarco to revamp the ailing steam trace heating system on its tank farm near Workington.

An initial investment of just GBP 35,000 netted first year savings of over GBP 70,000 when Voridian, a division of Eastman Company, called in Spirax Sarco to revamp the ailing steam trace heating system on its tank farm near Workington in Cumbria.

One of the plants at the Cumbrian facility makes PET (polyethylene terephthalate), which is used to make plastic bottles.

The company's tank farm stores a variety of chemicals, transported through 2km of pipe, which is fitted with a steam heated tracing system to keep the chemicals flowing freely in all weathers.

The steam tracing system was fitted with older style steam traps that, because of their age, were malfunctioning and not effectively removing condensate from the steam lines.

A second problem was recurring leaks.

This was also due in part to the build up of condensate that prevented the efficient flow of steam through the heating pipes, and resulted in the pipes not being hot enough to burn off any dampness.

"They were just being eaten away", says Bob Daymond, Principal Maintenance Technologist at the site.

Daymond estimates that steam worth around GBP 56,000 per year was being lost, while two men struggled almost full time each winter to keep up with repairs, leading to another GBP 50,000 in maintenance costs.

First, Spirax Sarco supplied new prefabricated steam distribution and condensate collection manifolds to replace the 20 around the tank farm.

Engineers then swapped the failing steam traps for thermodynamic units in mains drainage applications and balanced pressure traps in non-critical tracing applications.

This solved both problems.

The new steam traps feature quick fit couplings that allow them to be changed by loosening just two bolts.

This minimises any disruption if the traps need to be repaired or replaced in the future.

They are also equipped with sensing chambers, which make it easy for maintenance personnel to verify that the traps are working properly using the Spirax Sarco Spiratec steam trap monitoring system.

The new manifolds are each prefabricated in a single piece, drastically reducing the chance of leaks.

They are also butt welded in position, which makes them quicker to install and further reduces the chance of leaks when compared to screw connected versions.

Voridian was so pleased with the results on the tank farm that it is now in the process of upgrading its steam tracing manifolds and traps elsewhere on the site.

"We're very pleased with the results of the programme so far.

Most of the external manifolds have been replaced and we're now turning to the internal ones", says Daymond.

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