Polyethylene and polypropylene are polymer plastics that are widely used in packaging applications. Powder discharge systems handle polyethylene and polypropylene powders during the discharge process. The valves used in this process are challenged due to high-speed requirements, frequent cycling, and the abrasive and intrusive presence of the powder particles.

In this episode, Emerson’s Ashwin Kannan joins me to discuss the requirements for ball valves in this application, focusing on achieving tight sealing and ensuring long service life.

Give the podcast a listen and visit the Powder Discharge System Valves section on Emerson.com to learn more about driving reliable and efficient operations.

Transcript
Jim: Hi, everyone. I'm Jim Cahill, and this is another "Emerson Automation Experts" podcast. Today, I'm joined by Ashwin Kannan to discuss the challenges for valves used in polyethylene and polypropylene production processes. Welcome, Ashwin.

Ashwin: Hey, thanks, Jim. Nice to be on the podcast.

Jim: Well, it's great to have you joining us and sharing some of your expertise with our listeners. Let's get started. Could you please introduce yourself and provide some details about your background?

Ashwin: Sure thing, Jim. For all of you who's listening to this podcast, I'm Ashwin Kannan. I'm the global product manager for the process ball valves, which is a brand which we have, Emerson KTM. This is a key product that is used in the product discharge systems. And in my role, I have an opportunity to meet most of the end users in the polyethylene and polypropylene business and understand their endpoints and give solutions to them. And that's one of my primary roles in this company.

Jim: Well, those are some very important products in the world we live in today. So can you tell us about the production process for polyethylene and polypropylene?

Ashwin: Sure. So polyethylene and polypropylene are probably everywhere in the day-to-day objects that we touch and feel, right, from all the packaging foodstuffs that we get up in the morning and touch to all the plastics in the cars and whatever we see that is plastics everywhere. So polyethylene and polypropylene are mostly used in packaging industry and also in automobile industry. So these are pretty critical components that we really need in our everyday. And these are produced from the basic components of ethylene and propylene. And there is a polymerization happens with the ethylene and propylene, and based on which, these are produced.

Jim: Okay. Yeah, it seems like it's throughout our world and very important products that are made there. Now, understandably, I can imagine that most valves don't survive in this application. It's a very difficult application. What are some of the most common failure modes?

Ashwin: So if you look at the polyethylene and polypropylene, when they produce, they are coagulated stuff, very semi-solid. But as soon as the heat is lost in the process in the reactor, it becomes solidified. And they go through a series of isolation valves, especially the ball valves that we have. And these are going to be very damaging. And there are different kinds of processes involved in it. One of the process is a gas-based process in which the polyethylene and polypropylene are produced. And in this process, there is no lubricating media. And so if there is a metal-seated ball valve that handles without any lubricating medium, it's going to be an abrasive process that the valve have to go through. So the abrasiveness of this media is one of the challenges that a valve manufacturer has to handle.