How to select valves for powders, granules, and slurries.

by Paul Naberhaus

There are many troublesome valve installations causing tens of thousands of dollars in product, maintenance labor and production time losses. In many cases, a higher quality valve can prevent costly shut downs or off spec product and pay for its extra cost in one prevented malfunction. A valve is not just a Valve! Like any other processing system dry materials handling requires valving. In most cases basic liquid handling valves have been adapted. These all have shortcomings when used on solids products. The most commonly used valves fall into three categories as shown below:

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3 Slide Gate Valves have problems with product getting pinched and/or cut, jamming the valve so it wont close completely and with product leaking and sifting out through the seals. (See Figure 1) Butterfly Valves have a vane dead center in the flow stream that can cause bridging and obstruct flow. Also, the seal is exposed to wear by the pinching action of the vane. (See Figure 2) Ball valves are heavy and take a lot of headroom. More importantly they have a dead space between the casting and ball that fills and packs with product causing abrasive wear on the seals and cross contamination or spoilage between batches. (See Figure 3) One of the most successful valve designs for dry materials is the rotating disc or dome valve as manufactured by Roto-Disc Valve Company.

Figure 4 The Roto-Disc valve operates on only a 1/4 turn action and the shafts are sealed by dual O rings on each side. There is no problem of dust escaping through shaft leaks. The valve has 150 PSIG ANSI flange drilling so flange leakage is not a problem. The Roto-Disc dome rotates out of the flow stream. Also, the valve cavity increases in size in the direction of product flow. For example, the 6" valve has an 8" outlet allowing free fall thru the valve. Both of these features allow unobstructed flow. The unique shape of the closure with the spherical machined dome pushes product aside rather than making crushing contact with it. The sliding contact of two spherical surfaces, dome and seat tends to wipe the seal clean and promote a pressure tight seal. While it is not bubble tight, it is good enough for most hi-vacuum applications. Finally, The Roto-Disc valve can rotate through a static head of material with ease, pushing material out of its way as it closes. There are three basic designs of the Roto-Disc valve. First is the basic Roto-Disc with a standard seal of TFE. Seals are also available in Stellite, brass, PEEK and Celazole. These valves come standard in cast ductile, aluminum, 316 SS and Hastelloy, in sizes from 3" to 24" diameter (See figures 5 and 6). Special seal O Rings are used for vacuum or pressure seating if leaking must be minimized. Temperatures of applications range from -40F to 750F. Higher temperatures can be accommodated by water-cooled jackets and domes. Roto-Disc standard valves are rated to 100 PSIG but higher pressures can be accommodated.

Figure 5

Figure 6

The second design is the Roto-Clean, a patented quick-assembly design necessitating no tools. They are usually built-in stainless steel or aluminum for use in the food, dairy and pharmaceutical industries. Figure 7a shows the valve completely apart. Not a piece is left together - yet assembly can be done in a couple of minutes. Clearances are maintained so no regaping is needed. Figure 7b shows the valve at final assembly. In many cases the valve body is lifted to the top plate for clamping where the top plate is welded to the outlet if a mixer or vessel. These are available in sizes 3" to 12" diameter.

Figure 7a

Figure 7b The third design is the Roto-Flate, an inflatable seal valve used where bubble tight or high-pressure sealing is important (See Figure 8). This valve is typically applied in three cases: 1. High vacuums above 28.5 Hg, 2. Hazardous gases under pressure such as produced in chemical reactors, 3. Dense phase pneumatic conveying systems. Seals can accommodate temperatures to 400F. These valves can likewise be water cooled for materials above 400F.

Figure 8 Other valves have been designed specifically for dry-material handling. A few of them are as follows: Pinch valves which use an elastomer sleeve encased in a metal pipe to be externally pressured to pinch the elastomer flow channel closed. These are long and frequently suffer from elastomer wear problems. Iris valves provide an adjustable concentric hole like the lens of a camera. The opening is adjusted by tightening or loosening a stainless steel cable wrapped around a fabric or elastomer sleeve. They too, suffer from abrasive wear and are limited to lower temperature and pressure applications. Sliding disc valves that slide into a pocket within a casting can be effective for high temperatures and pressures. However, by their shape, they leave large cavities that are hard to clean and can retain cross contaminating product. There are many different valve types used in dry solids handling from simple hammer drive plates for maintenance cut off to sophisticated bubble tight high temperature valves for reactors. Some valves are operated two or three times per minute and some two or three times per month. Obviously, the selection of the type of valve should be made based on the application. That is why Roto-Disc uses a data sheet showing a sketch of what is above the valve and what is below. The sketch also indicates pressures, temperatures, cycle frequency as well as product characteristics. This is part of the order acknowledgment procedure and is incorporated on the approval drawing. Roto-Disc considers valves to be a capital item and takes care that the valve be suited to the application.