April 5, 2007

Pump Hot Topics were Availability and Pump Materials

Pump experts provided alternative views on pump materials but did agree that there is a current supply problem. The first presentation was by George Jenkins of Idex. Handling ammonia in all its forms (anhydrous, aqueous and urea) is a challenge and one that Idex has successfully met.

The scrubber recycle pump was the focus of the remainder of the 90 minute recorded session. Jim Burke of Weir led off with insights based on a very large scrubber pump base. Steve Lindgren of KSB told the participants that in addition to GIW KSB also manufactured an all-metal pump and one with a ceramic/polymer lining. Allan Abbott indicated that Flowserve has met good success in China with their FGD pump. Mike Agosti of Lawrence related that the Düchting SIcast pump is being offered in North America. An order for Vectren for 20 pumps is presently being processed.

There were some logistics problems mostly at our end. ITT had planned to participate in the discussion but was not able to do so. The company supplies pumps for a wide range of power plant applications. In fact rankings from the McIlvaine Pumps: World Market report were displayed for participants. ITT ranks at the top.

Data on the Townley pump parts was discussed. At Vectren the urethane liners were replaced with metal prior to the installation of the SCR. The reason was the concern about ammonia slip causing problems.

There was a very interesting exchange among the pump suppliers relative to availability of pumps. If you want to start up a scrubber in 2010 and haven’t ordered a pump yet, then you can eliminate several of the largest suppliers from your bidders list. Pumps are one of the first major components to be shipped to a site and can therefore precede startup by one or two years.

Delivery problems are compounded by the surge in demand in the mining industry. The demand in China is also a major factor. But there is a new twist to this market. Local Chinese pump manufacturers are now supplying big pumps. They have large manufacturing facilities and are capturing some of this huge market.

Concern was raised over competition from China in the U.S. market. One American buyer has, according to one pump supplier, decided “buy American.” If this buyer were to literally follow this guideline he would have to cross off many of the largest boiler, scrubber system, and pump suppliers.

Rubber lining, hard metal, and ceramic lining all have been successfully applied. Conditions such as chloride levels are variables which may enter the decision making between one material and the other.

Mechanical seals were another focus of discussion. The seals are to some extent the Achilles heel. Therefore proper design and selection is important.

Idex (Corken) – George Jenkins

Corken is the leading supplier of pumps to handle ammonia for SCR systems.

Side Channel Pumps for anhydrous ammonia, aqueous ammonia, & urea are claimed to have the following advantages:

• Exceptional in light liquid transfer.
• Capable of pumping liquids containing up to 50 percent gas.
• Enclosed centrifugal impeller provides improved NPSH capabilities.
• Able to develop high pressures without pulsations.
• There is no metal-to-metal contact, so wear is minimized.
• Designed for continuous duty.
• Available in sealless magnetic drive design for leak proof integrity.

WEIR Slurry - Jim Burke

Jim gave a good overview of the recycle pump application and corrosion considerations. Weir formerly acquired both Warman and ASH.

Warman has over 2,500 large pumps installed on absorber recirculation duty worldwide. ASH has over 90 FGD installations and over 600 large frame absorber recycle pumps installed worldwide. Claims for the GSL series (gas scrubber) are as follows:

·        Hi Efficiency - 90%,

·        Lower power consumption,

·        Maintainable installed efficiency throughout the life of the impeller,

·        Same design features as the successful large "L" series pumps currently operating at +10 or more years life without maintenance,

·        Reduced weight in casing and base support. The highly efficient alloy impeller with chrome alloy (28%) is specifically designed for FGD services. The high chrome matrix resists pitting corrosion, chloride and pH excursions.

KSB / GIW – Steve Lindgren
 

KSB has traditionally offered its metal and ceramic/polymer lined pumps in Europe and the GIW rubber lined pumps in the U.S. but now is ready to introduce U.S. buyers to the full range of products.

FGD plants around the world use more than 1,000 of KSB scrubber pumps, and well over 2,000 process pumps in secondary circuits, plus several 1,000 valves. KSB developed CeramikPolySiC to provide a highly durable ceramic/polymer composite material specially designed for FGD plants. KSB uses CeramikPolySiC for KWPK scrubber pump components in contact with the fluid. This material is highly wear resistant and completely corrosion proof, providing operators with considerably longer running times.

Flowserve – Allan Abbott

The Flowserve type M hard metal slurry pump is a horizontal, single stage, end suction design with a tangential discharge nozzle. The M pump is engineered to handle high concentrations of abrasive solids in suspension. Hard metal casing, made from abrasion and corrosion resistant high chrome iron, incorporates integrally cast straightening vanes in the suction nozzle to reduce pipe swirl and extend impeller life.

Pumps are available to handle

·        Flows to 10,000 m³/h (44,000 gpm)

·        Heads to 90 m (300 ft)

·        Pressures to 10 bar (150 psi)

·        Temperatures to 120°C (250°F)

·        Solids from 2% to 70% by weight

·        Specific gravities from 1.0 to 2.7

·        Medium to large sized, sharp particle

Lawrence Pumps – Mike Agosti

The unique SICcast^® FGD slurry pump technology developed by Düchting Pumpen GmbH, is now available in North America through an exclusive alliance with Lawrence Pumps, Inc. Under this partnership, Lawrence Pumps will be the sole U.S. and Canadian resources for SICast^® FGD pumps, with direct responsibility for the sub-assembling and servicing of these highly-efficient, long-life systems.