Bearings that Excel in Pumping Anhydrous Ammonia

Keeping ammonia pumps running was a problem for fertilizer companies until they installed GRAPHALLOY^® self-lubricating bearings.

A major pump manufacturer was repairing a large number of vertical pumps in Anhydrous Ammonia (NH₃) service. Their customer serves the fertilizer industry and needs the pumps back quickly, especially during the short growing season. The pumps, with bronze bushings installed, were failing due to running dry.

Anhydrous Ammonia is an efficient and widely used nitrogen fertilizer. When used as an agricultural fertilizer, it is compressed into a liquid. When injected into the soil, the liquid ammonia expands into a gas and is readily absorbed in the soil moisture. With a boiling point of -28.01° F at a pressure of one atmosphere, Anhydrous Ammonia requires special equipment and technology to transport, store and apply.

The refrigeration or pressurization system can fail and the pumps can flash, run dry and ultimately fail. The pump manufacturer knew from experience that GRAPHALLOY is one of the most recommended bearing materials found in Anhydrous Ammonia service and typically includes the stuffing box bushing, line shaft bearing and bearings in the bowl assembly.

The manufacturer, working with GRAPHALLOY engineers, replaced the bronze bushings with GRAPHALLOY Babbitt Bearings. GRAPHALLOY has kept the pumps from seizing during dry-run, low-flow, start up and shutdown.

According to the pump manufacturer, the usual service life of Anhydrous Ammonia pumps fitted with GRAPHALLOY bearings is 5 - 7 years. In one instance, the pump manufacturer said the GRAPHALLOY bearings showed no wear after running dry for over 24 hours.

GRAPHALLOY provides reliable, problem-free solutions for the most difficult applications. Contact us to find out what GRAPHALLOY can do for you.

GRAPHALLOY® at Middle East Turbomachinery Show

GRAPHALLOY® will exhibit at the Middle East Turbomachinery Symposium in Doha, Qatar on March 17 - 20, 2013. Visit Booth 317. Click here for more information about GRAPHALLOY.

Graphite Metallizing Celebrates 100 Years of Quality and Service

Graphite Metallizing Corporation of Yonkers, NY celebrates its 100th anniversary of solving tough bearing problems.

The company began in 1913 when two engineers developed a method for putting molten metal into carbon to create a new material called GRAPHALLOY®, a graphite/metal alloy. Over the years, Graphite Metallizing developed additional grades of GRAPHALLOY to address new applications. Today, GRAPHALLOY customers are comprised of major industrial companies around the world who demand the highest level of quality and service.

GRAPHALLOY is a proprietary material that has exceptional mechanical, chemical, and tribological properties. As a result, GRAPHALLOY works where traditional bearing materials often fail. In addition to being self-lubricating, GRAPHALLOY withstands high-temperatures, performs well under cryogenic conditions, can survive dry running pumps and maintains its integrity even when submerged in hostile liquids such as acids, alkalies, hydrocarbons, black liquor and liquid gases.

GRAPHALLOY can be custom-designed for specific application dimensions and tolerances. GRAPHALLOY standard and custom designed products provide lifetime cost savings and significant operating advantages over conventional bushings and bearings.

Eben Walker, General Manager of Graphite Metallizing said: “It’s amazing that even after 100 years and producing over 150 grades of GRAPHALLOY, our customers and our engineers continue to find new applications for this versatile material.”

Pillow Block Assemblies Designed for Long-Life

Pillow Block and Flange Block Assemblies from Graphite Metallizing are equipped with a GRAPHALLOY ^® bushing and are designed for long-life operation. They are easy to install and will operate successfully under a variety of conditions.

Depending on the application, our Pillow Blocks and Flange Blocks are available as in split, solid, solid, self-aligning, cast iron, stainless steel and in a two-bolt or four-blot arrangement.

GRAPHALLOY Pillow Block and Flange Block Assemblies eliminate maintenance and frequent replacements while providing increased reliability.

Visit our website to learn more about GRAPHALLOY Pillow Blocks and Flange Blocks.

Switch to Rubber-Based Bearings Saves Money and Maintenance Time

Bearings from Graphite Metallizing result in six-figure savings:

Trigen-Kansas City Energy Corporation, a Veolia company, provides centrally produced steam and chilled water to customers in the Kansas City, Missouri, central business district and cogenerates electricity. A Floway VU vertical turbine pump captures up to 24,000 gallons per minute of water from the silt-laden Missouri River to feed chillers and steam generators. In the past, particulate in the water caused the bronze-backed rubber bushings to fail after approximately thirty months, requiring the company to spend $60,000 to replace them along with shafts.

Read more in Modern Pumping Today

For more information about Graphite Metallizing, visit http://www.graphalloy.com

GRAPHALLOY at SEPEM Industries

GRAPHALLOY will exhibit at SEPEM (Salon Services, Equipment, Process and Maintenance) Industries on January 29 - 31, 2013 in Douai, France at Gayant Expo Park. Stop by Stand B3.

 Click here for more information.

GRAPHALLOY Provides Advantages in Pump Bushings and Wear Rings

GRAPHALLOY^®, a graphite/metal alloy, is used extensively for pump bushings and wear rings.  It offers two key advantages for pumping applications:

1. GRAPHALLOY enables pumps that run dry, flash, or handle extremely low viscosity fluids to survive without damage.  Numerous case histories and pump manufacturer test results confirm that GRAPHALLOY performs where plastics are unable to stand up and metal parts seize disastrously.

2. GRAPHALLOY enables rings and bushings to be designed with tighter clearances which can improve efficiency, increase output, reduce vibration, throttle seal cavities, or act as a seal backup.  GRAPHALLOY is non galling and dimensionally stable and enables pumps to operate at tight fits without the risk of metal-on-metal rubs or seizure.

Click here to learn more about the use of GRAPHALLOY in pumping applications.