As of the 29th May 2002 all pressure vessels marketed and sold in Europe must conform to the new Pressure Equipment Directive. As of this date all pressure equipment being placed into service in Europe will require compliance to the PED and possibly a CE mark. This directive applies to all pressure equipment and assemblies (both liquid and gas) with a maximum allowable pressure greater than 0.5 bar.

We are pleased to advise that as of 29th May 2002, all vessels supplied by Carbis Filtration will meet this legislation. The following paragraphs outline some of the basic requirements of the new legislation and what effect that has on you - our customers. In general you will not notice a great deal of difference, there are however a few important facts that will be required in order to successfully apply the right vessel in to the right application. You may find that some customers will specify a certain level of certification and will have full knowledge of what they need and what the requirements of their pressure system are, but some will simply ask for a CE marked vessel - that is not enough.

The process fluid needs to be identified, in the UK, either by specification of its classification under the CHIP - Chemicals (Hazard Information and Packaging for Supply) regulations 1994 or by stipulating the actual fluid itself, and (if possible) the clients own classification of the fluid. Other European countries will have there own fluid classification systems. There are quite specific groupings of fluids in the new PED requirements, these are broken down into the following key headings: -

Group 1 comprises those fluids classified, according to the EC directive on the
classification of dangerous substances, as: -

• Explosive
• Oxidising
• Flammable
• Very flammable
• Extremely flammable
• Toxic
• Very toxic
  

Group 2 comprises all other fluids including steam.
Additionally, the process conditions need clarification. The design (not operating) system pressure and temperature needs to be clearly stated. This along with the fluid classification will determine what type of vessel is required to meet PED requirements. It is very important with the new legislation to understand not only where a filter can be used but also where it CANNOT be used.