AMPO POYAM VALVES has successfully completed one full year of operation of a fully engineered switch plug valve solution supplied to a major refinery in the United States for its Delayed Coker Unit (DCU). The project included one complete 12-inch, Class 600 highly engineered switch plug valve manufactured in a special alloy material, along with a complete in-house built control panel designed to support seamless command and communication with the refinery’s Control Room.
The refinery, located in the Northeastern United States, has a crude processing capacity of 144,000 barrels per calendar day and plays a key role in converting sweet and heavy sour crude oils into products including gasoline, distillates, asphalt, natural gas liquids, petrochemicals, propane and heavy fuel oil. The switch plug valve serves an essential function within the DCU by diverting high-temperature process fluid between drums, making it one of the most critical valves within both the unit and the overall facility.
To strengthen reliability and safety in this demanding service, the delivered package incorporated double redundancy through real-time plug position feedback, redundant limit switching and a complete control panel engineered to command the valve and ensure uninterrupted communication with the plant systems. The solution was developed through close collaboration between AMPO’s Integrated Smart Solutions engineering team and the end user to ensure the final package fully matched the refinery’s operating and safety expectations and addressed performance concerns associated with existing equipment.
Prior to shipment, the full package including valve, communication systems and control panel underwent detailed Final Acceptance Testing at AMPO facilities. Following delivery, AMPO’s service team supported installation, commissioning and start-up activities at site to ensure correct integration and dependable operation. Since commissioning, the customized valve solution has demonstrated stable performance, strong reliability and smooth coordination with the control room through its first full year in service, reinforcing AMPO POYAM VALVES’ capability to deliver engineered solutions for high-critical refinery applications.
