COMPANY NEWS
Patent awarded for Rota Val ‘rotor contact’ innovation
Pioneering rotary and diverter valve manufacturer Rota Val Ltd has been awarded a patent for its novel contact detection system. Launched in 2009 as the RotaSafe RM2, the system has proved popular with powder processing and solids handling industry end users, overcoming the problem of ‘nuisance tripping’ and maintaining compliance with stringent ATEX standards where relevant. Detection systems are required to stop a rotary valve instantly if rotor to housing contact is detected, avoiding valve damage and consequent product contamination. Developed to eliminate the problem of “nuisance tripping”, the RotaSafe RM2 rotor monitor represents a major advance over other types of rotary valve rotor protection equipment. Even relatively minor internal valve damage almost certainly invalidates ATEX certification requirements by opening a flame path. Significant reduction of this problem can save considerable expense in repair or replacement of affected valves. The Rota Val RotaSafe RM2
detection circuit is intrinsically safe and therefore suitable for all ATEX Zones. Rota Val Managing Director Beverley Ford commented “Our advanced detection system has set us apart from others for a number of years now. The award of a patent for this innovation goes to reaffirm our position as being a pioneer in our industry, and as a business that listens to and responds to customer needs.” Rota Val’s RM2 has
innovative control electronics,
effectively filtering unwanted electrical noise from unavoidable sources that produce false signals. The new system is unique in that it can be adjusted to measure contact resistance at very low values, to reliably distinguish between a genuine fault contact or false signals such as
product or CIP (clean-in-place) fluid conductivity. The differentiation of false from genuine signals has been a major problem with other systems in which there can be an innate inability to adequately deal with electrical noise.
By avoiding nuisance tripping, manufacturers can cut unnecessary production stoppages and benefit from enhanced protection from costly product contamination. Rota Val, part of the Gericke Group, is a leading supplier of rotary and diverter
valves to the bulk solids handling and powder processing industries. For more information please visit
www.rotaval.co.uk or contact Rota Val’s technical sales team on 01249 651138 or Email:
sales@rotaval.co.uk
Cory centralises the vacuum solution to its dust and spillages At its new domestic recyclables plant in
Wandsworth, London, Cory Environmental Waste has adopted a whole new approach to its dust and spillage waste with remarkable results. One of the UK’s leading recycling, waste management and energy recovery companies, Cory Environmental operates across the country, providing expert services in the collection, recycling and disposal of waste as well as municipal cleansing. Over 720,000 people and thousands of businesses across England have their waste collected and streets cleaned thanks to Cory Environmental, who manages in excess of 3.5 million tonnes of
waste and recyclables each year. As part of the investment in the new Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) at Wandsworth, Cory decided to install a centralised vacuum system designed and made by DISAB UK, part of the DISAB Group of Sweden, a world leader in industrial vacuum technology with around 200 similar installations around Europe. DISAB’s centralised systems have two particular features that make them significantly more effective for their operators. First, there is a new remote control system called Smart which allows operatives to set a large number of variables for everyday usage, all from a handset similar to an iPad or tablet. This can be used anywhere within the plant and gives users a great deal more freedom in setting the controls as they want, from wherever they want.
Second, there is a self cleaning system for the filters, based on an ATM valve designed into the DISAB PacVac 37 Kw power plant that generates the suction power for the 300 metre long pipework system and its 30 inlet valves that serve seven different mezzanine levels throughout the MRF plant. The PacVac at Cory’s facility in Wandsworth also has a reverse jet air cleaning system as a back up, and which uses compressed air with a reverse pulse every minute or more to deal with the 30 filters. However, it is the ATM valve that does the filter cleaning work. The ATM valve ensures air is periodically passed over all the filters in an automatic reverse cycle, and the air volume is more than sufficient to do an effective cleaning job several times a day, although taking them out periodically and cleaning them is still recommended as part of the PacVac’s normal maintenance programme. These features combined with DISAB equipment’s legendary robustness and
12 Bulk Solids Today
fitness for purpose, make their centralised vacuum systems highly efficient from an operator’s perspective. Prior to the centralised vacuum system, more traditional, non-mechanised old fashioned manual techniques – broom, brush, barrow – were used to deal with dust and spillages, but it was recognised that while sufficient for solid waste this caused potentially more airborne dust. Cory Environmental was keen to improve its general housekeeping practices, and to meet and surpass the standards of the Environmental Agency that set the standards to be achieved for the permit to operate. Richard Edwards is one of the supervisors/operators at Cory EnvironmentalWandsworth, and has seen for himself the massive improvement since the installation of the centralised vacuum system. “We used to use brooms and brushes, and had to stop the plant for at least one hour every day in order to deal with the spillages and dust. It just wasn’t very effective, especially at a really busy plant like this which needs to run seven days a week.” “The installation of the DISAB centralised vacuum system has made all the difference. We can go to any part of the plant wherever the spillages are heaviest, or wherever the dust needs to be removed. All we have to do is to plug in the flexible suction hose to a conveniently located inlet valve, and it’s a simple job to remove whatever dust or waste needs to be dealt with.” “It’s completely different now, and the levels of housekeeping and tidiness are much higher, and much more obvious to everyone who comes to work here. All the vacuumed waste goes to residual bins via the centralised pipework system, and is usually able to be recycled back into the process.”
www.disab.com
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