IMI hits 750th EroSolve Wet Steam order milestone

IMI’s EroSolve Wet Steam solution has crossed the milestone of 750 orders from power and process plants across the globe, highlighting the real-world engineering value of a product developed through IMI’s innovation engine, Growth Hub.

The primary function of the EroSolve Wet Steam solution is to protect turbine by-pass valve internals from condensate erosion, especially during initial plant start-up. It improves valve performance by optimising droplet impingement angles and using erosion-resistant materials to extend the lifespan of valve trim components. This solution has been effectively applied in various power and process plants, resulting in enhanced efficiency and lower operational costs.

Wet steam is formed during power plant start-up primarily due to insufficient drain, improper pre-warming, and incorrect operational logic within the plant. This issue is often difficult to fix without addressing the plant's design and layout. The valve trim upgrade is a novel way in which the plant can operate more efficiently without having to upgrade or redesign the whole system.

If left unmanaged, wet steam can erode critical valve trim components, leading to safety risks and major operational inefficiencies, culminating in expensive unplanned downtime and disruption to plant operations.

Since launching in 2019, the EroSolve Wet Steam solution has been installed at plants worldwide. Its impact has been transformative, helping a thermal power plant in India save £275,000 annually and reducing CO2 emissions equal to 10,000 tonnes per valve per annum. By reducing steam leakage in the system, the solution ensures that energy used to generate steam is not wasted, reducing CO₂ emissions. The EroSolve Wet Steam solution can be applied to any valve that handles high-pressure, high-temperature steam, whether from IMI or other manufacturers.

EroSolve Wet Steam was the first of many solutions to be brought to market via IMI’s Growth Hub. This framework harnesses expertise from across IMI to solve real-world engineering challenges through a series of sprint cycles and stage-gated processes.

Stanley Jayaseelen, Aftermarket Director for Process Automation at IMI, said: “Wet steam poses a serious environmental and economic problem for power and process plants worldwide, which is why we identified it as a key challenge to target back in 2019 with the first Growth Hub initiative. Reaching 750 orders is a fantastic milestone and demonstrates our ability to deliver substantial savings to customers across industries, resulting from reduced leakage and downtime, both in terms of costs and CO₂ emissions.

“It’s a great example of Growth Hub’s aim to put our ‘breakthrough engineering for a better world’ into practice. EroSolve Wet Steam has made a remarkable contribution to the industry through its commercial and environmental sustainability.”

For more information on EroSolve Wet Steam, please visit: https://processautomation.imiplc.com/services/retrofit-and-upgrades/erosolve-wet-steam.