Tyco's Descote globe valves, keeps Conoco refinery running during maintenance

To keep a number of processes in its Humber refinery running during maintenance of control valves, Conoco installed a number of manuall...

To keep a number of processes in its Humber refinery running during maintenance of control valves, Conoco installed a number of manually operated Descote globe valves from Tyco Valves & Controls. The high integrity valves were installed as control valve bypasses on several processes, including boiler feed water and light hydrocarbons and were purpose-designed to match the Cv of the control valve. Descote valves are amongst very few manually operated valves on the market which are able to match the same control characteristics as control valves without any vibration, stem shear or wire draw. In the past, Conoco would either have had to install a further control valve as the bypass valve which would be very expensive, or shut-down the process during such periods with obvious financial implications.Conoco also preferred the Descote valve due to its low maintenance requirements and because its design minimises the possibility of leakage. The Humber refinery near Immingham on the east coast of England is one of the most technically advanced in Europe and produces a wide range of petroleum products including petrol, diesel and petroleum coke.