Valves in action -
Steam trap KA 2 ATEX
Condensate discharge for biogas drying
Safe working in ATEX environment
In Germany, biomass electricity production now has a share of almost 10 % in the total gross electricity consumption. Biogas plants provide a constant power supply because they convert biomass into biogas regardless of prevailing weather conditions. In such plants liquid manure, organic waste or wooden pellets are fermented with the help of anaerobic microorganisms. However, the unprocessed gas cannot yet be used as ready energy source because it contains water vapour and other components such as carbon dioxide or sulphur which may cause adverse chemical processes.
Thus, for getting biogas in natural gas quality, the methane gas undergoes several process steps and is desulphurised, dryed, separated from other undesired gas components and conditioned to attain the required quality parameters to be fed into the gas network.
TASK // Separating water from the gas phase and draining
Water vapour condenses when it cools down and may form water pockets in the pipeline or clog nozzles. Therefore, drying the raw gas is a vital part of biogas treatment. In most cases the gas cooling drying method is applied. The biogas power plant of a food producer cools gas with a relative humidity of 100 % down to 5 °C. Thus approx. 5 l/h of condensate can be removed and discharged from the gas phase.
SOLUTION // Steam trap KA 2 ATEX
An insufficient protection from gas leakages during the separation of condensate may cause an explosion. In addition, corrosive fluids pose high demands on the used material of the steam trap. The float-controlled steam trap KA 2 ATEX offers the perfect solution. It drains the condensate self-actingly without any gas loss. Thanks to its certification according to the ATEX directive 2014/34/EU it can be safely used for zone 1 of potentially explosive areas. The steam trap is completely made of CrNiMo steel (316L) and has an excellent resistance to corrosion also with aggressive fluids. Its soft seal ensures a gas-tight valve shut-off.
