Recycling of instruments
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I haven’t posted for a long time; thank you all for your concern. Topic: Waste utilization. Context: In business management, we often encounter the issue of waste utilization. For example: The costs this quarter need to be kept at a certain level, and our department must ensure effective control over them. When it comes to control, the first thing we consider is reducing failures and preventing them from causing damage. However, the environment at chemical production sites is complex; some failures are predictable, while others occur suddenly and unexpectedly. In terms of cost control, we thought of recycling waste materials. If instruments that have failed at some previous key control points and were replaced are used at less important control points. Wait, topic discussion: In companies, in our instrumentation field, from what aspects do we carry out the reuse of waste materials? What specific types of waste recycling have you experienced? How do you proceed with waste recycling?
Meters are precision devices; whether they are transmitters or local meters, their accuracy is crucial for the stable and safe operation of equipment and systems. Therefore, used instruments suffer from wear and tear due to use, as well as corrosion, deformation, and other forms of damage resulting from difficulties in storing them after being reused; these issues prevent the instruments from maintaining accuracy and stability. Moreover, certain hidden defects may pose operational risks. Therefore, it is not recommended under any circumstances to put used or obsolete instruments back into service as a whole. At the same time, for materials such as bolts and gasketing, although they have some value for recycling, they must be tested first. Such as whether the diameter and thickness of the shims have suffered corrosion damage, and whether the bolt threads are damaged, etc. It is not convenient for practical use. Therefore, three new years, three old years, and another three years of patchwork work are unscientific for the instrumentation field. To avoid temporary supply shortages, in addition to improving spare parts management, establishing good cooperative relationships with suppliers in the procurement area to ensure urgent supply is also a good approach. It must be acknowledged that instrumentation equipment always represents a low-value component in the overall process system, and it falls into the category of consumable equipment. If the recycling of materials is unsafe and leads to operational failures or even safety issues in the overall system, it will be counterproductive.
Given the many aspects related to tools and measurement methods, it’s better to give up on repairing watches~
The interchangeability of instrument components determines whether they can be reused from waste materials; for example, items that meet the same design standards can be interchanged and reused. Such as connectors, flanges, signals, etc. There are also components from the same brand that can be directly reused as waste.
Our company generally discards things and does not carry out any work in this area.
For the instruments used in chemical manufacturing enterprises, it is not recommended to reuse repaired used instruments. Some parts can still be reused.
This post was last edited by xh8618 on 2017-4-5 08:39. It is quite difficult to make use of existing meters; my colleagues and I have been working on promoting this approach. For example, the cables remaining from certain projects can be categorized by length and recorded in a ledger, so as to be used in regular technical upgrades. If the diaphragm of a flanged pressure transmitter is damaged, it can be sent back to the factory for repair; this saves half the cost compared to buying a new one. It is also possible to replace it with a regular (differential pressure) pressure transmitter, and some pressure transmitter modules can be used as well. For example, if there is a problem with the positioner, it can be repaired regularly if conditions permit. A small control valve can be installed in the repair shop for diagnostic testing, and this approach works quite well. The issue with the positioner is usually related to the I/O module or the nozzle; some manufacturers sell these components separately, and it’s also possible to assemble one again. Of course, there are also solenoid valves, valves, and so on; sometimes it’s possible to make use of existing equipment, and such instruments can be used in non-critical areas. After all, if a company is not profitable, it affects every employee within it; as the saying goes, \"When the lips are lost, the teeth feel the pain.\" I’m not afraid of being laughed at – there are ways to make use of valve bodies with holes as big as a thumb
We are also carrying out this work now, not to save a little money, but as part of a societal effort toward conservation; it essentially involves replacing the panels and sending them back to the factory for repair. The details are as follows: 1. Replacing the panels with identical models – this is the most basic approach； 2. For various types of instruments that need to be repaired at the factory, it is also possible to seek repair services from manufacturers of similar products. We can repair pressure, temperature, and level measuring instruments, and the costs can be reduced by about half ； 3. Replace the locator with one from a different manufacturer; remove the unused locator and reuse it ；
Regardless of the purpose for using old instruments, safety and effectiveness are always essential. The ideal situation would be for various – at least those instruments of high value – to enter a reproduction process: the usable parts are refurbished, the entire unit is inspected, and the damaged or defective parts are replaced. Once the entire unit passes the inspection, it gains a quality guarantee equivalent to that of a new unit; this should be one of the most appropriate approaches.
It is usually reused within the workshop; there are too many instruments throughout the entire factory complex to keep track of them all. .