A Bellows Sealed Globe Valves supplied by Tyco Valves and Controls has been installed at Shell UK’s Stanlow manufacturing complex to afford optimum protection against risk of accidental emissions of hydrofluoric acid (HF), which is used as a catalyst in the production of unleaded petrol.

Zero emissions of HF via the valve are achieved by the special design which features extended multi-wall hydro-formed bellows welded to the valve stem and bonnet to provide a continuous metallic barrier between the process fluid and the atmosphere.
 The Descote Bellows Sealed Globe valves also have a stuffing box for secondary sealing and a fully entrapped body/bonnet gasket that ensures joint integrity. Seat leakage is eliminated by a hard faced knife-edge seating, which cuts through process impurities.
 Descote is widely recognised across the international chemical industry as a specialist in dealing with hazardous media and this expertise is recognised by EuroChlor valve approvals and recommendations by the Chlorine Institute. More specifically Descote Bellows Sealed Globe valves are designed for all dangerous, corrosive, inflammable, pyrophoric, noxious media such as volatile organic compounds (VOCs) hazardous liquefied gas (HLG) and hazardous pollutants (HAPs).
 The engineering work, which involved the substitution of the existing gate valve, was carried out to coincide with scheduled turnaround in February 2004, and was completed on time with no disruption to the production schedule. Shell Stanlow is the second largest refinery in the UK and number seven in Europe.
Tyco Valves & Controls is a business unit of Tyco Flow Control, bringing together the manufacture, marketing, sales and after-sales support of the most comprehensive range of industrial flow control products in the world. The product range incorporates some of the world’s best-known brand names in valves, actuators, controls and instrumentation including Keystone, Anderson Greenwood, Neotecha, Descote, FCT, and Dewrance.