Flexsys see payback on GEM traps in just five months

Flexsys, the world’s leading supplier of chemicals to the rubber industry was formed in 1995 as a 50/50 joint venture between Solutia and Akzo Nobel and in 2007 became a wholly owned subsidiary of Solutia. In addition to manufacturing chemicals for use in the tyre and automobile industries, Flexsys Ruabon Works located in Wrexham, North Wales also operates as a business park in order to attract new business to fully utilise the infrastructure resources available such as power generation, process water facility and a skilled workforce.

As part of a steam optimisation project on one of its process plants, Flexsys Rubber Chemicals decided to review its condensate trapping system associated with the internal coils of a batch reactor, utilising 10% of the site’s steam demand. The company was dissatisfied with the three existing ball float traps, which at £1200 each were costly to install, required replacing every two years and were prone to corrosion. In addition, without regular routine monitoring, the company was not always able to identify when the traps were faulty.

After a review of the project with Gardner Energy Management, Flexsys Management decided to replace all three traps with GEM Venturi Orifice steam traps. Following the successful commissioning of the Reactor, Flexsys decided to replace five ball float traps on a condensate recover project, this time associated with heater banks on a Fluid Bed Drier system with GEM traps.

“Once again, the GEM traps made a significant contribution to the success of this project”, said Richard Collier, Senior process Engineer as Flexsys Rubber Chemicals. “So much so, that Flexsys is now installing a series of energy saving projects across the site which will replace inverted bucket type traps with GEM steam traps”.

Instead of utilising a valve mechanism to close off steam for maximum energy and water conservation, the highly efficient GEM steam traps use the patented venturi orifice design to effectively drain condensate from the steam system. As the GEM steam traps have no moving parts to wedge open or fail, it provides the ultimate in reliability necessitating only minimal maintenance and requiring no spares, testing or monitoring equipment.

“The Venturi Orifice design of GEM steam traps means that there are no moving parts to fail”, concluded Richard Collier. “This means that it is a ‘fit and forget’ device which is backed by Gardner Energy Management’s excellent after sales service. The only maintenance we now carry out with the GEM traps is to regularly check the strainers upstream”.

Available in a wide range of sizes for a full cross section of applications, the hardwearing GEM steam traps are manufactured from corrosion resistant stainless steel and are guaranteed for 10 years, obviating the need for repair or replacement. The GEM steam traps provide a fast payback - on some processes within a matter of days - from reduced energy costs and increased equipment reliability due to a reduction in damaging condensate in steam systems. In addition it improves product processing by enhancing the quality of steam and also reducing equipment repairs, downtime and replacement costs. Ruabon Works, a specialist chemicals manufacturing site operated by Flexsys Rubber Chemicals Ltd, is making steam savings of 12% from its batch reactor following the installation of Gardner Energy Management’s GEM Venturi Orifice steam traps.