GRAPHALLOY Bushings and Bearings

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Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Oil Field Flares Operate Successfully with GRAPHALLOY® High Temperature Bearings

Graphite Metallizing Corporation announces GRAPHALLOY® high temperature bearings for use in gas burn-off flares. These bearings are uniquely suited to help control the volatility of flares at oil and natural gas production sites.

This innovative development resulted from a customer requirement to overcome design problems in a control linkage. The high heat of these flares was causing bushing lubrication failures and this, in turn, caused the flare control systems to fail. These repeated failures resulted in unacceptable maintenance and replacement costs.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations require that oil field flares destroy the volatile organic compounds emitted into the atmosphere in an environmentally friendly manner. To meet these requirements, oil field operators must use flares at their production sites that provide a "clean" burn. These flares must operate reliably at remote sites under all conditions.
Given the loss of lubrication within the faulty linkage, it became obvious that flare controls and gas burn-offs were not meeting EPA regulations nor providing clean burns
.
The flare manufacturer tested other bearing materials. None met the challenge until GRAPHALLOY®, the high temperature self-lubricating graphite/metal alloy material was tested, approved and put to work.

Result? Custom produced GRAPHALLOY® Bearings were retrofitted to 1,000s of existing flares and are now standard on the new systems. Today, the bearings operate successfully - no stoppages!

Similar gas burn-off flares are also commonly found at refineries, chemical plants and natural gas processors.

Monday, July 15, 2013

A Proven Upgrade in Vertical Pumps

GRAPHALLOY® Solves Run Dry Problems

Run dry problems with a high pressure 24 stage vertical pump - pumping ethylene oxide, anhydrous ammonia MEA and DEA -  were causing repairs costing between $55,000 and $110,000.

These failures were happening several times a year, often due to pressure reversals. GRAPHALLOY inserts were installed in the series case bushings. The cost savings provided by the GRAPHALLOY upgrade convinced the customer to convert several other pumps.

GRAPHALLOY has provided proven cost savings in upgrades in vertical and horizontal pumps for years. If you are experiencing these or other pump problems, contact our engineers for assistance.