Cryogenic Victrex PEEK Outperforms Fluoropolymers in Oil & Gas Cryogenic Sealing Applications

Belgium-based Advanced Engineering Valvs (AEV), an Emerson company, St. Luis, Mo., and industry leader for cryogenic and severe service ball valves, has selected a Victrex high performance cryogenic PEEK to help its customers operate applications more efficiently and safely. The company´s 2XC C-ball valve products, based upon double eccentric and cavity-free technology, are designed to meet the most stringent demands, potentially reducing the cost of ownership due to their high reliability (zero maintenance) in cryogenic service.

The cryogenic Victrex CT 100 polymer from Victrex, West Conshohocken, Penn., was specifically developed by Victrex for insert applications. After successfully passing Design Validation Testing (DVT) at AEV, the polymer is now used in the company´s class 900 ball valves ranging from ½ through to 18 inches. It is specified for a temperature range of -196°C to +150°C (-321°F to +302°F) and offers structural strength at elevated temperature without compromising low temperature performance of cryogenic PEEK compared to incumbent materials.

AEV valve made with Victrex CT cryogenic PEEK.

The DVT at AEV was carried out according to Shell´s “Material and Equipment Standards and Code” (MESC), which is widely accepted in the oil and gas industry as a key test protocol and a prerequisite for industry acceptance. “Our valves successfully passed all aspects of the cryogenic test using the Victres CT 100 polymer. Meeting the requirements of the Shell MESC test is in fact an important achievement that opens up new potential uses with industry leading OEMs," commented Francis Carpio, AEV’s operational director.

Victrex’s director of energy James Simmonite, confirms that fluoropolymers have been the choice material for many sealing applications in cryogenic temperature ranges. He and the Victrex team sum up the key advantages of using Victrex CT: it has a broader use temperature +200°C to -196°C (+392°F to -321°F), better creep, low temperature toughness and thermal conductivity, and lower thermal expansion. Moreover, reportedly, there is better performance and reliability and no failures in the field so far.