Monogram Program Goes Downstream
THE MAGAGINE DEVOTED TO NICKEL AND ITS APPLICATIONS
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AN EXAMPLE OF the type of gate valves, made of nickel-containing materials, which can now be
independently certified under the American Petroleum Institute's Monogram Program for use in downstream
chemcial process applications.
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For other recent Nickel Magazine articles on the application of
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Gate valves for chemical process applications are now certified by independent auditors. By Carroll
McCormick
Nickel magazine, October, 2003 -- Operators of oil and gas refineries, power plants,
paper mills and food processing plants, among other facilities, can now purchase gate valves certified by the
American Petroleum Institute's (API) prestigious Monogram Program.
The API Standard 600 bolted bonnet steel gate valves, many of which use nickel alloys, are the first of the "downstream" class of valves to come under a new section of the API's Monogram Program. "We hope it will provide an extra layer of confidence and safety," says John Modine, API's director of certification programs.
By mid-September 2003, the API which had already licensed two companies (one in China and one in Italy) for the downstream Monogram, received applications from eight other companies, and acknowledged that two other companies had begun the application process, according to Chip Evans, global services manager of API Quality Programs.
The licencees have the right to stamp the API logo on their valves, and industry has a larger pool of qualified suppliers from which to choose.
"Recently we started getting a lot of requests from our downstream operators, saying they were getting equipment failures," says Modine. "They asked how the Monogram program could help. We asked what equipment they were concerned with, and the 600-Standard valves were of primary interest to them. It is probably the most common valve." Eventually, the API intends to expand the program to include other standards that its members have identified as priorities.
This new part of the Monogram Program comes on the heels of a study Control Valve Worldwide Outlook, completed by the ARC Advisory Group in 2003. The study predicts that the worldwide control valve market, which totaled almost US$3 billion in 2002, will reach almost $3.5 billion by the end of 2007. Markets such as food & beverage, drugs & pharmaceuticals, specialty chemicals, power and oil and gas, and replacement and upgrade will contribute to this trend, according to the ARC Advisory Group.
Control valves often use nickel-containing alloys. "The principle request for API 600 is Alloy 400 (N04400), which is a requirement for valves for hydrofluoric alkylation units in petroleum refineries," says Daniel Velan, advertising and sales promotion manager at Velan Inc.'s headquarters in Montreal, Canada. "However, we commonly supply API 600 valves in many different stainless steel alloys, primarily CF8M (J92900), but also special grades such as S31254 (Alloy 254 SMO) as well as others."
The Monogram Program started in 1924 and was originally intended for upstream-related applications such as exploration, production and drilling standards. Downstream applications were not part of the program.
The reach of the Monogram Program is global: "We have 1,709 manufacturers in the Monogram Program, and about 75 per cent of those are outside the United States," says Evans. "Our primary reason for being is to do advocacy work for our members. One of the other things we do is certification program activity. From the manufacturing side, we are trying to help them improve their quality by developing a program where they are forced to abide by our technical and quality standards. When we audit them, it provides recognition that they can meet our quality standards and our 600 Standard.
"We are doing the audit to prove that they have the technical capability to manufacture the valve; for
example, their equipment is capable of meeting the precision requirements, training is in place, and
procedures are in place to produce this capability. We are proving this system is capable of producing the
product. We can come in anytime we want. Sometimes we give them a couple of days to prepare. Sometimes we
just knock on the door. If a company radically reduces its quality systems or moves, we request a re-audit.
We also reserve the right to audit their suppliers as well."
Carroll McCormick is a Montreal-based freelance writer.
PHOTOS: Velan Inc.
 American Petroleum Institute |
