31-01-2018

Karbala refinery selects SIL-Certified IQ3 valve actuators from Rotork

When it opens in 2020, the facility will have a refining capacity of 140,000 barrels of crude oil per day (bpd). Production will meet the latest international standards, serving the growing domestic demand for oil in Iraq and reducing the current level of refined product imports.

Rotork orders for the Karbala Refinery include large quantities of IQ3 non-intrusive intelligent electric valve actuators, designed specifically for automated flow control systems in hazardous environments. With their diagnostic and asset management abilities, the IQ3 actuators will facilitate the reliable, efficient and safe operation of the refinery. Comprehensive operational data including valve torque profiles stored in actuator dataloggers can be downloaded and analysed to enable predictive maintenance and optimise plant performance.
 
For critical areas, actuator duties will include the provision of a Safety Integrity Level 2 (SIL2) Emergency Shutdown (ESD) function. Recognised around the world, the SIL system identifies the requirements for a Safety Instrumented System (SIS). In the flow control industry, Rotork is at the forefront of this technology, with IQ3 actuators certified for use in a SIS up to SIL level 2 for a single actuator or SIL level 3 for two actuators in a redundant system.

These actuators are equipped with the Rotork SIL safety module, which monitors the standard IQ3 control board and provides diagnostic coverage and redundant control in order to perform the desired safety function. A safety function status relay provides remote indication of the actuator availability and the redundant safety function operation, with the same status duplicated locally on the actuator display.