GRAPHALLOY® Upgrade Tames Problem Pentane Pumps

  

This case highlights how upgrading line shaft bushings and wear rings to GRAPHALLOY Nickel-grade materials helped a refinery overcome composite bushing failures caused by high-temperature, low-lubricity pentane service and solvent exposure. The result was a straightforward materials change that delivered years of reliable operation without altering pump geometry.

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GRAPHALLOY Bearings Cure Breakage Problems at Texas Oil Refinery

World Pumps
March 2015

When a vertical turbine pump broke twice inside three years at a major US oil refinery, engineers knew there must be a major problem. The 500,000 barrel a day Baytown refinery in Texas operates a maintenance program aimed at running 10 years between major repairs. That clearly was not being achieved with one particular vertical pump which broke in July 2010 and again in exactly the same place in May 2013.

A thorough inspection and analysis revealed the underlying issue was not with the shaft itself but with the use of the wrong type of bearing materials. The unit in question was a 4-Stage 14 GH Byron Jackson vertical turbine pump. When it came into the ITT PRO Services repair workshop, it was completely disassembled and inspected before repair.

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