AKO Pinch Valve replaces Actuated Knife Gate Valve and Ball Valve due to slow operation and wear issues, saving the end user £5000 over 8 years.
End User is extremely satisfied with the low air consumption, simplicity, and lower maintenance costs of the AKO Pinch Valve.
There is one more ball valve in use on site which the end user plans to replace with an AKO Pinch Valve when it wears out.
Recycled Energy from Farming Slurry Assisted by Pinch Valve
A farming company running a dairy farm are using AKO Pinch Valves for farming slurry, product code VMC80.03X.50G.30LX, as part of a highly focused energy efficient plant.
The farm runs a diary herd of 125 cattle with an additional 105 youngstock, and an Aerobic Digester producing energy for the farm and the grid.
The farm aims to use carbon neutral fuel wherever possible. The anaerobic digester has a 800 cubic metre tank, recycling a trio of 7 tonnes of nutrient rich cattle manure, 8 tonnes of maize silage and whey from the cheese making every day. As well as electrical generation, enough heat energy is produced to run their cheese factory, heat the farmhouse, office and dairy water as well as the grain dryer and workers dwellings.
VMC model, air operated, aluminium body, stainless steel tri-clamp end connections, natural rubber sleeve.
The focus on energy efficiency has been rolled out to the equipment used, which is why the farm owner chose to use a pinch valve for the farming slurry. He told us:
“The AKO Pinch Valve is excellent. It has lower air usage than a knife gate valve, lower maintenance costs, it is nice and simple, but I do use it with a knife gate valve in series for safety use at the end of a feed cycle. We need to ensure that if air pressure is lost, or the rubber fails, then the pinch valve is isolated.”
Pinch Valve Vs. Ball/Butterfly Valve Cost Savings
The End User initially installed a pneumatic knife gate valve which failed, then a spring return ball valve which also failed, replacement parts for both Valves which totalled over £2000 over 2 years.
After replacing these initial options with the AKO Pinch Valve at a quarter of the price of the original alternative valves which failed, the end user saved approximately £1500.
During the last 8 years, it has cost less than £100 per year on average to maintain the AKO Pinch Valve which has achieved in excess of 600,000 cycles each time. Whereas if either of the original solutions were kept in place, each unit would have cost over £500 per year to replace, totaling to £4000 over the 8 years. Overall we estimate the total saving over 8 years to be approximately £5000.
Valve for Farming Slurry Application Details
Media passing through the valve: Slurry – contents of anaerobic digester. Total solids between 7.5 and 9.5%.
Temperature of media: 39-41’C
Pressure of media: 0.9 bar
Position of valve: Between digester tank and feed hopper, horizontally after a pneumatic knife safety valve.
The pinch valve is normally closed.
Amount of cycles per day: 4800
Amount of air used to close the valve for farming slurry: 2 bar (about 1 bar above fluid pressure)
The material from the digester is separated into solid and liquid components prior to storage and spreading. The farming slurry is stored in two separate slurry lagoons, one of which is located in the yard of the farm, the other is filled via underground irrigation main. To reduce the need for road haulage and soil compaction, the slurry is pumped electrically from one lagoon to the other. The farming slurry is mixed in the digester for 50 days prior to reaching the lagoon. This creates a very consistent product.
Valve for Farming Slurry Experience
The farm owner decided to use pinch valves for farming slurry on site due to slow operation and wear on previously installed actuated knife valves. He also experienced wear on actuated ball valves with no repair possible.
The natural rubber sleeve inside the valve for farming slurry (product code M080.03X) is changed approximately every 9 months.
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