White Papers

Pumps are integral to a wide variety of both industries and processes. When you monitor pump performance, you can lower operating costs, improve process throughput, and reduce downtime and schedule maintenance.

How hydrogen leakage threatens the decarbonization of the chemical industry – and what can be done about it.

In the quest for a decarbonized society there is no doubt that Hydrogen as an environmentally friendly fuel source is gaining a lot of popularity to become the fuel of the future. And the hydrogen revolution is happening now.

Adding two solenoid valves to your Safety Instrumented System keeps your equipment, facility and personnel safe and your system online. Read the white paper below to learn more.

In recent years, automated devices such as articulated robots have been getting smaller and lighter thus increasing the need to place drivers closer to the motor to save space. The AZD-KRD compact driver has a smaller volume than the conventional product due to its radical design.

This white paper discusses the rising stem valve and compares it to the rotary valve. The reader will learn what to consider to ensure the lowest overall life cycle cost and best possible degree of process control.

The BEVPOR BR range of filters by Parker Bioscience have been constructed with a unique Polyethersulphone (PES) membrane, offering the longest service life and therefore the most efficient and lowest cost of operation in sterile filtration of beer applications.

In this white paper, Mark White from Parker discusses the effect that ambient oil vapor levels can have on downstream compressed air quality and what to consider when looking for ‘Technically Oil-Free’ compressed air to ISO8573-1 Class 0 or Class 1 for total oil.

Proper filtration has always been a critical component of operating an efficient power plant. Surprisingly, however, staying up to date on filtration maintenance is all too often ignored in today’s typical plant. Additionally, the modern plant continues to evolve. Read Valin's white paper to learn more about filtration in peaker plants and why ensuring proper ammonia filtration means more now than it ever has before.

Over 90% of manufacturing facilities world-wide use compressed air as part of their manufacturing process. However, this powerful utility is not without its problems, in the form of compressed air contamination. It is therefore common practice to install compressed air filters as part of a “purification system” to ensure contaminants are reduced and the system operates in a safe, efficient and cost effective manner.

In the food and beverage packaging industry, authenticity is essential. Consumers need to know that the foods they’re purchasing consist of the things listed on their labels, as food allergies and expired foods can cause serious illness and possibly death. Since both public health and consumer satisfaction depend so heavily on product integrity, the food and beverage packaging industry is highly regulated.

Selecting the correct filter for the application should be approached from a methodical, questioning angle. If filters are application specific, meeting filtration specifications, physical and chemical conditions of the process must be considered before selecting the filter for the application.

This white paper explains the differences between oil lubricated and oil-free compressor technologies, the contamination risks associated with each, and how to mitigate those risks by installing the correct purification equipment required to deliver clean, dry, “Technically Oil-free Compressed Air”.

The natural gas industry commonly uses pneumatic devices powered by pressurized natural gas as valve controllers and pressure regulators. However, these devices are one of the main sources of vented methane emissions in the industry, with 51 billion¹ cubic feet released per year in the production sector alone.

Sanitary industries, such as biotechnical, pharmaceutical, cosmetics, and food and beverage, are highly regulated to ensure certain processes comply with extremely strict hygienic requirements. To support operations and ensure product quality, measuring instruments in sanitary applications must provide accurate, reliable data — despite harsh process conditions.

Within any of the semiconductor manufacturing processes that utilize gases, filtration is one of the most critical elements. Whether discussing inert or specialty gases, this holds true from the bulk source all the way through to the final point of use. In this white paper you will learn about recent improvements in filter performance that have come to the forefront in just the last couple years.

Achieving a leak-free connection in any environment is the Holy Grail for many piping and instrumentation engineers. Traditional hookups use a multitude of valves and fittings – creating lots of potential leak points. The good news is, adopting ten easy steps can radically reduce leakage risks and achieve substantial cost and efficiency savings.

Ideally, stepper motors should operate smoothly without vibration throughout all speed ranges. In reality, they run with some vibration at low, mid, or high speeds, causing unwanted noise. This type of vibration is called "rotation vibration" and developing the suppression system for the rotation vibration is a major challenge.

Increasingly, process control instrumentation solutions are being applied in ever more hostile environments. As a result, there has been a corresponding increase in the reported incidence of external corrosion to 316 stainless steel instrumentation tubing systems.

Mechanical rotary power given from a motor must be driven by an appropriate amount of electrical power provided by the drive. Rotary power is provided for by the electrical input power and the rotary power cannot exceed the electrical. Therefore, it is important to verify the power throughout the system from power supply all the way to the motor or gearbox output shaft.

The Joint Inspection Group has recently release Bulletin 110 concerning the use of electronic water sensors in the aviation industry as an alternative to chemical water detectors.

Skydrol is a fire-resistant aviation hydraulic fluid that curbs corrosion and prevents erosion to various components. Converting components to be suitable for use with Skydrol is a process that needs to occur in order to protect the integrity and safety of the entire system.

In recent years, the trend in industrial automation is for all equipment, computers, and controllers to be able to communicate with each other to increase productivity, efficiency, and manufacturing quality. In this white paper, we will show different ways of how these industrial devices communicate with each other as well as offering a better solution.

Heat Trace and Electric Process Heaters are used in many critical processes in all plants.  It is extremely important that you and your team know how to properly test, install and maintain your electric heaters. Lack of attention in regard to these fundamentals will lead to costly heater shutdown and will cause an interruption in your process.

The use of INPUT/OUTPUT software filters can provide enhanced performance of controllers to process systems conditions. The use of Input filters are to reduce the erratic fluctuations of the analog input signal due to either electrical “noise” conditions or rapid fluctuations of the analog input signal. It accomplishes this by slowing down the response of the analog input to a change.

Occasionally questions come up with regard to calibration of Watlow controllers. This paper will attempt to address some of the more common questions on this subject. Many people want to jump in right away and begin performing a calibration procedure before verification. Before you would attempt to calibrate a Watlow controller, verify that the controller is in need of calibration. If you verify that readings of the controller first, you may not have to go through the more involved process of changing the calibration settings.

Customers who wish to control three phase heaters require power controllers. How do you decide which method of control to select? ‘Two-leg versus three-leg control’ and ‘zero cross versus phase-angle control need to be considered.’ The following will help you decide when each method is appropriate.

In Watlow catalogs, brochures and web pages there is a category of controllers listed as “Limits and Alarms”. It is not always clear to everyone when to use these controllers or which type of controller to use. This document is an attempt to clear up some of these issues.

In today’s world, there is an ever increasing awareness and focus on safety. A system designer needs to understand all aspects of design that can affect the safety and reliability of the system they are implementing.

Graham Johnson, EMEA Product Manager for Parker Veriflo Ultra High Purity Fluoropolymer Valves, looks at the benefits of two point seal valves for semiconductor applications. The corrosive nature of high concentration acids and bases, clear chemistries and slurries used in semiconductor applications mean that pneumatic valves specified for these applications need to be particularly robust.

Rotork IQ technology is well established in the field of intelligent valve actuation. In addition to Rotork’s double-sealed enclosure, ‘non-intrusive’ commissioning, data-logging and predictive maintenance capabilities, the latest IQ3 generation features an extended range of advanced functionality and communication capabilities.

Rugged actuators that can handle a full range of ambient conditions are required in some of the more complex environments that produce oil. To provide comprehensive solutions to this precise actuation challenge, Valin has partnered with Valvcon.

In Jon Monsen's book, Control Valve Application Technology (published and distributed by Valin Corporation), Jon explains how to properly size and select a control valve. Jon recently received inquiries from customers interested in a further explanation of one of the graphs featured in his book. This article will cover that explanation.

In this paper I will show how an analysis using Metso’s Nelprof® control valve sizing and selection software’s unique ability to graph the installed gain of a control valve can be helpful in selecting the optimum pump for a balance of good controllability and minimum energy use.

Molybdenum disulfide is a naturally occurring blackcolored solid compound that feels slippery to the touch. It readily transfers and adheres to other solid surfaces with which it comes into contact.

Here are some essential steps to help ensure your instrumentation tube and fittings system is as safe as possible.

This article discusses the evolution of ferrule design and hardening technology, using the example of the Parker Hannifin CPI™ single ferrule compression fitting, but the basic principles also apply to two ferrule compression fittings, such as Parker Hannifin’s A-LOK®, as well as the high pressure design.

Probably the most significant trend in the instrumentation products world today is the design of increasingly corrosion-resistant systems. Led by oil and gas companies, instrumentation and piping engineers are now focusing far more attention on the materials used to fabricate valves, manifolds and tubing systems. In the offshore project world, for example, Parker Hannifin is currently seeing exponential growth in the use of 6Mo in preference to traditional 316 stainless steel. So, why are so many choosing that particular material?

Clean drinking water is the most precious resource on the planet.  Access to sanitary water is an essential element to a healthy, productive population.  While many consumers take it for granted that they have access to clean water coming from the faucets in their home and in public places, the companies responsible for making sure this is a reality understand everything that is involved.

Grocery stores require produce to be disinfected before being shipped to their outlet on a regular basis in order to ensure cleanliness before it is sold to their customers.  If left untreated, fresh fruit can be subject to a number of different contaminates that can ultimately adversely affect the consumer’s health. As the public is more conscious than ever about the substances and chemicals that they ingest, ensuring that produce does not harbor microbes is critical.

Digital pathology is a rapidly growing segment of invitro-diagnostics with the potential to streamline the overall pathology process for the benefit of both doctors and patients. This relatively new market segment requires motion systems that support both high quality and high speed imaging. In addition, the scanners are dispersed globally, which drives the demand for extremely high reliability. Lastly, as with all diagnostic instruments, laboratory space is at a premium, so minimizing the overall footprint is critical.

Almost everyone knows someone whose life has been touched by heart disease or cancer—the two leading causes of death in the United States. Today, researchers are using DNA sequencing to better understand the genetic links we have with diseases and how it can influence the course of treatment. We are standing on the edge of the personalized medicine healthcare revolution, which will be fueled by the widespread adoption of DNA sequencing as a diagnostic tool.

Cellular therapies are on the verge of revolutionizing how patients are treated for some of the most chronic illnesses. Cell therapies offer regenerative abilities that are giving hope to both patients and their doctors. However, there is still much work to do in the laboratory. In the article, “Cell Based Therapeutics: The Next Pillar of Medicine,” authors Fischbach, Bluestone, and Lin assert that Cell Therapies will become the Third Pillar of the drug industry alongside molecular and biochemistry.

With the advent of industry buzzwords like “Collaborative Robotics” and “Industry 4.0,” machine builders of today are feeling increased pressure to provide a new level of intelligent and flexible automation. A revolution taking place in the industrial marketplace is the Industrial Internet of Things, which describes an industrial network of devices embedded with electronics, software, and sensors, capable of collecting and exchanging data to more effectively and efficiently drive machine behavior. Trends like this are pushing an evolving industry to the forefront of technological advancement.

Conserving electricity and water are as important as ever for companies in order to reduce operating costs. One area where the experts at Valin can help with this goal is through the use of a conductivity controller for the water treatment program of a cooling tower.

Selecting the correct chemical metering pump can be a daunting task because of the variations and types of chemical pumps available. In order to pick the best metering pump for the application you will need to consider several factors. For the sake of simplicity, we will limit our discussion to pumps that deliver no more than 50 gph and pressures of less than 250 psi.

There are very few elegant solutions for mid-to-large scale heavy industrial applications that require compact, high-temperature heating sources capable of delivering precise heat energy to a targeted location.

For US industries, the startling reality is that baby boomers are retiring at a rate of 10,000 people a day—it’s an exodus of not only skilled employees, but also “tribal knowledge,” learned on the job within industries or work plants and rarely captured in any manual or textbook.

It’s a startling fact that baby boomers are retiring at a rate of 10,000 per day. These men and women are leaving critical job functions, often at the heart of organizations. When senior management, executives, maintenance technicians, and engineers retire, they leave behind a gap that’s hard to fill.

The benefits of maximizing your equipment’s uptime are obvious: if your equipment is not running, then it cannot produce; if it is not producing, then your revenue and profits are on hold.

In recent years, portable filtration units, often referred to as filter carts, have become a common tool in the lubrication professional’s arsenal. Increasing demand for these systems has led to the development of a wide range of new products and driven down prices, which is a good thing. When filter carts first came onto the scene they were primarily used by service providers for decontaminating large systems. These early models were typically designed for low viscosity oils in large volume systems and were on the expensive side, making them unsuitable or impractical for many applications.

Operational efficiency is a critical factor in the fluid processing industry. The synergy of fitting components and assembly technology to achieve this objective is the focus of Fit-LINE, Inc. Applying extensive polymer technology and injection molding expertise, the company has analyzed the design, tooling and manufacturing processes required to create high-performance solutions for demanding high-purity fluid processing applications. Through extensive R&D, testing and evaluation, Fit-LINE has isolated three variables that need to be addressed to ensure leak-free fitting assemblies.

The purpose of a filter is to remove contaminants from a fluid stream either completely, or at least down to a given rating or specification. Filters are used to help control contaminants and are rated according to their ability to remove these contaminants from a liquid, gas or air stream. There are different methods in which the performance of filters are specified.

Answer a number of key questions to identify the most appropriate choice

At process plants, a significant percentage of measurement devices aren’t correctly matched to their application, leading to decreased quality and consistency of the operation. Often, the source of this problem is the assumption that one type of level measurement sensor suits multiple applications.

I was recently asked how the pressure at the vena contracta of a control valve in a liquid application can be determined. I am sharing my answer below.

For most systems, in order to get good control with stability throughout the full range of required flow rates, we need to use a control valve that has an installed flow characteristic that is linear, or at least as close to linear as possible.

All wells decline in production over time. This decline can usually be controlled by how hard the well is produced.

There are two strategies for reducing control valve noise:

1. Source control, that is doing something to the valve to make it less noisy, and

2. Path control, that is doing something to prevent the noise from reaching the people who would be bothered by it.

We will briefly discuss what causes aerodynamic noise and some of the things that can be done to reduce aerodynamic noise generated by control valves.

Perhaps the most misunderstood area of control valve sizing is the selection of the pressure drop, Δp, to use in the sizing calculation