API 624 Low E Compliance
The American Petroleum Institute (API) developed several key standards to meet EPA requirements for fugitive emissions including the “Low-E” API 624 standard. The two methods for certifying low emission valves are:
- A 5-year emissions warranty from the valve manufacturer that fugitive emissions will not exceed 100 ppm.
- Standardized testing
Valves and Fugitive Emissions
The Valve World infographic in Figure 1 illustrates the fact that the majority of fugitive emissions leaks are from valves. The EPA requires Method 21 Department of Energy (DOE) valve monitoring along with Low-E valves and Low-E packing, and it pursues fugitive emissions violations aggressively. The costs are extremely high for valves that fail in compliance.
From Low to Zero Emissions
For valve manufactures, the grand challenge is to achieve zero fugitive emissions. For the past decade, magnetic valve technology has been particularly appealing since it does not utilize bellows that eventually fatigue and leak. However, previous magnetic valves had design flaws from internal magnets and temperature limitations.
The groundbreaking PLEXIS ZERO™ valve technology guarantees zero fugitive emissions and zero leaks for the lifetime of the valve. Stringent testing for all valve components qualifies the ZERO valve to exceed all API standards. Since the ZERO™ valve is pack-less and stemless, it cannot leak from its stem or actuator because there is no physical path from the inside to the outside of the valve except for the threaded, soldered, welded, or brazed inlet and outlet pipe connections.
