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Pu Jie Energy Chemicals: Modification of floating ball valves doubles their service life. Author/Source: Shaanxi Petrochemical News. Date: 2021-06-04. Clicks: 2. Recently, a \"new type of sealing valve\" independently developed by Shaanxi Coal Pu Jie Energy Chemicals Company was granted a utility model patent by the Intellectual Property Office. The successful application of this technology has extended the online service life of the floating ball valves in China’s first 8.7 Mpa Texaco water-coal slurry gasification unit from the original 6-8 months to the current 18 months. In the black and gray water systems of the coal chemical industry, the isolation valves (floating ball valves) are prone to damage to the sealing surface behind the valve seat during use, as the fluid contains ash and particulates. Especially when the valve outlet is under reverse flow conditions, it is more likely to cause the outlet sealing seat to float, which exacerbates erosion and wear at the fixed end of the seat; this leads to sticking of the valve and an increased risk of internal leakage. The company’s gasification unit is the first in the country to use the 8.7Mpa Texaco water-coal slurry gasification process. During the modification process, technicians added a valve seat gasket between the valve seat and the valve body, enclosing the gasket between them, which effectively prevents solid and liquid particles as well as the medium from eroding the sealing surface of the valve seat over time. At the same time, they added a tenon-and-socket structure valve seat guide device between the outlet sealing end valve seat and the valve body, to prevent the valve seat from shifting and enhance the stability of its guidance, thereby further optimizing the performance of the equipment and ensuring the reliability of the valve’s sealing. By the end of 2019, following the implementation of this technical upgrade, the slag discharge valves and flushing water valves of the lockhopper system operated stably. The online service life of these valves increased from 6–8 months to 18 months, which effectively alleviated problems such as valve sticking and internal leakage caused by the erosion from complex process media, thereby **extending** the equipment’s maintenance intervals.