May 2016, Vol. 243, No. 5
TechNotes
CMA Actuators Enable Shale Gas Well Compliance with EPA Mandates
Special to Pipeline & Gas Journal
Rotork CMA electric control valve actuators provide an efficient and reliable process control solution that enables remote shale gas installations to operate in compliance with new U.S. government environmental legislation related to venting and greenhouse gas emissions.
In the past, spring diaphragm actuators powered by the produced gas have been used, but now the Environmental Protection Agency mandates the lowering of fugitive emissions caused by bleed gas. Because many shale wells and flow lines are unmanned and located in remote areas, they are difficult and expensive to monitor. Therefore, new actuator technology provides an ideal solution to automate valves at remote wells such as these.
For example, a shale gas company in Louisiana was looking for an affordable and efficient low power solution that could be run by solar panels to replace existing actuation equipment and control a variety of fluids at line pressures up to 413 bar (6,000 psig).
The gas company’s objective was to provide an efficient and reliable process control actuator which could be retrofitted on installed valves to reduce costs and downtime. Rotork’s local agent Setpoint Integrated Solutions, headquartered in Baton Rouge, LA, engineered an interface to enable CML-250 actuators to be easily fitted to installed valves and improve the level of control without venting gas, and with the low power demand required for solar powered operation.
Designed for quarter-turn, multi-turn, and linear valve operation, Rotork CMA actuators perform numerous process control valve, choke valve, metering pump, and damper applications demanding precise position control and continuous modulation. Single-phase or DC electrical power is all that is required for simplified installation and control valve actuation. Explosion-proof certification to international standards is available for hazardous area applications. Recent developments enable the CMA to be specified with increased functionality encompassing local controls, LCD positional display, and programmable fail-to-position performance.
The success of this solution has enabled the Louisiana customer to standardize on CMA actuators for future flow control applications. Around the world, increasing numbers of CMA actuators are used for similar duties.
For more information about Rotork CMA valve actuators, visit www.rotork.com.
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