GRAPHALLOY® Bearings for High Temperature, Environmentally Sensitive Designs

Graphite Metallizing Corporation is pleased to announce a family of Tin Based Babbitt GRAPHALLOY® materials for high temperature bearing applications up to 350° F (175° C). These tin based babbitt materials are available in NSF® certified grades for drinking water and are FDA accepted. They will perform reliably as self-lubricating bearings in submerged and dry applications.


GRAPHALLOY (a graphite/metal alloy) Tin Based Babbitt offers many advantages. It is environmentally safe to machine and use, while effectively eliminating the need for grease or oil. By eliminating liquid lubricants, contamination and maintenance can also be reduced.

GRAPHALLOY Tin Based Babbitt materials can often replace plastics because they offer superior heat dissipation and will not melt or cold flow. In low temperature applications (-400° F /-205° C), these bearings solve lubrication problems caused by the viscosity of grease and oil that often prevents proper operation of equipment.


GRAPHALLOY Tin Based Babbitt provides all of the performance benefits of traditional babbitt materials without the environmental concerns. It can be used in potable water, food applications and traditional low temperature applications. GRAPHALLOY bearings and bushings are a proven solution for the most challenging plant maintenance and new equipment design.


Used in the manufacture of bushings, bearings and other components for machinery and process equipment, GRAPHALLOY materials are self-lubricating, impervious to temperature extremes (from -400° F to +1000° F/-205° C to 535° C) and thrive in harsh environments where other bearings fail. Graphite Metallizing Corporation has been producing GRAPHALLOY since 1913.

GRAPHALLOY® Helps Generate Reliable Geothermal Power

The Geysers is the largest geothermal power field in the world. Because geothermal power is constant (and nearly free), The Geysers have become one of the most reliable energy sources in Northern California. Currently, the Calpine Corporation owns and operates 19 of 21 power plants at The Geysers. Calpine and their predecessors have used GRAPHALLOY® to solve a critical pump application problem.

Calpine is able to harness the superheated steam from The Geysers to generate 725MW of electricity. Despite its advantages, geothermal power has one limitation. Some of the 350 steam wells will eventually exhaust their supply of steam. In response to this problem, operators in the field reinject water into the ground to replenish the steam for power generation. 

However, one problem existed. Bearing materials were limited because of the temperature and corrosive environment of the injected water. To make this critical process viable, GRAPHALLOY bearings are used in the pumps injecting water condensed from the steam and treated wastewater back into the ground in the existing 58 injection wells. A special GRAPHALLOY grade was developed for this severe service.

GRAPHALLOY bearings have been a critical component of power generation at The Geysers for over 25 years. The hot, corrosive silt-ladened water required a special bearing material and GRAPHALLOY was, and is, the answer.

(Image courtesy of DOE/NREL, Credit - David Parsons)