Case History- Glass Lined Valves

Glass lined pipe and fittings have been specified and utilized as a deterrent to interior build-up and clogging of problematic sludge and scum piping systems in wastewater and sewage treatment facilities for over 40 years. Not only is the excellent non-stick characteristic effective in combating the build-up of grease, sludge and scum, but has been found to be the only deterrent to Struvite and Vivionite build-up as well. However, the effectiveness of these systems was still being compromised by build-up in the non-glass lined items within the system, such as valves.

Because of various machined areas and critical tolerances within the valves, and because of the high temperature processing involved with glass lining, certain manufacturing techniques had to be determined in order to successfully glass line the valve while at the same time maintaining the overall integrity and proper function. The experienced manufacturing personnel at the Vitco® operation were able to accommodate and overcome these concerns and successfully completed the first valve for test in 1994, in cooperation with the Victaulic Company. It was installed at the Metro Wastewater Reclamation Facility in Denver, Colorado. At the same time this glass lined valve was installed, a similar Victaulic plug valve lined with epoxy was also installed. After approximately 1 year, both valves were evaluated. The glass lined valve had no internal build-up; the epoxy lined valve was inoperable. The glass lined test valve remained in service for an additional 4 years and continued to show no signs of any interior build-up.

As a result, glass lined valves are becoming a standard in most glass lined systems. Fast Fabricators/ Vitco® now provide glass lining of valves for Victaulic, DeZurik, Milliken, Val-Matic, Armour and others.