The amended Technical Instructions on Air Quality Control (TA-Luft) have come into force. Valve manufacturer AS-Schneider supports plant planners and plant operators with a standard valve that meets the new requirements. The big advantage for the user: With the standard version, the user can comply with the limit values for pollutant emissions of plants subject to immission control approval. Standard valves and manifolds that have already been installed have been post-qualified, so to speak.
The new TA-Luft sets strict limits for plants requiring approval. Plant designers and operators are required to check their already installed components. In addition, when replacing or installing new equipment, they must ensure that it directly complies with the specifications of the amended TA-Luft. A new guideline provides users and manufacturers of valves with more clarity when implementing the legal requirements. The VCI (Association of the Chemical Industry) and the Valves Association of the VDMA have jointly produced this guide (VCI-/VDMA – Guideline for Valves).
AS-Schneider is up-to-date when it comes to air pollution control: The company has been supporting its customers for a long time with reliable valves that meet the amended requirements. Now, in addition to the high-level versions, the standard version of the E Series has also been subjected to type testing according to ISO 15848-1, so that it now also complies with the new specifications. “With us, the customer can get TA-Luft-compliant valves for almost every area of application. Due to the qualification of the cost-effective standard E Series, expensive special solutions are mostly unnecessary,” tells Markus Häffner, Head of Development and Design at AS-Schneider.
Focus on the process industry
The valves of the E Series with TA-Luft conformity are available in different variants – from the simple version to the valve for demanding applications in the process industry. The newly qualified standard valve with PTFE or graphite as sealing material is intended for users who want to cover a temperature range from -29 to +82 degrees Celsius at a nominal pressure of up to 420 bar and are looking for a cost-effective solution for this purpose. For extreme operating environments, AS-Schneider also offers special solutions that have been tested with up to 1,500 mechanical cycles.
The valve manufacturer’s engineers have developed another version for the process industry. This achieves the highest tightness class A of ISO 15848-1 in the complete temperature range from -50 to +400 degrees Celsius at a nominal pressure of up to 420 bar. Also of interest to operators in the chemical industry: the valves are IEC 61406- compliant and will soon also meet the VDI 2770 standard. These valves are successfully in use in a plant for the production of cumene. INEOS Phenol approached AS-Schneider in search of a safe and efficient valve solution. For about a year, the TA-Luft-compliant valves with block and bleed or double block and bleed function have been working absolutely reliably at every pressure measuring point.