Solution for improved reliability through increased stability Rely on excellence

SH(V) mechanical seals for high-

EagleBurgmann SH(V) Sundyne pump in operation

EagleBurgmann delivers increased safety resin which is widely used in production of stage 2 which allows to split the total diff erential
and reliability with custom engineered polyester fiber, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) pressure between two seals and maintain suitable
liquid-lubricated double seals designed for bottle resin, polyester film, and engineering pressure velocity (PV) parameter levels. The seal
high-speed centrifugal pumps that are used plastics. support system utilizes flush supply to both pump
in purified terephthalic acid (PTA) stages protecting the product side seals from
production. These sealing solutions were Operational reliability of the HP reactor feed pump plugging with TA slurry.
developed in close collaboration with is critical for maintaining stable operation of the
Sundyne, global pump manufacturer PTA purification plant, and mechanical seals are
headquartered in Arvada, Colorado, USA. among the most critical pump components due to Particular Uechnical challenges
Based on the proven original high-speed and high-pressure service
EagleBurgmann design, the new double requirements. 0OF
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seals meet the ever increasing product UIF
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performance requirements dictated by The selected for this application centrifugal pump, VTFS
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leading PTA producers. configured as horizontally mounted integrally XIJDI
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geared two-stage pump that has a single double- FGGJDJFODZ
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Sundyne HMP-series centrifugal pumps have been ended output shaft at rotational speed of PG
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the preferred choice for HP reactor feed pumps at 6,200 min-1 with impellers attached on each end. EFNJOFSBMJ[FE
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PTA purification plants all over the world for many The two stages are piped up to operate in series to VTVBMMZ
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years. These integrally geared high-speed develop the required head rise, and the first stage TFBM
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centrifugal pumps are used during the purification discharge feeds the second stage pump suction XBUFS
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E16032 / E1 / 1.000 / 03.16 / 9.7.2 © EagleBurgmann Group Marketing, Germany

stage of crude terephthalic acid (TA). Sundyne boosting the stage 2 seal chamber pressure up to 
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pumps deliver TA slurry, containing TA powder 80 bar (1.160 PSI). XJUI
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suspended in demineralized water at a high MJRVJE
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temperature, into a hydrogenation reactor, where The seals for the application were engineered as JOBEFRVBUF
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contaminants are removed from the solution via a cartridge design double seal face-to-face UIF
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reaction with hydrogen. PTA is the predominant arrangement for stage 1 and as a tandem oriented WBQPSJ[BUJPO
raw material for production of high-purity polyester face-to-back dual seal arrangement for

eagleburgmann.com
[email protected]
EagleBurgmann SH Double seal in tandem arrangement Test rig at EagleBurgmann R&D center in Wolfratshausen/Germany.
Yellow parts are rotating, blue are stationary, gray parts show pump shaft and housing.

An additional technical challenge was reverse the highly efficient high pressure seal SH(V), which incorporation in the seal faces of high-precision
pressurization of the stage 2 process side seal has been used in high pressure applications for grooves calculated by R&D. The depth and
during the pump startup and shutdown. During the years. In contrast to conventional mechanical seals geometry are specified with incredible accuracy.
startup sequence, this seal is reverse pressurized from the standard range, high pressure seals have The grooves that EagleBurgmann has been using
by the buffer fluid introduced into the seal support one important special feature: in these seals, the for years in the dry gas seal field also support safe
system before the pump main driver is turned on. seat rotates on the shaft while the seal face - with operation of liquid-lubricated double seals in
Under transient conditions, while the pump is its spring backing - is stationary in the housing. critical phases. At low pressure, the grooves
ramping up to full speed and reaching full This seal concept provides additional stability at promote lift-off of the seal faces by creating
discharge pressure, the pressure applied to the high speeds. At sliding velocities of 20 m/s a positive pressure cushion - and thus very quickly
seal is reversed causing the seal to hang-up. The (66 ft/s) or more, the springs should be stationary establish a stable operating state. At high
same occurred in opposite order during pump so that they do not absorb vibrations and thus pressure, the grooves have a stabilizing effect as
coastdown to shutdown event. The original seal deform. they prevent the gap opening further.
design was modified to incorporate new features to
overcome seal hang-up associated with the
secondary seal. Optimized design Proven in the test field
and in practice
The design of the proven SH(V) seal was also
End-to-end expertise required optimized for the specific application. Specific Combining all these measures resulted in
design improvements were made to guarantee sophisticated sealing systems in both tandem and
“In view of this demanding specification, we could stable running across the entire operating range. back-to-back versions. These cover the range of
clearly see at an early stage that in-depth These included the use of ultra-high performance applications up to 100 bar (1,450 PSI) and
know-how was needed - and that we would have to materials. While the regular SH(V) seal uses the 9,000 min-1 and guarantee the functional reliability
design a special application-specific solution,” said proven silicon carbide ceramic material for both that Sundyne required. The liquid-lubricated double
Eric Vanhie, project leader at EagleBurgmann’s US seal face and stationary seat, the stationary seal seals easily cope with all operating parameters
subsidiary in Houston. face for the Sundyne solution was based on the – and their constant sealing performance is
silicon carbide variant BuKa 30. This ultra-high impressive, even when exposed to considerable
Once the performance specification had been performance material from EagleBurgmann has pressure, temperature and speed fluctuations.
drawn up at a kick-off meeting between Sundyne a high carbon content, making it the perfect This was tested and confirmed in dynamic test runs
and EagleBurgmann’s US subsidiary, the solution for media with poor lubricating properties, in the test field in Wolfratshausen, where the seals,
development and design stage started at the such as water. BuKa 30 impresses with its which are designed as easy-to-fit cartridge
company’s headquarters in Wolfratshausen, effective emergency running properties and systems, were extensively tested and then
Germany. The operating points were analyzed in tolerance to dry running. accepted by the Sundyne engineering team.
detail with the R&D department. This provided
precise performance calculations and a computer- The seal was further optimized to guarantee The new double seals have proved their worth in
aided design for the sliding elements. functional reliability, even in the marginal ranges. the many Sundyne HMP model integrally geared
a loosely-fitted seal face provides additional safety pumps that were bought into service in China in
The new double seals were based on a proven against tipping and tilting. One of the special 2014 in one of the world’s largest PTA facilities.
special high pressure seal from the existing technical features of the high pressure seal
product portfolio. Specifically, the team opted for developed for the PTA application is the