VALVE MAGAZINE Winter 2025

CARBON FOOTPRINT OF 3D PRINTING

Number of lifetime replacements (yrs)

Number

Lifetime (yrs)

Replacement scenario Replacement part(s)

1

Disk stacks only

1

10

Traditional disk stack

2

Body, bonnet and traditional disk stack

10

1

Full valve replacement

3

Additive disk stack

Disk stack only

5

2

and yield different lifetimes. This means that under a specific replacement scenario, a valve can last a certain time before it needs to be replaced or upgraded. IMI set the project’s horizon at 10 years. The table above shows the number of replacements required over that period for each replacement scenario. As the organization procuring the study, IMI had to make some

For the large valve, this represented: • A 96% climate change impact saving when compared with replacement of the full valve via traditional manufacturing. • A 94% climate change impact saving when compared with replacement of the disk stack only via traditional manufacturing.

assumptions based on existing knowl edge in this field, which were supplied to Ricardo. The table above provides a break down of the three replacement scenarios covered in this study. As the table shows, a traditionally manufactured replacement disk stack is assumed to last one year. Any facility using this replacement scenario would therefore need 10 new disk stacks over the set study horizon of 10 years. The full valve replacement is only required once, while disk stacks manufactured additively would need replacing twice over the 10-year period. The researchers factored in these differ ences when analyzing the replacement scenarios as part of a sensitivity study, provided in the appendix of its report. The additive advantage Ricardo’s lifecycle assessment found that the additive disk stack replace ment was the preferable scenario across all the environmental indica tors analyzed. This finding was the same for both the large and small valve categories used in the study. In other words, additively manu factured disk stacks should be consid ered environmentally advantageous when compared with the other valve replacement methods. This is due to the different materials used and the lower quantities needed to produce them. The small valve with an additive disk stack replacement had a climate change impact of 146 kg of CO 2 -eq, while the large valve with an additive disk stack replacement recorded 1,360 kg CO 2 -eq. Both of these figures were calculated based on the 10-year study horizon.

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WINTER 2025

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