Case Study | Valtris

Replacement Pressure Vessel V559, Design, Manufacture & Installation

Late in 2016 Valtris Specialty Chemicals near Manchester approached Richard Alan to design and build a replacement overflow vessel (V559) to improve the capacity on their epoxidation plant.

Richard Alan were subsequently commissioned in March 2017 with the design, manufacture and installation of a replacement vessel with a larger capacity.

V559 Specification:

A vertical configuration overflow vessel, using 316 grade stainless steel with mill finish. 2100mm diameter X 2627mm with dished ends and carbon steel frame designed and fabricated to PD 5500: 2015. Site glasses were to be included into the vessel shell so the phase separation of liquids could be seen, allowances had to be made for the incorporation of control instrumentation including weigh cells and level instrumentation.

In late 2017 just prior to installation of the new V559 a routine on-site COMAH inspection questioned the capacity of the existing venting and relief system on the main reactor. The relief system required to be upgraded to incorporate a 20” NB relief line with a bursting disc relief mechanism.

Richard Alan were asked to design and manufacture the 20” relief line to incorporate the burst disc. As part of the project the relief line required a robust support structure to hold the 70 tons of force should the worst case relief scenario come about.

Due to the massive amount of pipe and valve congestion around the vessel, supporting structural steelwork was quite a challenging project in itself. An overhead trolley arrangement was designed to allow inspection of the vessel by disconnecting the bursting disc and bellows then rolling them out sideways.

Both the installation of the V559 vessel and the installation of the new relief configuration on the reactor were completed in April 2018. Working with several other contractors from multiple disciplines the complete project was completed 2 days ahead of schedule and the complete system was commissioned successfully.

Challenges/Results

During the design stage of both projects there were several challenges with the reaction forces and supporting structure required for the new relief line and in the allowances that had to be made in the design of the new V559 vessel to allow the required operation of the system.

The installation of both the projects brought about challenges with working to a tight schedule and working with and around other companies and disciplines who had their projects to complete. The project was completed on schedule and this contributed to the successful commissioning of the entire project and the epoxidation plant.

What our customers say

Don’t just take our word for it. Here’s what our customers had to say

To go from concept to installed in less than 2 weeks is testament to all those involved at your end and ours.
Ian Benbow - Valtris Production Manager commented.

This project would not have been possible without the support of Richard Alan
Giles Colwill - Mechanical Engineer Valtris Chemicals Ltd.

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