Valves for environmental and urban services: types, applications and certifications

A line that has to hold vacuum. A low pressure water circuit. A washing branch running beyond 200 bar. On a vehicle for environmental or urban services these regimes do not live in separate systems: they run on the same chassis, and each one demands its own valve.

Valves for environmental and urban services are the components that shut off and isolate these circuits. What determines which one to use on each section is the fluid handled, whether clean water, loaded and abrasive sludge or wastewater, and the regulation the installation has to comply with.

There is also a constraint that does not arise in a fixed plant: the space is already allocated, and every component adds to the overall weight of the vehicle.

The types of valves for environmental and urban services

On environmental and urban service vehicles the types used are mainly wafer butterfly valves and lug butterfly valves, wafer ball valves and flanged ball valves, alongside compact pneumatic valves.

The butterfly valve covers the medium and large sizes of the suction and discharge lines and the transfer of water, sludge and wastewater: the circuits where excellent vacuum tightness counts. In our range it is the KRAVEN, supplied as a wafer butterfly valve and as a lug butterfly valve, from DN40 to DN300 (from 1-1/2" to 12"), with a cast iron body, a disc in cast iron or in CF8M and seats in EPDM, NBR and FKM.

The wafer ball valves MAGNUM Wafer and MAGNUM Split Wafer work on the auxiliary circuits, on clean water, on the water recycling systems and on the distribution manifolds. All MAGNUM valves are flanged ball valves with RF connections, in A105 carbon steel or 316 stainless steel.

On the washing lines of flusher trucks the high pressure ball valves HERCULES and KRATOS come into play.

The applications: from valves for vacuum trucks to ADR vehicles

The versions change according to the fluid handled and to the applicable regulation. Representative use cases include:

●      Vacuum trucks and VAC-JET combination units, on the suction lines and on sludge discharge.

●      Street sweepers and flusher trucks, where the valves for street sweepers isolate the washing zones.

●      ADR vehicles for the collection and the transport of hazardous waste, which require certified valves for special vehicles.

●      Vehicles for environmental remediation.

●      Equipment for the suction of excavation dust.

●      Installations dedicated to the maintenance of chemical plants.

In all these vehicles the valve has to guarantee service continuity and reduced maintenance, even under conditions of intensive use.

The certifications for environmental service vehicles

Certifications take on particular importance in vehicles intended for the transport or the suction of hazardous substances. The ATEX Directive 2014/34/EU is a mandatory requirement for vehicles built for the suction of explosive materials, and it does not concern only the valve, but the entire package: ATEX ball valves, ATEX butterfly valves and ATEX pneumatic actuators are therefore available.

Particularly relevant for this market is the ADR certification, available both for the butterfly versions and for the flanged ball ones. ADR valves are used on the equipment for the collection and the transport of hazardous waste.

Alongside these is the EN 14432:2014 certification, recently extended to all sizes. Compliance with PED 2014/68/EU is also available.

Why the valve and the actuator are chosen together

On a mobile installation every component has to take up the smallest possible volume and add the smallest possible mass to the vehicle. This applies to the valve and it applies, in the same way, to the control that moves it.

OMAL designs and manufactures in-house both the valves and the actuators, and supplies them as a pre-assembled, correctly sized package: the vehicle manufacturer receives a solution ready to be installed and connected to the control system, and deals with a single point of contact both for the process and for the automation.

Our range of controls covers widely differing torques. The AGO are the pneumatic valve actuators for quarter-turn valves of the scotch yoke type: aluminium pneumatic actuators available in double acting from 8 to 8,000 Nm and spring return from 15 to 4,000 Nm, with versions from -50 °C to +150 °C.

All our valves are fitted with an ISO 5211 mounting flange, for easy coupling with pneumatic actuators and manual gearboxes with handwheel.

Would you like to explore the complete range of actuators and valves for environmental and urban services? Click here and discover the certified OMAL solutions.

FAQ: frequently asked questions about valves for environmental and urban services

Which are the best valves for environmental and urban services?

There is no single best valve: it depends on the circuit.

On the suction, discharge and transfer lines the KRAVEN butterfly valve is used in the medium and large sizes, available as a wafer butterfly valve and as a lug butterfly valve. In the auxiliary circuits and on clean water the MAGNUM wafer ball valves are used. Finally, on the high pressure washing lines the HERCULES and KRATOS series come into play.

What features do valves for environmental service vehicles need?

They have to fit into limited spaces and add as little as possible to the mass of the vehicle, guarantee excellent vacuum tightness on the suction lines and withstand loaded and abrasive fluids in sludge discharge, with seats in EPDM, NBR or FKM according to the fluid. Service continuity, reduced maintenance and the certifications required by the sector are needed as well.

Which valves are used for the transfer of sludge and wastewater?

Butterfly valves are used, the type that covers the medium and large sizes of the discharge and transfer lines, on sludge as well as on water and wastewater and on the low pressure water circuits. The fluid is loaded and abrasive: what counts is the strength of the body and the choice of seat, available in EPDM, NBR and FKM according to the fluid.

Are there Italian manufacturers of valves for special vehicles?

Yes. OMAL designs and manufactures in-house both the valves and the actuators, and supplies them as a pre-assembled, correctly sized package for vacuum trucks, VAC-JET combination units, road cleaning vehicles and ADR installations.

Who should you contact to buy valves for vacuum trucks and street sweepers?

It is worth choosing a supplier that designs the valve and the actuator in-house and that holds the certifications required by the sector: ATEX 2014/34/EU, ADR and EN 14432:2014. OMAL supplies the valve-actuator package already sized, with a single point of contact both for the process part and for the automation one.