Weir Minerals guarantees leak-free operation of its Delta Industrial knife gate valves.
External leaks from valves during valve cycling are common problems for plant operators around the world. These leaks can have disastrous consequences, contaminating the environment and endangering workers with hazardous materials, resulting in major downtime for the company.
Delta Industrial knife gate valves can guarantee plant operators in difficult process applications, zero leakage, said John Abbott, global product manager for valves for Weir Minerals. “This isolation is very important because it ensures safe and consistent plant operation, minimizes downtime and provides lowest total ownership cost,” Abbott said.
“Our customers can install Delta Industrial valves into problem areas secure in the knowledge that they will achieve long-term performance with exceptional isolation results, protecting their people, their plant and their environment,” Abbott said.
Protecting the environment and ensuring hazardous materials do not harm workers is of prime importance for every site around the world.
These guided shear gate valves from Weir Minerals are designed to repeatedly close and provide bidirectional zero leakage isolation no matter what the process fluid may contain. “Our knife gate valves guarantee no process will come past the closed valve, even abrasive slurry or when operating under high temperatures,” Abbott said. This is a significant feature of the Delta Industrial valves and one which provides numerous important benefits to the customer, providing some insight into why Weir Minerals acquired and continues to invest in the product line.
Developed for Tough Applications
Delta Industrial Valves Inc. was founded in 1987 and the company began designing and manufacturing high-quality knife gate valves in 1989. At the time, they recognized the urgent requirements within the market for a superior knife gate valve. It is an established leader in the valve industry, and with the backing of Weir Minerals, will continue to pave the way in high-quality knife gate valves for its customers, the company said.
“Weir Minerals acquired Delta Industrial Valves Inc. in July 2015, increasing our market presence in mining,” Abbott said. “Weir Minerals is a global leader in the mining and the oil sands markets, and the acquisition of Delta Industrial Valves strengthened our comprehensive offering to customers with a range of high-performance knife gate valves for heavy duty slurry application and high-pressure environments.”
Not all knife gate valves are the same; many allow for leakages, which can leave plant operators exasperated.
When asked what makes Delta Industrial knife gate valves different from many others on the market, Abbott explained that the valve’s construction along with a unique transverse seal design guarantees zero leakage to external environments. Couple these design features with Delta’s long history with manufacturing valves, and it easy to see why these units consistently prove to be the highest performing valves for heavy-duty applications, Abbott said.
While many different types of knife gate valves have been designed and manufactured since the 1950s, they have all had serious limitations; the Delta Industrial shear gate design combined with its unique seating arrangement ensures exceptional pipeline isolation and zero leakage to the atmosphere, resulting in performance customers can rely on every time the valve operates.
“Although there are at least five distinct types of knife gate valves marketed in the industry, we only produce absolute knife gate valves in our Delta Industrial range, capable of cutting, shearing, and closing against solids while still producing a tight shut-off,” Abbott said.
This unique knife gate valve design is capable of offering the highest performance in the most severe applications where solids are in solution, suspension or both. This makes it the world’s premium isolation valve for scaling applications where traditional valves are inoperable due to cementation or precipitation of solids.
“What’s great about our knife gate valves is that they even operate in clear solutions, an area where traditional knife gate valves are not appropriate,” Abbott said.
Abbott explained that Weir Minerals can design and build a tailored valve solution for customers if they have a special requirement, “providing them with a unique solution to their specific application.”
“Our knife gate valves have demonstrated their ability to deliver low costs of ownership over the life of the valve, resulting in reduced downtime and increasing productivity for our customers,” he said.
A unique transverse seal design guarantees zero leakage to external environments.
The valve manufacturing process employs tight tolerances and minimum clearances to ensure reliable performance and the longevity of the highly engineered product. “Our customers benefit from consistent performance and lower maintenance. These valves are designed to work in severe service applications, providing customers from a range of sectors, superior performance at high pressures,” Abbott said.
They are currently used in many industries and Abbott drew attention to three sectors in particular where they excel. “Within the Canadian oil sands sector, the Delta Industrial knife gate valves provide innovative, custom products that are well suited for the harsh process of this industry. The valves are heavily entrenched in the oil sands process, where performance is critical and leakage, both external and internal, cannot be tolerated.
“For pulp and paper mills, we can provide knife gate valves for use in a range of processes, including refiners and heavy duty cleaners, areas where traditional designs often fail to perform. The valves work flawlessly in the most difficult applications, preventing untimely and costly shutdowns. Lastly, the Delta knife gate valves are ideal for power generation applications because of their reliable performance and low maintenance requirements, Abbott said.
Delta Industrial knife gate valves have made a significant impact on many applications, but there is one in particular that comes to mind as a standout success. “A large international mining company was repairing a major valve on their tailings line every three months. This was proving to be extremely inefficient and costly,” Abbott said. “They asked us to help solve this problem, which was costing them time and money. A Delta Industrial knife gate valve was specified and installed, this valve has now been operating for four years without any unscheduled maintenance.”
The team at Weir Minerals are currently working on complementing their range of ASME 600 rated valves. There are also developments currently being tested which will provide enhanced performance in high pressure applications. “We are all very excited about the product development and new design innovations to help our customers and cannot wait to see these unfold,” Abbott said. Unlike many other knife gate valves, these valves guarantee no process fluid will sneak past your closed valve; protecting your people, plant and the environment. To ensure you maintain consistent plant operation and minimize downtime, use a zero leakage valve on your site.”
