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Chemical Engineering vocabulary · Process Safety and Hazards

Relief valve

Meaning in chemical engineering, with examples

nounCore term

In chemical engineering, relief valve means: A spring-loaded valve that opens by itself when the pressure in a vessel or pipe goes above a set limit, releasing fluid to protect the equipment from bursting.

In Turkish: emniyet ventili, basınç emniyet valfi, tahliye vanası

How it is used

The last line of defense against overpressure. Engineers size relief valves for scenarios such as fire, blocked outlet or cooling failure, and they discharge to the flare, a scrubber or the atmosphere. Also called PSV (pressure safety valve) or PRV.

Example sentences

  1. The relief valve on the reactor is set at 10 barg and discharges to the flare header.

  2. The relief valve lifted twice last night, so we need to find the cause of the overpressure.

Common collocations

  • pressure relief valve
  • set pressure
  • relief valve sizing
  • the relief valve lifted
  • relief scenario
  • pressure vesselA closed container designed to hold gases or liquids at a pressure well above or below atmospheric, such as a reactor, separator, drum or column.
  • interlockAn automatic protective function that stops or prevents an action when a dangerous condition is detected, for example closing the feed valve on high reactor pressure.
  • runaway reactionAn exothermic reaction that gets out of control: heat is produced faster than it can be removed, so temperature, reaction rate and pressure rise faster and faster.
  • HAZOPShort for hazard and operability study: a structured team review of a P&ID, section by section, using guide words to find deviations that could cause harm or operating problems.

More terms: Process Safety and Hazards

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