Valve industry in growth mode as LNG prospects grow brighter

The valve and actuator business is worth $4.3 billion, according to the Valve Manufacturers Association, which is celebrating 75 years this year. The industry serves as a “bellwether” for manufacturing in general, as valves of one kind are used in the manufacture of virtually every product. In a statement, the president of VMA said that the valve industry has been on an upward trend since 2010, with growth both domestically and internationally. He said that shipments of valves are expected to grow by 3 per cent this year. The industry supports 20,000 jobs, but it faces challenges going forward.

Bestobell-marine-LNG-valve-EDIWeekly
Bestobell valves in LNG-powered ship. Photo: Bestobell

One source of these challenges is the rapid rise of the liquefied natural gas industry in North America. Fortunately, the challenges this growing industry presents are in the form of opportunities for the pipe and valve industry. In Canada, a number of large-scale LNG projects have been proposed, involving the building of pipelines and liquefaction facilities with the capability of shipping LNG to overseas markets. Pipe and valve manufacturers will have to respond to these new demands with product offerings that are capable of performing in all stages of the process, from well to ship to regasification terminal.

The UK-based cryogenic valve maker, Bestobell, recently announced that its products, which target the marine market, will now be distributed in North America. Bestobell valves control the flow of LNG used as a fuel for ships. The shipping of LNG is a “huge growth area” for companies like Bestobell.

To liquefy natural gas, the volume of the gas must be reduced by 600 times. The temperature of the gas must also be reduced to -162C (-260F), which means that pipes and valves used in the process will be specified to even lower temperatures, as low as -198C or -325F, according to an article in the current issue of Valve magazine. The performance of the valves through each phase of this process is critical.

At the liquefaction facilities, the natural gas is liquefied by means of refrigerants, compressors, heat exchangers, liquid-vapor separators, and throttle valves. Throttle valves in the conventional liquefaction process play a role in expanding the mixed refrigerants as they are passed from compressors to heat exchanger, where they cool the gas by indirect heat exchange. This process of repeated expansion of refrigerant through throttle valves has a built-in inefficiency, however, according to the inventors of a new process that would replace the throttle valve with a turbine expander.

As demand for better, more efficient valves grows to serve what is projected to be a multi-billion-dollar-a-year industry, manufacturers will have to develop the new products demanded or be shut out of the market.

Did you miss this?

Other Popular Stories

  • Manufacturing output grew again in August
  • SpaceX lost 40 satellites to solar storm, estimated cost of $10 to $20 million
  • NASA Testing Technology Designed to Fold Wings During Flight
  • Forest vertical cities in China: first forest city under construction covered in 1 million plants; produce 900 tons oxygen daily
  • Construction industry will boom in Northern Ontario, GTA: report
  • Irving Oil to build new marine terminal in NB to handle new crude from Alberta
  • Gardening in Space a Challenge for NASA
  • Unemployment rate drops after strong job gains in May
  • UPS Canada implementing 50 per cent alternative fuels in fleet by 2018
  • Researcher designs valve that could help power deep space flight
  • A cloaking device possible? Stealth technology studies virtual invisibility through "irradiating with its own specific pattern"
  • Kite-style Technology Produces Tidal Power: Green Energy
  • NASA projects look to the future, and to science fiction
  • Youth trainee program seeks to address skilled labour shortage
  • Economy grew fastest in north, west in 2012: Statistics Canada
  • Elon Musk, the master of disruptive technology companies: his life, successes — and failures
  • Google's self-driving cars revealed to media for first time
  • Optimism abounds for Canada's LNG future after Pacific Northwest approval
  • Building permits up in June, non-residential construction leading
  • The world's largest carbon capture plant opens in Iceland — will pull 4,000 metric tons per year
Scroll to Top