Innovative Valve Solution, Potatoes Meet The North Sea Platform!

The supply chain typically functions by moving resources from the upstream industries to fulfill the basic needs downstream, such as food and FMCG goods. However, innovative solutions can arise from unexpected places. When innovation and creativity come across, the supply chain can also move in reverse, leading to the creation of solutions from unexpected sources. Can you guess how NexGen Solutionz developed new designs to overcome these challenges?

One of the recent projects NexGen Solutionz delivered is based on the creativity of thinking out of the box. Not limiting to methods in one industry has led our team to provide practical solutions to solve a matter existing in a platform facing disorder due to changes required in the new demand. In this article, we would like to reveal how experience and creativity can provide agile solutions with desirable results.

When the production on a platform is close to its end of lifetime, there is more chance that a higher amount of formation water is being produced for the production wells. Of course, this is taken into consideration during the design phase of the platform. But what if the amount of formation water production is even higher than anyone could have forecasted?

This is an example of a challenge one of our clients faced. By further decreasing the gas production, they have faced higher amount of formation water production. The existing control-valve throttling the flow going overboard was no longer capable of handling the excess flow, simply because it was not sized for this unforeseen situation.

The question we received from our client was: Can NexGen Solutionz find the same type of control valve with the SAME size to be able to accurately control the new increased flow of the produced water?

In our team, NexGen Solutionz, we initially accepted the challenge, however, we soon figured out after having spoken to some of our manufacturers this is impossible. The only way it would work with the same type of valve is if we would go a size up in valve dimension. Again, this was not the preferred way forward as the client had a preference for an easy installation without having to do any pipe work modification.

As we were considering our options, we thought of one more manufacturer to reach out to for assistance. The manufacturer mentioned a "Potato valve" with a smile, which we believe could be a suitable solution. To clarify, this type of valve, also known as a "sliding gate valve," is commonly used in potato factories and has a proven track record.

After conducting the calculations, we arrived at a decision, the verdict was there: we discovered a valve that aligns with the client's specifications. This valve not only manages the required flow but also provides flow control, all while retaining the same size.

Comparison Kvs Values between sliding gate valve and Globe valve.

?The benefits of using this type of valve are quite a few when you list them.

1.??????? Compact design and less weight (Compared to a DN 200 Globe control valve weighs a staggering 375Kg whilst a sliding gate valve weighs only 37Kg in the same size

2.??????? Low actuation force resulting in the smaller actuator

3.??????? High Kvs values

4.??????? Easy modification of characteristics and Kvs values (On existing valve when circumstances change).

5.??????? Cavitation insensitive

6.??????? High tightness resulting in low leakage

7.??????? Modular design (Valve internals when worn can easily be replaced)

8.??????? High cycle capability

These are the 8 primary of the 36 key benefits we have listed here which we believe are already worth thinking about.

At NexGen Solutionz, we refuse to limit our curiosity and solutions to a single industry or engineering specification. We believe that solutions are boundless and that smart decisions stem from effective communication with our business partners. We consistently stay updated with the latest industry projects and global methodologies to ensure our work is informed by the most recent studies.

NexGen Solutionz