Less waste means more reliability

Water waste is commonly deemed an undesirable, however inevitable by-product of mining processes. Yet modern pump sealing know-how exists which can just about remove this waste whereas conserving vitality, bettering pump reliability and attaining long run operational savings.
Water is among the most significant, and increasingly imperilled, sources on earth. That much is understood and acknowledged by industries throughout the globe.
However, it is also one of the unnecessarily squandered assets in mining operations. And whereas the trade has begun to embrace efficiency and sustainability-led advances corresponding to automation and renewable vitality, it remains steadfastly set in its methods when it comes to slurry pump expertise.
Three approaches are routinely specified by pump producers to seal slurry pumps: mechanical packing, expellers (also often identified as ‘dynamic’ seals’) and single mechanical seals. All include vital limitations, together with poor reliability, lowered mean occasions between failure (MTBF), intensive upkeep necessities and better operational prices.
These elements alone should give mine managers trigger for a re-evaluation of the sealing methods used on slurry pumps. However, any company with a dedication to the International Standards Organisation ISO-14001 Standard for environmental management systems and ISO-50001 Standard for energy management methods ought to pay attention to the excessive water waste and excessive power consumption that outcomes from choosing these conventional sealing methods.
Inefficient sealing When used to seal the method pumps in a mine’s scrubber and floatation circuits, gland packing, single mechanical seals and expeller seals all demand one of the most wasteful features of slurry processing which is seal flush water injection.
On gland packed pumps it’s important that packing is flushed with clean water to keep it cool and lubricated, whereas both single slurry seals and expellers require a provide of cool, clear flush water to be injected into the method at high pressure, sustaining a steady fluid movie between the fragile seal faces to maintain them cool and lubricated, whereas forcing the damaging slurry away.
The flush water required in all three sealing approaches is supplied from an exterior source and injected into the process at the next pressure than the stuffing field pressure, consistent with the business commonplace American Petroleum Institute (API) Piping Plan 32. Water which doesn’t leak onto the bottom or into the method is sent to the tailings dam. This also has an impact on the water stability of the plant.
This strategy constitutes a loss of clear water amounting to billions of gallons a yr globally. One massive, conventional slurry pump sometimes consumes 10 US gallons (37.eight litres) per minute, amounting to 5.2 million US gallons (19.6 million litres) of water every year – a stunning statistic by any measure.
At a time when international water supply is predicted to fall wanting demand by some 40% by 20301 , removing pointless use of this priceless useful resource ought to arguably be a central plank of any responsible sustainability programme. Yet ราคาpressuregauge , and the higher energy consumption it entails, stay embedded in the processes of many mining companies. Worse nonetheless, it’s fair to say that it is often accepted as merely ‘par for the course’ by reliability engineers and management alike.
But the very fact is that water waste on any scale is a totally unnecessary characteristic of slurry operations as it might be virtually totally eliminated simply by employing superior double mechanical seals and modern water administration help techniques.
Improve reliability The sort of seal chosen, the setting in which it operates, and crucially, the tank support system which supplies the water to maximise seal life, combine to supply the answer to extreme water waste and power use.
Modern double mechanical seals have two sets of faces, one sealing to the method fluid and one to environment, with a barrier area between the 2. They are designed to fulfill the arduous requirements of heavy obligation slurry purposes, with fortified metallic components that are extremely proof against corrosion and erosion. Large ports and increased radial clearances imply the lubrication which is important to optimising seal life is maintained continuously and consistently.
A pressurised barrier tank system is central to the environmental sustainability of this answer. It employs a thermosiphon course of which provides clean, cool water to the barrier house between the double seals at a pressure higher than the product stress, ensuring a consistent, steady and clear fluid film to keep the seal faces cool and lubricated.
As the mechanical seals generate heat, the recent water within the barrier area rises to the tank and is radiated to the environment, allowing the cooler, denser water to sink again down to supply cool lubrication to the seal faces. Most importantly, the flush water is continually recycled, flowing across the seal faces in a continuous loop and lowering leakage to absolutely the minimum, roughly a teaspoonful a day.
While API Plan 32 is unsuitable for servicing a quantity of slurry pumps in a ‘series train’ with out the necessity to install special pump systems, pressurised barrier tanks offer scores as a lot as 435 psi (30 bar), making them ideal for these applications. Self-topping and self-pressurising, they’re additionally nearly maintenance-free.
Where เกจวัดแรงดันไทวัสดุ is out there for topping up the tank systems, or the supply has insufficient pressure, fluid supply items can be selected to provide the barrier fluid to seal faces. These have the added benefits of with the ability to supply a water/glycol combination or oil to offer freeze safety in extremely chilly climates.
Wide-ranging benefits The advantages of upgrading to trendy sealing solutions and support methods were felt by a coal mine in Poland utilizing a slurry pump to provide coal mud at 9 bar (135 psi) to filter press. Flushed packing resulted in huge dilution of product, leading to significantly increased filtration occasions and costs. The pump was sealed with a double mechanical seal designed to meet the arduous necessities of the method.
The supporting seal tank system reduced leakage and product dilution to nearly zero. Return on investment was swift and the savings long-term. The advantages in phrases of water conservation have been equally longlasting and the company’s status enhanced.
The mining trade must cope with a tough and expensive challenge in relation to sustaining rotating gear. But the planning, processing and disposal of flush water constitutes an operational and monetary burden which is entirely avoidable.
And when an organization can remove water waste simultaneously increasing reliability and reducing long run operational prices, the choice to improve to fashionable methods ought to surely be a moral imperative in addition to making sound business sense.
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