NOW PATENTED – BLAC INC. has engineered, constructed and tested the WORLD’S FIRST tight shutoff valve for FCCU catalyst service.

BLAC INC. TightCat™ provides FCC unit standpipe shutoff protection that is not available with any other valve in the industry. That is because no other supplier has developed an ANSI Class IV tight shutoff valve for these critical FCCU services.

Contact BLAC INC. to discuss this revolutionary innovation in FCC technology!

Please check out our video introduction to TightCat.

For these critical FCCU catalyst services, TightCat:

• Compared to existing slide valves that leak, it provides 3 orders of magnitude reduction in leakage to ANSI Class IV tight shutoff.

• Reduces risk during startup and shutdown with fewer problems from steam and air leakage.

• When the valve is closed but not in full tight shutoff, there is more shutoff protection than standard slide valves.

• Mechanically more robust and reliable than standard slide valves with much more wearing surface in the closed position. This includes heavier guides, heavier disc and heavier orifice plate.

• The seat ring is built into it around the port. The guides are thicker and taller than those on standard slide valves.

• All the pressure drop surfaces are protected with refractory lining.

TightCat achieves its ANSI Class IV shutoff by engaging the seats only in the last portion of disc travel.

For any valve position not fully closed, TightCat behaves exactly like a typical slide valve with more overlap in the closed direction.

TightCat achieves this capability through the BLAC INC. internal design involving the guides, disc and seat.

TightCat meets all licensor mechanical specifications.

TightCat design maintains all the clearances and operating criteria that the industry has required through the years. BLAC INC. has performed extensive testing to prove the design.

One such test was to install TightCat internals into a slide valve and perform a hot stoke test to prove operation of the valve disc / orifice plate assembly at temperature, 1475 to 1500°F (800°C) for five (5) hours with over 200 valve strokes.

Progression of testing was from 1000 lbf (454 kgf) to push into the seated position up to 24,000 lbf (10,900 kgf).

The valve was also put into an emergency trip condition from full open position to fully closed position in approximately 1.5 seconds.

• The 1000 lbf test resulted in 200 lb (90 kg) more force to pull the disc out than to put the disc into the seat.

• The 24,000 lbf test resulted in 300 lb (136 kg) more force to pull out of the seat.

• The ESD trip condition resulted in 350 lb (160 kg) more force to pull open.

***The BLAC INC. analysis of TightCat testing uncovered essentially no difference in the amount of force to pull open from the force level going closed with 1000 lbf and 24,000 lbf at full speed.