Ensuring safe operation with bursting discs

Overpressure management in industrial plants is an essential element in the protection of structures and workers. Rupture discs are now the ideal tool for perfect safety. For this reason, OPEKS ENERGOSYSTEMY has started cooperation with the leading Italian manufacturer of bursting discs DONADON SDD.

Rupture discs are a safety device whose function is to prevent damage to production equipment due to unexpected pressure drops. They are a thin membrane that can be made of various materials depending on the conditions of use, which opens, exploding, at the moment when a certain pressure level exceeds the resistance to which the membrane was calibrated, releasing excess pressure.

Bursting discs have helped to secure the operation of many systems and processes in various industries. For example, at huge oil production and refining facilities with multiple risk zones, a sudden increase in pressure can lead to catastrophic consequences. These areas include rectification columns, separators, heat exchangers, reaction chambers, etc. Models SCD, SCR and Y90 are used for these systems, which can be made of special materials (Hastelloy, Monel, Inconel), suitable for contact with corrosive substances, which are actually some petroleum products. In atmospheric pressure tanks or foam fire suppression systems used to protect oil storage tanks, Model DCD and DIF rupture discs are predominantly recommended.

In the food industry, where there is a long sequence of bioprocesses such as fermentation, it is necessary to maintain a constant temperature. These conditions are provided by refrigeration equipment. If it fails, the pressure can rise uncontrollably, which makes it necessary to install special bursting discs on bioreactors to eliminate the risk of equipment damage. Sanitary NS NANOSCORED bursting discs are the ideal choice. They have micro grooves on the outlet side only and are equipped with clamp seals.

In digesters and fermenters used for biogas production, very often hydraulic valves require such careful and constant maintenance that it becomes necessary to install secondary safety systems. For these purposes, Dnadon SDD rupture discs are the ideal equipment. The DIF and LPD models are calibrated to extremely low pressures (down to 5 millibars) and are therefore ideal for use in biogas plants.

In the chemical industry, there are numerous types of equipment with a high likelihood of an undesirable chemical reaction with an uncontrolled increase in pressure. For example, hydrogenation and hydrodesulfurization reaction loops, refrigerators and heat exchangers. In this case, it is necessary that the diaphragm be able to withstand operating pressures very close to its actual burst pressure. The most suitable are the reverse acting diaphragms, SCR and Y90, the special design of which ensures their required high tensile strength.