The impact of a facility’s decision to repair control valves, versus replacing them, in the coming months could result in more effort, time and money than expected. There are many factors to consider when deciding whether to repair or replace control valves.

The consensus in the industry is that the COVID-19 crisis could likely have a negative impact on this process. During these unprecedented times, many "non-essential" businesses and manufacturers have been shut down. The "essential" facilities have stayed running with fewer employees, resulting in less planned maintenance, for now. Inevitably, when businesses and life return to normal, there will a need by those facilities to run at full capacity. The increase in demand will most likely create a huge vacuum for resources like service, parts, skilled labor and contractors. Now, let us look at the process of repair versus "repair by replace."

A relatively new class of engineered materials known as metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) may provide an effective alternative for capturing carbon dioxide (CO₂) from fossil fuel combustion emissions, which makes it a significant new option in emissions reductions.

The Fourth Industrial Revolution has been all over the news in recent years, transforming how manufacturing and other industries function. It includes many technologies that bridge between the physical and digital worlds, including the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence, augmented reality, robotics, data analytics and 3D printing. These and other technologies and their applications are rapidly changing the way products and processes are designed, built and used.

Comprehensive valve performance management provides monitoring and service for valves throughout a process or facility. In a webinar George Buckbee, head of performance solutions at Metso Flow Control USA Inc., described how this can work.

Buckbee showed that the total cost of ownership for a typical control valve includes much more than just the cost of the valve itself (see table).