Pilot Operated Vacuum Regulator supports high flows.

Equilibar's High Flow Vacuum Control Valve Offers Unique Advantages

Ideal for Vacuum Distillation, Vacuum Crystallization and Tank Blanketing

Fletcher, NC — Equilibar announces its ground-breaking HV high flow vacuum control valve, targeted for applications with high flow rates and small differential pressures. The HV is a pilot operated vacuum regulator. Pilot operation enables the HV to respond quickly and automatically to accurately regulate a system vacuum in a precise 1:1 relationship with the applied pilot vacuum set point.

The HV offers several advantages over traditional vacuum control systems for low pressure applications, which often rely on a butterfly valve as well as a complicated external mechanical control loop or electronic PID loop. Such external control arrangements can be slow to respond to changes in system flow, often leading to either over-pressure or under-pressure conditions. Another problem with traditional systems is that they can oscillate if not tuned properly or when system changes occur over time. Moreover, these systems are not useful for low vacuum levels because their diaphragm areas are too small to provide the forces necessary to overcome the friction of their internal dynamic seals.

The HV’s novel engineering solves these problems by using a unique direct diaphragm sealing design. A large, supple membrane diaphragm is the only moving part and is used to directly create the seal against a field of small orifices. In this design, dynamic seals have no internal friction to overcome and the HV is able to respond to small changes in pressure in nearly instantaneous reaction time. It is optimized to work at vacuum levels near atmosphere and can effectively control down to 2 inches of water column (5 millibar).

Another advantage of the HV is that its diaphragm can be manufactured from materials to match an application's specific chemistry, temperature, and pressure requirements, with choices including (Teflon), PEEK, Viton (FKM), Buna-N (Nitrile), UHMWPE, EPDM, and even thin metallic foils.

The HV Series of low pressure control valves offers a fast response time to automatically keep low pressure vacuum at the desired set point regardless of fluctuations in the vacuum supply or changes in the system flow rate. In fact, the HV will respond and make adjustments in just a few milliseconds.

The HV is a pilot operated vacuum regulator. The main line vacuum is regulated in a precise 1 to 1 relationship between the applied pilot set point vacuum and the vacuum on the main inlet port connection. The pilot vacuum may be applied using either a manual knob adjusted vacuum regulator or with a high resolution electronic vacuum regulator. The manually operated pilot regulator may be located remotely from the HV for convenience and safety. The electronically controlled option is available in traditional 0-10VDC or 4-20mA analog or in RS232/485 or Ethernet IP serial digital communications.

The stainless steel body and customizable diaphragm allow the HV to be used in applications such as vacuum distillation and vacuum crystallization where high temperatures, wet condensates, or corrosive chemistries may occur. Another common application for the HV series is negative pressure tank blanketing, in which low levels of vacuum are accurately maintained over large tanks in order to prevent the escape of fugitive vapor emissions. It is also well suited for controlling the recovery of valuable vapor through low pressure vacuum vapor recovery systems.

The HV is available manufactured from SS304L or SS316L. Port sizes are 2, 4, and 6 inch. Standard ANSI/ASME flanges are available as well as traditional NPT threaded ports.