HEALTH & SAFETY
PRESSURE RELIEF
REMBE
PREVENTING
DIFFUSION OF
AMMONIA IN THE
KALINA PROCESS
Fig. 1: Rupture disc KUB®
installed downstream
from the safety valve
Until now, the secondary circuit in
geothermal power plants, which is
used in the Kalina process for the
ammonia-water-steam generation at
low temperatures, has always been
protected by safety valves. Due to the
limited leak-tightness of re-sealable relief
devices (safety valves) especially over
longer periods of time, some operators
have now begun installing rupture discs
downstream from the safety valves.
Manufacturers such as REMBE GmbH
Safety + Control are now offering
rupture discs specifically for this type of
application. Dr. Stefan Rüsenberg, the
man responsible for this development,
said “The KUB® GT is specially tailored to
the needs of geothermal power plants.
We use high-quality, corrosion-resistant
materials to ensure the rupture discs are
permanently leak-tight and can be in
service for a long period of time. The key
word in this application is zero emissions.
This is also important for the acceptance
of these power plants amongst the
population.” The GT in the product name
stands for geothermal”, Rüsenberg added.
These rupture discs are used to secure
a vast range of steam and condensate
lines as well as condensers, evaporators
and heat exchangers. By installing the
rupture disc in a special holder on the
process side of the safety valve, the
valve will be protected from the process
medium during normal operation. The
KUB® GT rupture disc has a completely
smooth surface on the process side. In
combination with the corresponding
holder, a metal-on-metal gasket is created
which guarantees a much higher leak-
tightness than the use of a safety valve
as a stand-alone solution would provide.
Even if the Kalina process was primarily
used by geothermal power plants, it
is fundamentally also suitable for all
processes that use corrosive, hazardous
or polluting media and require a high
degree of leak-tightness.
128
PECM Issue 38
About REMBE
REMBE is a global specialist for pressure
relief and explosion safety. The company
offers customers cross-industry safety
concepts for systems and equipment. All
products are manufactured in Germany,
and meet the demands of national and
international regulations. The customers
who purchase REMBE products are
among the market leaders of various
industries, including the energy, food,
chemical, pharmaceutical and wood
industries.
www.rembe.com
Fig. 2: REMBE rupture disc KUB® with holder