Environment & Safety Gas Processing/LNG Maintenance & Reliability Petrochemicals Process Control Process Optimization Project Management Refining

Rotating Equipment

Reliability: Include pump wear rings in your upgrade efforts

Hydrocarbon Processing Staff: Bloch, Heinz P.

Most centrifugal pump designs include replaceable rotating wear rings on the impeller (impeller wear rings) and stationary wear rings inside the casing (case wear rings). Although pump wear rings are simple components, they can have profound impacts on pump reliability, efficiency and safety. These wear rings serve three purposes:

Reliability: Dry gas sealing technology replaces segmented carbon rings in small steam turbines

Hydrocarbon Processing Staff: Bloch, Heinz P.

Since the late 1800s, small steam turbines have incorporated bushing-type, single-piece and/or segmented carbon gland components to reduce and prevent steam leakage along the shaft.

Safety: Process safety and risk management— An industry view

Petrotechnics: Jones, S.

In 2017, Petrotechnics released its process safety and risk management (PSM) survey.

Reliability: Could a company be its own worst enemy?

Hydrocarbon Processing Staff: Bloch, Heinz P.

In a recent conversation with a “pump veteran,” we explored his 33 yr of experience with pump original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) from 1984–1997 and with a widely known non-OEM (1997–2017).

Balanced oil sealing solution reduces lube oil leakage at compressor drive train

STASSKOL GmbH: Langela, M.

Reciprocating compressors use a piston rod connected to a drive train at the crosshead section.

Optimize operating parameters for C3 splitters to accommodate feed changes

Contributing Writer: Sami, M.

In the oil and gas sector, fractionation is a vital part of every plant.

Troubleshooting the repetitive failure and shaft seizure of a hot oil circulation pump

Saudi Aramco: Allah, W. K.  |  Al-Abood, A.  |  Ballard, F.  |  Brashler, K.

The Shaybah NGL recovery plant has a single-stage, double-suction between bearings, radial-split design for hot oil circulation.

Reliability: Choices—Treat the symptom or define and eliminate the cause?

Hydrocarbon Processing Staff: Bloch, Heinz P.

In an urgent communication, a paper plant customer reported that the mechanical seals in one of its ANSI pumps were moving axially whenever an unexpected process problem caused the normally liquid pumpage to turn into a thick, odorous gel.

Revamp fired heaters with a common air-preheating system to increase capacity

Bechtel Corp.: Ahamad, S.  |  Vallavanatt, R.

In any process plant, fired heaters are generally considered to be one of the most optimally designed pieces of equipment.

Analyzing axial cooling fans’ high noise, vibration and failures

Saudi Aramco: Allah, W. K.

Shipping pumps with 1,800 hp are equipped with five cooling fans that cool the oil going to the lube oil pumps to lubricate the bearings.