Pressure relief valves are most commonly used on water treatment works to protect progressive cavity pumps. A Pressure Relief Valve is a normally closed valve that holds back product and only opens to protect the pump from over pressurisation. These safety valves are available in various sizes, body materials and end connections.
How does a Pressure Relief Valve Work?
Pressure Release Valves are held in the normally closed position, holding back a product (most commonly sewage sludge, although they can be used on any media). If there is a blockage down-stream and the pump pressure rises, the soft seated Pressure Relief Valve is pushed open by the product in-line to relieve the pressure of the pump. Once the blockage is removed, the line pressure resumes to the normal working pressure, and the valve closes back to it’s set pressure.
Pressure can be monitored by a gauge on the top of a Pressure Relief Valve will show the pressure at all times. There is also an optional Pressure Switch that can be connected to a mainframe to indicate when the Pressure Relief Valve is in action.
Examples of Water Treatment Industries using Pinch Valves
- Waste Water
- Sewage
- Water Treatment
- Sludge
- Effluent Water
- Slurry
- Sea/salt Water
- Recycled Water Systems
Types of Valves for the Water Industry
AKO UK pinch valves have a long service life – the soft seat is even applicable for the most abrasive media such as grit. A selection of different types of rubber elastomer grades for the soft rubber seat are available to suit different applications, including bio-gas waste and thick viscious liquids such as sludge.
Not all pinch valves used within the water industry are used for pressure relief. Manually operated pinch valves are often used to shut off water flow, with the simple manual action of turning the handwheel. Other types of air operated pinch valves in a number of different configurations which fail open or fail closed are also used, please see some of our case studies for more.
