Valve restores system efficiency
Two years ago, Occidental Chemical Corp. of Burlington, N. J., ran into a problem in its PVC-resin-processing operation. A valve that directed the flow of PVC resin from a receiver to a screen wore out, causing leakage and reducing system efficiency.
Finding a valve to replace the old one became a problem. "We had a good record with the valve for about 20 years," said Richard Pitko, a processing engineer at Occidental. "But it was an older clam-type valve, and we couldn't find a replacement."