Emirates Gas, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Enoc, has joined hands with Emarat Gas Distribution to launch new flat-top gas cylinder valves with added safety features for domestic users.

Under the industry-wide initiative born out of extensive research conducted by Emirates Gas along with Emarat, the domestic gas users will have new cylinder valves with enhanced safety features in place of the old ones.
 
The move comes after detailed discussions with the undersecretary of the ministry of interior and in conjunction with the civil defence, Dubai.

The advanced design was created specifically for LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) consumers in the Middle East where the gas is widely used for cooking, heating and barbecuing, a top official said.

'Emirates Gas has invested in two years of research and consumer trials to design the new flat top compact valve, which offers distinct advantages in terms of safety and convenience against the hand wheel screw type valve currently in use,' said major general Rashid Thani Al Matroushi, director general of Dubai Civil Defence.

The most striking feature of the new valve is its safeguard against all possible kinds of leakages. The short, one-piece valve is made of high quality material capable of withstanding high impact and a new regulator, which can be easily pushed on the cylinder valve outlet. 

Al Matroushi, who also heads the executive committee responsible for laying a structure to enforce the decision, stressed on the importance of all bottling and distribution companies’ commitment to the safety clauses under the ministry’s decision.

“The co-operation between the Civil Defence, the bottling companies and companies supplying the cylinders to the general public is crucial in achieving our joint goal of providing safety to the society,” he added.

“The absence of flat fibre or cork washers also minimises chances of leakage. The washers used in old valves to attach the regulator wears out over time, leading to leakage,' said Hesham Ali Mustafa, general manager of Emirates Gas.

The flat top valve has an automatic cut-off mechanism activated in the event of a major leak or snap off in the rubber hose as well as a fusible spindle, which melts to seal off the valve in case of a fire.

Mustafa added that the new valves will also help save precious energy. “The old adjustable regulators for screw top valves may release up to 1 bar of gas pressure whereas the maximum output required for domestic use is around 30 millibars.'

'The new valves are set to output only 29 millibars as this is the ideal vapour pressure normally required in household appliances. Considering that Dubai alone has 300,000-400,000 domestic gas cylinders in use, the environmental and safety advantages of the new valves is tremendous,' he noted.

He pointed out that cylinders equipped with the flat top valves can be operated only by a regulator supplied by Emirates Gas or Emarat.

'Customers will be provided with the new, easy-to-fix, tamper-proof valves when empty cylinders are replaced. About 1,000 cylinders with new valves will be changed per day by distributors of Emirates Gas and Emarat. These new valves and automatic regulators will have both Enoc and Emarat’s names and logos printed on them.'

Saeed Abdullah Khoory, group chief executive, Enoc, lauded Emirates Gas for designing the new valve and ensuring that the safety of its customers is not compromised in anyway.-TradeArabia News Service