financial impact of solving tribological problems in the sealing industry, The
Our modern lifestyle is dependent on advanced sealing systems in producing the products and services we use. A mechanical seal is required to operate in many fluids at various pressures, temperatures and speeds. Some fluids are extremely poor lubricants and result in tribological problems that are very costly to an equipment user. Fundamentals of sealing technology are presented, along with solutions to various sealing problems found in industry. Case studies of savings through increased reliability and reduced cost of ownership are presented.
Every aspect of our lives is influenced by mechanical seals. In the home, major appliances such as washing machines, garbage disposals, water well pumps, swimming pool pumps and sump pumps, help to improve our quality of life. Even the production of the products that we use in our homes is dependent on processes that use mechanical seals. Consider that almost all of the food we consume, for example dairy products, beer, and sugar, are processed with equipment using seals that meet FDA (Food and Drug Administration) requirements. The pharmaceutical products we consume are also dependent on mechanical seals to maintain product purity during their processing. As consumers we enjoy the electric power supplied to our homes to provide light and run appliances for work and entertainment. Natural gas is supplied to heat our homes. The newspapers that we read are dependent on pulp and paper manufacturing. All of these industries use seals in the production of their products.
In the transportation industry, mechanical seals play an important role in getting us to where we want to be. The water pump in our automobile is sealed with a mechanical seal. The fuel we use in our cars is dependent on refinery processes that use mechanical seals not only for the production of gasoline, but also to protect the environment from hazardous process emissions contaminating the air we breathe. Sealing technology is used to seal the stern shafts of ships and the hundreds of auxiliary pumps used in the operation of the ship. Airplanes are dependent on auxiliary systems using seal technology to control the aircraft.
Mechanical seals, unlike other machine elements such as bearings and gears, are cooled and lubricated by the fluid being sealed. These fluids may be at pressures and temperatures that are hostile to a good lubricating environment. Shaft speed is another factor that must be considered in the equation for seal life.
In the refining and chemical process industries alone, over 20 billion dollars are spent annually in the repair of equipment. Many of these maintenance repairs involve the solution of a problem in the field of tribology. Every dollar saved in the maintenance of equipment is profit that is added directly to the bottom line in the operation of a company.
COST OF EQUIPMENT OWNERSHIP
The total cost of equipment ownership includes procurement, equipment, installation, startup, operation, maintenance and disposal. Of these, the most important areas of savings are maintenance and operations. Other areas are basically fixed-cost through the life of the equipment. Procurement, startup and disposal costs will normally be less than two percent of the total ownership cost. Pumps are purchased on the basis of a 20-year life. It makes sense then that the equipment purchased fit the application or service intended for maximum life and efficiency. All too often, overhung process pumps are repaired every three to four months, 12-14 months, or 14-18 months. In some cases, repair is every four to five years. The cost of repair will vary depending on the plant location and the amount of work done to the pump. Repair of an ANSI pump can range from $1600 to as high as $4500 per pump. A summary of life and cost for an ANSI pump is given in Table 1. If the least amount of work is done, i.e., just replacing the seal, the life will be the same or shorter in comparison to more expensive repairs. Users who take the time to repair the pump and replace more than the seal have a longer Mean Time Between Maintenance (MTBM). These users have also taken the time to determine the cause for short seal life and have corrected any installation problems. This is significant as the result can be a major reduction in maintenance and possibly operating costs. Pumps are the highest item in a processing plant’s maintenance budget. Many of the problems encountered relate to cooling and lubricating the seal with the process fluid. These can be grouped into two categories: mechanical and operational.
The mechanical grouping covers those items that create irregular motion for the seal. This is the result of misalignment, pipe strain, and vibration transferred to the seal faces.
The operational grouping covers those items that affect the environment of the seal. This is the result of low Net Positive Suction Head (NPSH), loss of seal flush, and process problems that change the condition of the fluid being sealed. This grouping will result in wear and distress at the seal faces. This frequently occurs on fluids that have a light specific gravity and easily turn from a liquid to a gas. However, fluids that carbonize rather than turn to a gas also create another tribological problem to be solved.
Timken enters agreement with Federal-Mogul
Canton, Ohio-based, Timken Corp. recently entered into an agreement with Southfield, Mich.-based, FederalMogul Corp. to launch a new line of industrial seals in both the United States and Canada.
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Under the agreement, Timken will market and sell National® industrial seals under its own brand and packaging. The new seals will be available exclusively to authorized Timken industrial distributors and select original equipment manufacturers. The seals can be used in such applications as manufacturing, off-highway, power transmission and oil refineries.
Federal-Mogul says it will continue to market National Oil Seals to its industrial customers outside of the U.S. and Canada. The agreement will not include sales to the automotive and heavy-duty aftermarket.
BAG/POUCH Sealing
Bag/Pouch Sealing
New hot bar heat sealers ensure quality seals by controlling accuracy and repeatability
New hot bar heat sealers provide consistent repeatable seal quality for controlled packaging/heat sealing applications. Model AS/2 features individual digital control and display of temperature, pressure and dwell time to ensure superior control accuracy and repeatability. Each sealing parameter is tied to an alarm with a lock-out feature to prevent cycling if parameter is outside of established limits. Also, the units are equipped with external output ports for temperature, pressure and dwell time for in-process control verification and calibration. The AS/3 sealer, which also has external output ports, offers touchscreen PLC control of temperature, pressure and dwell time with password protection, data acquisition and communications capabilities and full process alarms with lockout. Units are available in 12- and 24-inch lengths. Demonstration units are available for in-house evaluation.
Sencorp Systems, DT Industries Plastics Group, (508) 771-9400, ext. 7495
Item #344
Automatic heat sealer consistently forms strong, attractive seals
Speed: up to 70 bags/sachets per minute
BD-II automatic heat sealer consistently produces attractive, high-quality seals by using a band-sealing principle that controls temperature instead of voltage. The unit handles lightweight bags/sachets of polyethylene, vinyls, coated papers and other materials at a speed of 9.3 meters per minute, depending on bag or sachet size. The BD-II comes with a height-adjustable conveyor and casters for easy moving. Conveyor can be tilted from the horizontal position to about 45 degrees to accommodate operator and/or product. Optional equipment includes continuous coding, hot printer, emboss coder, special pattern compression sealing rollers and gusset rollers for gussetted bags/sachets, dust cleaner and a wide conveyor. Custom-designed units are available.
American-Newlong Inc., (317) 787-9421
Item #345
New heat-sealer retrofit permits heat sealing of environmentally preferred polyolefins on radio frequency bag machines
New conversion equipment allows any size radio/frequency (R/F) polyvinyl chloride (PVC) bag machine to be retrofitted for environmentally preferred non-R/F sealable polyolefins such as polypropylene, polyethylene, ionomer, polystyrene, polyester and liquid crystal polymers. The cost-effective equipment is well suited for medical packages such as intravenous, drug and blood bags, which are made of PVC and generally incinerated for disposal.
Heat Sealing Technology Inc., (617) 244-9133
Item #346
New continuous rotary band sealers present a versatile solution for flexible packaging applications
New MPS 6100 and 6500 Series continuous rotary band sealers are easy-to-use, decrease downtime and increase flexibility with add-on options which include trimmers, printers, embossers, conveyors and more. Available in table-top, standalone or conveyorized models, the versatile heat sealers accommodate virtually any flexible sealing application.
Emplex Systems Inc., (800) 265-1775, ext. 248
Item #347
New four-side seal machine performs on-line printing on sterile medical device packages
Speed: up to 250 packages per minute
The new automatic electronic four side seal machine accommodates high-speed sterile pouching of medical devices in combination with on-line flexographic.package printing. The machine packages a range of products into sterile pouches with dimensions up to 14 x 50 x 1 inch and prints a 12 x 12-inch area on-line.
The on-line flexographic package printing system–which uses nontoxic, ultraviolet-curable inks in sealed cartridges–produces complete package artwork on foils, films, paper and Tyvek during the packaging process. Independent control of the five main drive modules (infeed, side seal, cross seal, cut and print) assures accurate, repeatable and validatable operation.
Seals and gaskets: New methods cut water, energy consumptio
During the past several years, the dry-running mechanical seal has gained considerably on compression packing as the most environmentally acceptable and water/energy saving method for sealing rotary shaft equipment in the pulp and paper industry. However, recent innovations have allowed the compression packing industry to take a huge leap forward with its own dry-running designs.
Timothy Suprise of Durametallic Corp. says that while compression packing still holds up to 65% of the pulp and paper market, in the long run, installation of mechanical seals can provide a more efficient and less expensive operation than packing.
With new cartridge and split seal designs, Suprise points out that mechanical seals have become much more “user-friendly,” meaning that they no longer require the time and effort once required to disassemble the equipment for installation. “Often times, these seals can be installed on large shaft equipment in less time than it takes to remove existing packing and repack a pump, agitator, or hydropulper,” he says.
Mechanical seal manufacturers also solved water consumption and effluent problems that had pulled some pulp and paper manufacturers away from compression packing. With what is referred to as a dry-running technology, Durametallic, for one, has designed a gas barrier technology utilizing instrument air or a nitrogen gas source.
Gas barrier technology enables a mill to operate double mechanical seals with zero emissions at drastically reduced energy requirements, according to Suprise. An added bonus to this technology is its ability to enhance the capability of off-design operations, especially with pumps that have had a tendency to cavitate when handling fluids, while also reducing 25 to 40% of a mill’s water requirements.
In the pulp and paper industry, Suprise adds that dry-running mechanical seals are used mostly in the chemical services applications, particularly as a way to add value to bleaching operations as well as the more demanding acid pumps in the pulp mill.
COMPRESSION PACKING. According to Al Harrelson, manager of engineering at Garlock Inc.’s mechanical packing div., compression packing manufacturers noticed that they were losing business to the more environmentally friendly and economical mechanical seals. After considering energy consumption and effluent concerns, he says, compression packing producers realized they needed to develop their own dry running technology to remain competitive.
“With traditional compression packing braids, a certain amount of lubricant is always required to leak out of the seal to act as a binder between the packing rings and the shaft,” Harrelson explains. “This used to be our only way to prevent frictional heat buildup.”
Harrelson says that compression packing had managed to remain competitive prior to a dry running design due to several factors. The first factor was the higher product and inventory costs associated with mechanical seals.
Although a mechanical seal manufacturer would argue that the device would eventually pay for itself in water and energy cost savings, he points out that a mill’s mechanics required special training to be able to properly maintain and install the mechanical seals. In addition, the runout, shaft finishes, and bore finishes of the pumps usually had to be upgraded to like-new conditions to work properly with a new mechanical seal.
With this in mind, Harrelson explains that compression packing manufacturers such as Garlock developed a technology utilizing high-temperature, low-friction graphite die-formed tape rings instead of traditional braided packing.
“Pure graphite is one-to-one with steel in its thermal expansion and con. traction properties,” he says. He adds that the thermal conductivity properties of graphite allow the material to conduct any heat that is generated between the rings and shaft to the outside box bore walls where it can be given off. “This means that the material doesn’t require leakage to occur to keep frictional heat down,” he says.
Although he says that he believes there will always be a need for braided packing in certain areas of the mill, the most recent developments in this dry running technology have helped the compression packing business to suddenly appear more revolutionary than its rival mechanical seal competitors.
NEW SEALING COMPOUND, Even more revolutionary, perhaps, is a technology from Tom-Pac Inc. of Montreal, that has recently begun to take hold in the pulp and paper industry. According to Thomas Daly of Northeast Mill Supply, the self-lubricating sealing compound called TP-4000 offers an alternative to conventional compression packing or mechanical seals. TP-4000 is a colloidal mixture of lubricants, amalgamated with Aragraphe fiber, then pressure treated to ensure uniform dispersion. The compound can evenly surround a shaft and act as a lubricated plug, eliminating pressure points. With minimal friction, it also offers significant energy savings in pumps, agitators, and other rotating or reciprocating equipment.
Seals prolong switch life in harsh environments
Available in various sizes and configurations, silicone rubber sealing boots and custom dynamic seals protect and prolong life of electromechanical components in stressful environments. They come in matching panel colors/functions, are UL-listed and QPL-approved, and meet applicable MIL-Specs. Seals are used in airborne, medical, military, off/on-road heavy equipment, processing industry, and various in-plant and commercial product applications.
Englewood, NJ, February 18, 2005 … APM HEXSEAL; is pleased to announce the expansion of its line of silicone rubber sealing boots and custom dynamic seals for switches, potentiometers, and circuit breakers… all of which protect and prolong the life of these electromechanical components in harsh stressful environments.According to John Arnold, APM National Sales manager, “more sizes, and configurations have been added to the line to satisfy the ever expanding application of these components throughout the world. Dust, dirt, moisture, salt air, ice, snow, fungus, lubricants and solvents … take a toll on delicate contact mechanisms, thus reducing their life and reliability.” Arnold further stated, “frequently overlooked is the need to also seal the control’s mounting hole to prevent seepage from the elements as well as accidental spillage of coffee and cokes that can easily penetrate and contaminate delicate circuitry mounted below. In our new global economy, the world is our proving ground, and we’re constantly being asked to solve and design dynamic custom silicone seals that also embrace associated components such as connectors and back planes.”
HEXSEAL[R]s are extensively used in airborne, medical, military, off & on-road heavy equipment, processing industry and a myriad of in-plant and commercial product applications. Available in matching panel colors/functions, they are UL listed, QPL approved, and meet the most stringent applicable MIL-Specs.
U.S. Nutraceuticals - The In Box - raw materials manager Daniel Vickers appointed - Brief Article
U.S. Nutraceuticals, Boone, N.C., has named Daniel Vickers raw materials manager for its botanics division.
The Synergy Company added several key employees: Steven Lattey as director of Raw Materials for Synergy Production Laboratories
The Synergy Company added several key employees: Steven Lattey as director of Raw Materials for Synergy Production Laboratories, Tim Harkwright as director of Quality Assurance and Ellen Schuttas director of Marketing
Active in E-Commerce: BASF Conducts First Internet Auction for Raw Materials Purchasing
LUDWIGSHAFEN, Germany–(BUSINESS WIRE)–March 3, 2000
BASF, expanding its range of opportunities in purchasing raw materials, has held its first Internet auction based on the “reverse bidding” method to purchase several thousand metric tons of methanol. The on-line event, which was conducted by BASF’s Raw Materials Purchasing division, yielded substantial savings for the company.
“The use of virtual marketplaces and Internet auctions is an important part of our strategy for optimizing procurement,” said Wolfgang Moerike, President of BASF’s Raw Materials Purchasing division. “I believe that a large proportion of our business will soon be handled this way. Raw Materials Purchasing had informed seven methanol suppliers of its auction on the virtual trading floor of the Internet auctioneer “Portum.” The auction was held on Wednesday, March 1, between 9:30 a.m. and 1:45 p.m. Central European Time. The auction became very exciting during the final hour when five raw materials suppliers still remained and were undercutting one another’s bids at five-minute intervals. The bids eventually fell to approximately 10 percent below the current market price, and the contract was awarded to a supplier who significantly reduced his bid in the auction’s final moments.
Raw Materials Purchasing is also extending this virtual form of purchasing to other suitable products. The division normally engages in individual negotiations with all potential suppliers. The on-line auction eliminates this step, leading to considerable cost savings. In the field of global raw materials purchasing on the Internet, BASF is working closely with ChemConnect Inc. in San Francisco, California. ChemConnect is BASF’s preferred partner in its strategy to develop the Internet as an environment in which to purchase raw materials.
Methanol is one of the most important raw materials in the chemical industry and, as an indispensable base product, plays a central role in many value-adding chains. BASF’s total annual methanol production capacity is 450,000 metric tons but the company also purchases considerable amounts of this product from outside suppliers.
BASF is a return-focused global company generating long-term growth and profitability from its activities in chemicals, health and nutrition, and oil and gas. The company’s product range includes high-value chemicals, plastics, dyestuffs, dispersions, automobile and industrial coatings, crop protection agents, pharmaceuticals, fine chemicals, crude oil and natural gas.
BASF’s approach to integration, known in German as “Verbund,” is one of the company’s particular strengths and provides a unique competitive advantage. With sales in 1998 of E27.6 billion (about $29 billion) and a workforce of 105,000 employees, BASF is one of the world’s top chemical companies.
Global Internet Exchange for $4 Trillion Raw Materials Industry Chooses Digital Island
Business Editors/High-Tech Writers
SAN FRANCISCO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–May 17, 2001
RawMart Uses Digital Island’s Managed Hosting and Content Delivery
Services to Drive Profitable e-Business Transactions for More Than
3,400 Buyers and Sellers
Continuing its focus on supporting profitable e-Business transactions for global enterprises, Digital Island (Nasdaq:ISLD) today announced a new customer in Hong Kong, The Noble Group’s (Singapore listed:NOBL) RawMart.com. RawMart.com is the Web’s most comprehensive industrial raw materials marketplace with a hub of seven major industries and supporting services connecting 3,400 buyers and sellers worldwide for the $4 trillion global raw materials industry. The multi-lingual business-to-business online exchange has chosen Digital Island as its global content delivery and managed hosting partner
RawMart is a tool used to assist in the procurement, financing and transport of raw materials and commodities that fuel the world economy, including agriculture, chemicals, energy, metals, minerals, plastics and pulp and paper. Digital Island is helping RawMart link global buyers and sellers of more than 600 industrial raw materials and commodities, which can be customized with 190 market prices, industry indices and reports with navigation in English, Chinese, Russian, Japanese, Spanish, Portuguese and Korean.
Forrester Research forecasts the food and agriculture industry alone will conduct $211 billion in trade online in 2004. U.S. online imports are expected to hit $379 billion in 2004, flowing mostly from its neighbors Mexico and Canada. During this time frame, machinery and transportation equipment will represent the largest category of products shipped across the border.
Digital Island is enabling RawMart to provide a fast, secure and reliable method for producers, traders and consumers to purchase and sell commodities. In addition, Digital Island is delivering real-time information to the site, including 3,000 daily news reports, prices on 105 commodities and 32 foreign exchange rates so that members can make informed buying and selling decisions. All of this information is customized to user specifications providing the most relevant world time, industry news, equity index and foreign exchange data.
“We chose Digital Island as our e-Business infrastructure partner because we require guaranteed availability 24 hours a day, seven days a week, as well as a revenue model that is flexible and can be adjusted according to the changing demands of the site,” said Michael Mudd, chief operating officer of RawMart.Com. “RawMart requires Digital Island’s scalability and global reach to facilitate major customer growth from 3,400 to an expected 10,000 over the next seven months.”
“RawMart is establishing a major presence in online commodity trading and raw materials,” said Tim Wilson, chief marketing officer, Digital Island, Inc. “Digital Island’s infrastructure is the ideal platform for companies like RawMart that need to conduct global e-business on the Web at the scale that multi-trillion dollar industries require. Our services are significantly increasing the efficiency of transaction and information delivery times, helping drive RawMart’s revenue and increase the number of transactions taking place on the site.”
RawMart is using Digital Island’s Footprint(R) Content Delivery service, in addition to Managed Hosting services. As a result, RawMart has experienced a major performance improvement in its Web site operations, as well as a significant cost savings on equipment and maintenance costs. The speed is clearly evident, with pages on the Web site typically loading in less than seven seconds for members with dial-up Internet access and less than two seconds for those with broadband access.
Through RawMart’s testing, conducted by Keynote, an independent Web metrics organization that monitors the performance of the sites, Digital Island’s services provide RawMart with availability that is consistently above 99.9 percent. As a result, the performance of the site places RawMart in the top one per cent of comparable sites.
About The Noble Group
Noble Group Limited is a Hong Kong-based worldwide supplier of industrial raw materials and transport resources. The group links producers and consumers, uniquely integrating sourcing, marketing, processing, transportation and e-commerce through www.rawmart.com. Outside of Asia, Noble Americas trades in coal and coke, fertilizers, cocoa, sugar, oxygenates and refined oil products. Noble Europe’s activities include product and service marketing, the supervision of shipping and the cost-effective delivery of product lines. Noble Group recently acquired the Asian commodity operations of Swiss-based Andre & Cie SA, a global trader of agricultural commodities and will trade under the name of Noble Grain.
Noble Group Limited, (NOBL) reported a record net profit of US$21.1 million for the year ended 2000, a 234 per cent increase over F1999. Turnover rose 51 per to US$1.2 billion for FY2000. Noble operates a global network of offices. They are located in Beijing, Bombay, Cochin (India), Ho Chi Minh City, Hong Kong, Johannesburg, Karachi, London, Manila, Moscow, Newcastle (Australia), New Delhi, Shanghai, Singapore, Stamford (USA), Taipei and Tokyo. Noble is listed on the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited, (NOBL). www.thisisnoble.com.
Increased raw material costs may lead to higher food prices - Brief Article
Raw-materials costs of all kinds are heading higher and it is likely lead to increasing food prices, according to Deutsche Bank analyst Eric Katzman. Food companies have already been hit by rising costs for pensions and benefits; now these companies are seeing large increases in the cost of packaging, transportation and raw materials such as basic grains and oilseeds, he said. “We believe food inflation I likely as processors pass along prices,” Katzman said.
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Although wheat prices are down 25% over the past three months, spot prices are climbing on strong international demand for U.S. wheat because drought conditions have hurt some wheat crops. Speculation that China will stop exporting corn in January is driving spot prices for corn higher, he said.
Deutsche Bank’s packaging analyst Dan Khoshaba expects packaging costs will be up 6% to 8%, while transportation analyst John Barnes forecasts transportation costs will climb 2% to 6% next year.
According to Katzman, it still unclear whether any price increases made by the food companies will be effective in completely offsetting cost-margin pressure. As a result, the companies will have to rely on more productivity, cost savings and better return on promotional investment in 2004 and 2005, he said.
With this in mind, Katzman thinks those companies in highly concentrated, rational categories should be okay in such an environment including candymaker Hershey Foods Corp., spice and seasonings maker McCormick & Co., snack and beverage company PepsiCo Inc. (PEP), and chewing gum maker Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co.