24-08-2023

Reliable use of every flow with OHL butterfly valves

Shut-off and control valves from OHL Gutermuth are used in steam turbines for power stations that burn biomass and in CSP solar plants. Here, safety and functionality are essential for problem-free turbine operation.

No matter what area of application and what type of turbine is involved, the objective is to always achieve maximum usable power with maximum safety. The risk of overload or failure situations in the working area of turbine installations must be kept to an absolute minimum. The shut-off valves used in these fields have to perform their tasks with flawless functionality. OHL Gutermuth is a specialist in this field. The company supplies industrial valves of all the common connection types and designs as well as custom-made models that are produced to perfectly meet the requirements of the specific turbine, for example regarding size, fluid, and pressure range.

Biomass power station with a steam turbine
In the generation of energy and heat from solid biomass, biogenic fuels, for example leftovers from wood processing and even cereals, are used and burned in a steam boiler. The superheated steam is fed to a steam turbine with a generator to produce electricity and can then be used as, among other things, energy and district heating. The valves used in steam turbines must help to maintain the steam circuit and withstand extreme conditions depending on the temperature and pressure ranges. The special valves manufactured by OHL Gutermuth comply with all the necessary directives and specifications and are developed by the highly experienced OHL engineering team specifically for these applications.

State-of-the-art equipment for test procedures
The specialist company based in Altenstadt has state-of-the-art equipment for all types of testing processes. OHL continuously invests in technical facilities to ensure that its testing is always carried out in accordance with the latest technological standards. For example, the valve manufacturer has a test bench for industrial valves with welding ends with a capacity of up to 48″ 2,500#. The equipment also includes innovative welding robots.
International project work – CSP plants

With long-standing contracts in Europe, the Middle East, North and Central America, and Asia, among other regions, OHL supplies highly effective control and shut-off valves throughout the world that provide reliable support for biomass power stations, solar power plants and other industrial plants with stringent requirements regarding turbine protection. To ensure the success of these projects, OHL managing director Wolfgang Röhrig travels to the individual project sites and keeps a close eye on the progress of construction. At the end of May, he returned from Abu Dhabi, where OHL Gutermuth has been providing support for the construction of the world’s largest CSP plant with hundreds of butterfly valves since 2020. On the company website www.ohl-gutermuth.de, the valve specialist provides information on all the individual valve specifications, industries and special solutions.