Learning curve
As the “new guy” in the editorial office it seems that everyday brings surprises. Or perhaps that should be opportunities for learning. And what I learnt this week was the English expression “it never rains but it pours”! When we put out a tentative call for papers on the topic of emission control, we were agreeably surprised by the positive response from budding authors. Indeed, if the number of technical papers we received for this issue is anything to go by then this must be one of the most important subjects in the flow control industry. The contributors which have made it into this issue come from all over the world. In their articles they discuss amongst others: the use and advantages of bellow sealed valves (page 39 and page 71), hard and soft inserts in industrial ball valves (page 23), and a compression packing which has beaten TA-Luft VDI 2440 emission control requirements (page 43). And the final author reports about using a combination of two valve techniques, a globe and a rotary valve, to reduce fugitive emissions. The European Sealing Association (ESA) discusses in its technical paper an EU Directive which entered into force in 1996 and how the sealing industry has responded to this (page 55).
But this unexpected influx of material actually led us to another idea. Because of all these technical papers we are planning to put up, together with the publication of this issue, a special interest box about “Emission Control” on our website (www.valve-world.net). In this special interest box we will publish many of our previous articles about fugitive emissions to give readers access to an informed, balanced source containing product and technology developments.
Apart from the strong technical focus in this issue and the columns by Constantine Biller, Barrie Kirkman and the BVAA, you will also find articles about the trips our editors have made (for instance you will find a photo retrospect of this year’s IFAT in Munich) and three end-user interviews with a project leader from Canada, a Motor Operator Valve Program Engineer, and a sourcing specialist for Nuclear Plants, both coming from the US.
All in all we feel this is another well-packed issue and that the topic of emission control is a suitable one for us to cover. However, if you believe that there are other topics we ought to focus on, then please do let me know.
Best wishes,
Christian Borrmann
Editor Valve World
c.borrmann@kci-world.com
Horizontal or vertical – is there a difference?
One of the most enjoyable aspects of working here is the chance to visit trade shows. It’s great to meet and talk to valve experts – even if this does reveal just how much I’ve yet to learn! Having just come back from the IFAT show in Munich, for example, I did a double-take when reviewing some of my photos. What caught my interest was a photo of a butterfly valve, which had the shaft running horizontally. All the pictures I have seen to date have the shaft running vertically. So my question is this: imagine you want to install a butterfly valve in a horizontal pipeline: does it make a difference how you align the valve? No one in the office seems to know, so perhaps one of our valued readers can help me out?