Pressure Reducing Station
Not all process equipment is designed to work at the operating pressure of a steam boiler. In order to condition the steam pressure upstream of an item of equipment, pressure reducing valves are fitted upstream. Example: Feed water tank, de-aerators, calorifier, heat exchanger, autoclaves. In these case, a pressure reducing valve controls the steam pressure so that the permissible pressure is not exceeded. A safety valve must be fitted downstream of the pressure reducing valve in order to ensure that if the pressure reducing valve develops fault, a hazardous situation cannot occur. A steam trap set must always be installed upstream of a pressure reducing valve. Below figure shows a pressure reducing station with all associated devices, valves and fittings.