Ecopetrol is the largest petroleum company in Colombia, engaged in oil and gas exploration, production and refining. The company uses Near Infrared Spectroscopy (NIR) to perform quantitative sampling separation of hydrocarbons. The process separates the hydrocarbons into four chemical groups – saturated, aromatics, resins and asphaltenes.
Central to the operation of the process, sets of small 2 and 3-way fast acting ball valves are used to gather the samples for analysis and precisely maintain the pressure, flow and temperature through the spectrometer. Swift valve operation (typically less than 3 seconds) is essential to maintain the characteristics of the media for accurate sampling. Additional application constraints involve restricted spaces around the valves, the hazardous area classification and requirements for failsafe operation, end of travel indication and low power consumption.
After considering the other options, Ecopetrol concluded that the all-electric Schischek actuator could satisfy all these demands with a reduced maintenance requirement in the demanding operating environment. Almost 100 Schischek RedMax actuators with mounting hardware have been supplied and installed; the actuators are certified for Zones 2 and 22 hazardous area operation, environmentally protected to IP66 and equipped with self-adaptable 24 – 240V AC/DC power supplies.
RedMax actuators are one of a range of electrical products designed by Schischek for explosionproof and non-explosionproof applications in the worldwide industrial, HVAC and marine industries.