ERIKS Know How Issue 17 Chemical

The right chemistryThe formula for chemical plant construction p12

The leading magazine for mainTenance engineers from eriKs

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www.eriks.co.uk/knowhow

ISSUE 17

Demand better supply enhancing supply chain efficiency p6

It’s not about the parts sometimes the know-how counts more p20

All hands to the pumps chemicals pumping challenges p18

The Hose Bible eriKs creates the national hose database p26

Contents

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Welcome to Know + How…...Bringing you The laTesT indusTry sTories from around The world, plus Technology updaTes, feaTures and commenT. our indusTry focus This issue is The chemical secTor.

The industry is facing increasing demand for product, tighter legislation and mounting sustainability targets, so operational efficiency is paramount. all this can be achieved through enhanced engineering solutions and we cover some of these with a special Best practice feature on the products currently on offer for chemical use, and a look at the importance of lubrication in the chemical industry.

other solutions covered this month include pTfe hoses extensively used in the chemical industry due to this material’s chemically non-reactive characteristic. There’s also industry comment on how process re-engineering can help the chemical industry meet those demand and sustainability targets.

we also offer a time-saving piece on national hose databases, a service offered by eriKs to set up and monitor the maintenance of your hoses to minimise risk, and an in-depth article on supply chain management.

if you have any issues you wish to raise or comments to make you can email the editor at: [email protected], not forgetting Know+how’s own website: www.eriks-knowhow.co.uk where you can register for your own personal copy and make enquiries about something you have read or contact one of the contributors.

i look forward to hearing from you.

Alan WhetstoneCommercial Director, Editor in Chief

published by eriKs uK, amber way, halesowen, west midlands, B62 8wg

LatESt NEwS 04

uK chemical industry seeks government support for expansion

manufacturers ready to invest in new kit

our £5,000 engineering challenge competition

could ‘powdered rain’ make drought a thing of the past?

IN-DEpth 06

releasing the supply ball and chain

tEchNoLogy UpDatE 08

eriKs flow Technology centre offers 60-minute turnaround

making selection easier – the new ‘eriKs lubrication essentials’ Brochure

a cost-effective means of monitoring non-critical machines from sKf’

Top 10 Tips for selecting the right gasket

pLaNEt pLUS 10

rewarding energy reduction

FocUS oN chEMIcaLS 12

re-engineering the chemical process p12

The automatic choice p14

maintaining the maintainer p16

extreme pumping in the chemical industry p18

more than just bearings p20

experts in their field p21

The mobster, the frying pan, the fishing hook and the hose p22

real life can be tough p23

don’t stick with oKs p24

tIME SavINgS 26

how long is a piece of hose

BESt pRactIcE 28

spills with fewer thrills

UNREGISTERED

NEW QR CoDE ACCEss To make it easier to get all the latest industry news straight to your mobile device or smartphone, simply scan the Qr codes throughout.

Motor Driven systems Conference aims to help industry professionals generate huge savings.

electric motor driven systems make up a massive 65% of the uK’s industrial electricity consumption, but many businesses are actually unaware of the technology available to them with the potential to significantly reduce their energy costs. recent legislative change to the international efficiency code has redefined the way in which we define efficiency in motors. now is the time for energy efficient motors to be given serious consideration, benefiting the environment and our planet but also saving companies money, which the government estimate could reach £200 million.

The motor driven systems (mds) conference is addressing this important issue by assembling some of the world’s most qualified experts aimed at helping industry professionals who are looking to incorporate or learn about a systems’ engineering approach to electric motors for optimum energy efficiency.

ERIKS’ very own nigel Jones, sales manager for drives and power transmissions, will be presenting his paper – cool, calculated efficiency at the conference. he will be talking through a tool ERIKS has developed called the ‘Total cost of ownership calculator’. it is an extremely effective online tool that enables engineers to make an objective, cost-effective decision when deliberating over whether to repair or replace a motor.

The MDs 2013 Roadshow will be stopping in:

scotland wednesday, 9th october Broxburn – Hosted by Eriks

North wednesday, 23rd october Rotherham – Hosted by Rittal

Midlands tuesday, 5th November Redditch – Hosted by WEG

south East wednesday, 20th November Hatfield – Hosted by Mitsubishi

south West wednesday, 4th December Bristol – Hosted by ABB

Latest news Latest news

ISSUE 17 www.eriks.co.uk/knowhow4 5

Latest news

UK chemical industry seeks government support for expansion

our £5,000 Engineering Challenge competition The ERIKS automation uK engineering challenge 2013, a new competition offering a prize of £5,000 worth of design time, has now been launched.

entrants must submit an outline of an automation project they are currently building or improving. These submissions will then be judged by an expert panel including an ERIKS automation specialist, with the winner and the two runners-up being announced in January 2014. The winner will receive up to £5,000 of design and development work (equivalent to 40 engineering hours). The winner, as well as two runners-up, will also receive a land rover experience.

“faster and improved innovation and development means a shorter time to market for the machine,” says andrew

weaver, application engineer, motion control, ERIKS automation uK. “That translates not only into a competitive advantage, but also in better financial results.”

more information, including rules, terms and conditions and how to enter, can be found at www.eriks.co.uk/automation. The downloadable registration form should be emailed to [email protected] by the competition closing date: 13th december 2013.

in a recent government-funded survey conducted by the manufacturing advisory service (mas), half of the 682 small and medium-sized manufacturing firms they contacted were planning to invest recent profit in new equipment and premises. That’s a 12% rise on the same period of last year.

moreover, 80% of the companies surveyed reported that investment in new products over the past 24 months has led to increased sales and profits. encouragingly, 40% also indicated that they would be funding exploration into new technologies.

according to mas area director david caddle, it’s a clear indication that companies are intent on remaining competitive through investment, with the aim of taking advantage of significant opportunities both at home and abroad. indeed, mas’s own new product development programme has been specifically set-up to encourage innovation in smes, providing support in developing, validating, and bringing new ideas to market.

Could ‘powdered rain’ make drought a thing of the past?a powder capable of expanding up to 500 times its size when water is added may help plants survive and thrive in the middle of a drought.

absorbing enormous amounts of water and releasing it slowly over a year, ‘solid rain’ is claimed to have the potential to overcome the global challenge of growing crops in arid conditions. The solid rain company responsible for the product has been selling it in its native mexico for over ten years, and according to government tests there crop yields increased by up to 300% when it was added to the soil.

a type of absorbent polymer originally pioneered by the us department of agriculture (usda) back in the 1970s, its most commercial application to date has been as an absorbent filler in disposable nappies. mexican chemical engineer sergio Jesus rico Velasco, however, developed and patented a version that can be mixed in with soil to hold water; this can then be slowly released to feed crops, with a litre of water being absorbed by as little as 10 grams of the material.

The chemistry growth strategy group (cgsg) has put together an interim report showing how the uK chemical industry could grow by 50% in less than two decades. set-up to examine how the chemical industry can continue to prosper in the current economic and industrial climate, the cgsg presented the report – ‘strategy for delivering chemistry-fuelled growth of the uK economy’ – at a meeting on 10th July with michael fallon, minister of state for Business and enterprise.

as well as calling for rapid exploitation of shale gas, accelerating innovation, and rebuilding uK chemistry supply chains, the report also suggests that a partnership should be set up between the industry and government to tackle these three major priorities.

for instance, a part of the chemical growth partnership’s (cgp) role would be to help industry undertake projects to secure competitive energy and feedstock supplies, such as ensuring the development of unconventional gas resources. accelerating innovation in the sector would also be crucial, as well as encouraging small and medium enterprises to help rebuild uK supply chains that have been eroded through the sourcing of cheaper, global suppliers.

Manufacturers ready to invest in new kit

In-depth In-depth

ISSUE 17 www.eriks.co.uk/knowhow6 7

As Professor Alan Braithwaite, Head of the Supply Chain Research Centre at Cranfield School of Management, pointed out in a recent ERIKS Whitepaper on Acquisition Cost Saving, purchasing and procurement are ‘accountable for between 55% and 85% of companies’ revenue as an intake cost [so] the consequential costs of waste, markdowns, write-offs, variances and lost revenues due to non-supply can easily overwhelm the direct costs of procurement and the conventionally anticipated associated cost impacts’.

At the same time, too often the burden of purchasing and procurement falls on staff whose key skills lie in other areas and who would be far more effectively employed carrying out their principal tasks. In fact, Andy Silver, Commercial and Operations Director, On-Site Solutions, for ERIKS UK, estimates that approximately 20% of MRO spend takes approximately 80% of purchasing time to source, and engineers who are highly paid to keep plants running can instead spend 30–40% of their time sourcing and buying product.

One of the most challenging issues is achieving the balance between managing the indirect and direct supply chains.

The direct spend can have a real influence on a company’s profitability. This is where maintenance engineers and others given purchasing responsibility have the most knowledge, and therefore the best opportunity to build relationships with suppliers, develop efficiencies in the purchasing process, and create savings. However, indirect spend – which can range from maintenance parts to janitorial supplies – is usually outside the scope of most engineers’ experience, and therefore provides fewer opportunities for achieving positive influences.

One possible solution is to – in effect – turn the indirect supply chain into a direct one.

Change of directionThis change can be achieved by handing responsibility for indirect supplies to a company for whom these materials are actually direct supplies. In other words, to a supplier of everything from maintenance

parts to janitorial supplies, whose daily business is sourcing and purchasing these types of items.

A company of this kind will have the same kind of relationships with their suppliers, the same kind of knowledge and expertise, and the same kind of opportunities to have a positive influence on supply, quality and price, as engineers have on their own direct supply chain.

Of course no supply chain manager – however reluctantly they might be at tackling the task – would want to hand over complete control to a third party operation. And no reputable operation would expect to make a complete take-over. Rather, they would work with the supply chain manager to actually increase their control, by providing high levels of useful data, setting KPIs which identify how well they are performing, and enabling the in-house manager to have a clear view of what’s happening, and therefore to manage it more effectively.

In many cases, companies lack a detailed breakdown of their indirect purchasing spend, of what it is spent on and where it is spent. They lack the data – and perhaps the experience and expertise – to analyse the limited figures available, and therefore have no chance whatsoever of changing or improving them. However, with the support of a company with indirect purchasing know-how, they can expect to quickly gain a clear picture of everything from part numbers to prices, including:

n what they have in stock

n what they need to stock

n how it is stocked

n how it is utilised

n what is overstocked

n what is understocked

n where it is purchased

n how it could be purchased better

n how much it costs and, perhaps more importantly

n how much less it could cost

MaNagINg thE SUppLy chaIN IS cLEaRLy a cRUcIaL aSpEct oF aNy

BUSINESS’S opERatIoNS. BUt aS SUppLy chaINS havE BEcoME MoRE

coMpLEx, aND thE pUSh to IMpRovE EFFIcIENcy aND REDUcE opERatINg

coStS haS ShowN No SIgNS oF aBatINg, thE SUppLy chaIN caN BEcoME

a BaLL aND chaIN whIch haMpERS RathER thaN hELpS EFFIcIENcy aND

pRoDUctIvIty. DoES It havE to BE thIS way?

Releasing the supply ball and chain

andy SilverCommercial and Operations Director ERIKS UK

The result will be that, far from losing control to the outside supplier, whoever has responsibility for indirect purchasing within the company will be regaining control and accountability, and gaining the information and tools to make more effective decisions which can lead to more cost-effective purchasing.

And it should not be forgotten that this increased control and increased opportunity to make efficiencies and savings is in addition to the benefits to be gained from allowing indirect purchasing experts to handle indirect purchasing. With less time spent managing indirect purchases, supply chain managers will be freed up to concentrate on their area of expertise, to make their direct purchasing even more efficient and cost-effective. And inevitably, this will have a positive effect on the whole production process.

The reverse of Andy Silver’s management- to-procurement-spend ratio, is that supply chain managers can spend as little as around 20% of their time managing approximately 80% of their spend. But by employing a knowledgeable indirect supply chain management company, they can increase the time spent, with predictably positive results.

As a manufacturer of luxury cars admitted recently to ERIKS’ Andy Silver: “We make cars. We’re not experts at supply chain management. So we employ a company which has that expertise.”

If you would be interested in improving your indirect supply chain management, ERIKS has supply chain experts who are ready to discuss the available options with you.

For more information [email protected]

Technology update Technology update

8 9ISSUE 17 www.eriks.co.uk/knowhow

ERIKS Flow Technology Centre offers 60-minute turnaround SPECIFICAlly DEvElOPED TO OFFER THE lOCAl MARKET

A FAST, EFFECTIvE 24/7 SERvICE RESPOnSE FOR All

THEIR GASKET SEAlInG nEEDS, OUR FlOW TECHnOlOGy

CEnTRE In lIvERPOOl CAn OFFER A REMARKABlE

60-MInUTE TURnAROUnD On MOST GASKETS.

A cost-effective means of monitoring non-critical machines from sKFSKF HAS lAUnCHED THE MACHInE COnDITIOn InDICATOR (MCI), An ECOnOMICAl vIBRATIOn

SEnSOR AnD InDICATOR FOR THE MOnITORInG OF nOn-CRITICAl MACHInES.

located within the existing liverpool distribution Branch, the flow Technology centre is an ultra-modern facility benefiting from a significant investment in technology and skilled staff. a specialist centre particularly relevant to the chemical industry, with its new state-of-the-art aTom cnc reciprocating knife cutting machine has the ability to cut a wide range of gasket materials, including those with metallic inserts. as well as offering profile design facilities, gaskets can be manufactured from a customer’s own cad files, with high quality gaskets being available in a wide variety of materials.

The centre also holds a large stock of sheet jointing, gland packings, and spiral wound gaskets, all available for immediate delivery, while a complete range of valve products and hose assemblies are also offered.

manned by two experienced specialist gasket technicians, the centre is also supported by the technical and

ideal for machinery previously left unmonitored, and serving as either a complementary or additional coverage for an established condition monitoring programme, the device can be compared to a warning “check engine” light in a car. once the mci is illuminated, it alerts the predictive maintenance technician to complete a root-cause analysis on the machine. The top of the unit features three leds to indicate warnings based on changes in the surface temperature, the enveloped acceleration (to detect bearing degradation), and velocity (checking on misalignment, imbalance etc.). it also features built-in intelligence to avoid false alarms.

non-critical machinery can often be left off an otherwise extensive and professional condition monitoring programme due to the costs involved, but the mci can fill in those gaps to give you a cost-effective way of increasing your coverage. whereas unexpected failures and unplanned downtime can cost you dearly, any indication of a change in operating parameters from the mci can give you time to plan for replacement or indicate the need for invaluable adjustments to a maintenance plan (i.e. such as if additional or reduced lubrication is required).

Making selection easier – the new ‘ERIKS Lubrication Essentials’ BrochureSPECIFICAlly DESIGnED TO MAKE lUBRICAnT SElECTIOn AnD ORDERInG AS SIMPlE AnD

EASy AS POSSIBlE, OUR nEW ‘ERIKS lUBRICATIOn ESSEnTIAlS’ BROCHURE SHOWCASES

OUR KnOW-HOW AS An EASy TO UnDERSTAnD, STAnDARDISED OFFER.

The ERIKS lubrication essentials range is a multi-brand offer of around 30 core products. all are established, high quality, readily available items designed to meet the most common industrial lubrication and maintenance applications.

The key benefits of this brochure:

• Proven performance hand picked, by our lubrication engineers from the leading brands. all established popular products with an impeccable track record of performance and consistency

• Simplify and reduce inventory designed to cover as wide a range of applications as possible with the most manageable number of items

• Excellent availability all stocked in volume at the ERIKS national distribution centre

• Ensure compliance products from the leading brands with all the relevant certification

The brochure even provides an extensive and easy to use glossary with clear and simple explanations of any technical terms used. There’s also a two-page spread on that’s ideal as a simple guide for selection based on the categories and names of the products.

every maintenance fitter and engineer will find the brochure invaluable, as will maintenance, health and safety, and environmental managers. for many, all the lubricants they’ll ever need are available in the ERIKS lubrication essentials range.

simple explanations of any technical terms

or many, all the lubricants they’ll ever need are available in

manufacturing skills of the flow Technology core competence centre and the commercial skills of the liverpool distribution Branch.

so visit our Flow Technology Centre in Liverpool – and seal the deal in 60 minutes!

1. value your gaskets. gaskets are often the forgotten heroes in manufacturing and process operations, providing a vital interface and seal between mating surfaces. it’s only when they start to fail that their importance is recognised.

2. Establish the correct specification. in many instances, failure arises because gasket material, shape or thickness has been incorrectly specified – often because basic criteria such as chemical, temperature or mechanical compatibility have been overlooked.

3. Consider the temperature of the application. a typical cause or premature failure is a lack of attention to the issue of temperature during the specification process. gaskets become brittle at low temperature, leading to a lack of flexibility in the seal and, ultimately, the ingress of contamination.

4. In high temperature applications, consider graphite. as the process temperature rises, the number of suitable gaskets available for specification reduces but graphite gaskets offer robust resistance to high temperatures.

5. In hygiene-critical applications, consider ptFE. The issue of chemical contact is especially critical within the food and pharmaceutical industries, where process substances can rapidly degrade gasket materials that are not compatible with the application. however, a range of chemical-resistant gaskets are now available using materials such as pTfe, which can be used to manufacture exceptionally resilient gaskets.

6. Get custom-cut gaskets fast with CAD/CAM services. Today’s state-of-the-art cutting systems use cad/cam to deliver fast results to a range of specifications and can cut custom-sized

components without transferring contaminants to the gasket. ERIKS UK operates a dedicated gasket cutting operation that has increased wider gasket availability and reduced unnecessary downtime in machinery overhauls.

7. gaskets can be over-specified as well as under-specified. The best gasket is not necessarily the most expensive one. sometimes a simple gasket is more cost-effective because it is perfectly adequate for the application, which is good news when the plant requires the cutting of thousands of gaskets.

8. Consult an expert supplier. The points made above illustrate why it is so important to consult with an expert supplier from ERIKS gasket Technology, who can establish, for example, whether the performance requirements of your application are well met by a simple, inexpensive gasket.

9. Make cost savings by rolling out new specifications plant-wide. if you establish that current components have been over-specified, the result of consultation with an expert supplier from ERIKS gasket Technology may be that your production plans incorporate a planned reduction of gasket quality to avoid any unnecessary expense.

10. time spent reviewing gaskets will bring measurable RoI. it pays to take expert advice and specify the right solution, especially when you consider the costly results of wastage and downtime that occur when contamination enters the production line. ERIKS gasket Technology can give this advice 24/7 based on years of hands-on experience, from on-site assistance – helping you to make the correct gasket selection, and advising on the correct method of preparing the flanges and fitting the gasket – all the way through to the actual manufacturing process.

FOR SElECTInG THE RIGHT GASKETToP 10 TIPs10 TIP

10 ISSUE 17 www.eriks.co.uk/knowhow

You and the

positive energy reduction is one of the four cornerstones of ERIKS’ planet+ initiative (together with positive pollution reduction, positive waste reduction and positive risk reduction). montupet uK ltd – supplier of precision-manufactured cast aluminium components to the global automotive manufacturing sector – decided it wanted to take steps towards positive energy reduction at its Belfast site, to reduce energy costs and improve its environmental profile by reducing its carbon footprint.

with an ongoing carbon reduction target of 3% per tonne of components sold, montupet identified its electric motors – responsible for 70% of a £3 million annual electricity bill – as the most promising area to target. They decided to use the award-winning ERIKS Tco motor calculator to ensure they took the correct actions to achieve the most significant savings.

Compare, contrast – and cut costsThe ERIKS Tco motor calculator uses data relating to the current motor to calculate key statistics such as annual running cost, carbon footprint and energy usage in kilowatt hours. The user can then view the Tco for any period from one to fifteen years, with a comparison of the cost of repairing and running the motor, replacing it with a standard ie2 motor, or replacing it with an energy-efficient ie3 model.

montupet used the calculator to compare annual running costs of existing motors and potential ie3 replacements, plus the amount of co2 generated per annum, and if a replacement was fitted, tested it afterwards to confirm the calculator’s figures were correct.

Fifteen and countingThanks to data from the calculator, montupet has replaced fifteen motors with ie3 equivalents, achieving capital payback within two years. Twenty-five more motors are due for replacement in the coming months, to complete phase one of a major motor upgrade project.

The benefits have convinced montupet to apply the ERIKS Tco motor calculator across its other five manufacturing sites.

REWARDINg ENERgY REDUCTIoN

THIs FoCUs AND

DETERMINATIoN To REDUCE

CARBoN CoNsUMPTIoN,

CUT CosTs AND INCREAsE

oPERATIoNAL EFFICIENCY

HAs LED To ERIKs

PREsENTINg THE CoMPANY

WITH THE PREsTIgIoUs

PosITIvE ENERgY

REDUCTIoN AWARD.

“The ERIKS Tco motor calculator has provided robust and reliable information to enable our business to make the right energy-saving decisions,” said robert mcKenzie of montupet. Jon sansom from ERIKS added: “The secure website has already registered a high level of usage, so it is obvious that montupet has fully utilised the calculator and seen a real benefit. we have also provided support from our Belfast service centre and are working with them to aid montupet in reducing its motor running costs.”

aN ERIKS’ cUStoMER who haS USED thE ERIKS tco (totaL

coSt oF owNERShIp) MotoR caLcULatoR to MakE SIgNIFIcaNt

ENERgy EFFIcIENcy gaINS, haS BEEN awaRDED thE coMpaNy’S

pREStIgIoUS poSItIvE ENERgy REDUctIoN awaRD IN

REcogNItIoN oF ItS achIEvEMENt.

a xylem brand

THE CLEARCHOICEFOR STERILEAPPLICATIONS

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CALL: 0800 055 66 44 to contact your local workshop

Focus on Chemicals


Pump servicesREPAIR oR ovERHAULrepair work carried out at the customer’s site or if required the equipment can be removed and sent to a core competence centre for further investigation or repair.

MAINTAIN AND MoNIToRpreventative maintenance and condition monitoring carried out using the latest technologies, submitting reporting and recommendations.

REPLACE

if the two remedial actions above have not been or cannot be carried out then a more energy and waste efficient replacement product can be recommended for your specific requirement.

ELECTRo MECHANICAL sERvICEs

FUNCTIoNs: Pump repairs and new pump supply

Spare part and kitting capability

Full in-house fabrication and machining facilities

Reverse and surface engineering

Pump coating approved contractors

Stock rationalisation and obsolescence projects

Pump energy audits and testing

Why eRiKs: Technical and trading partnerships with most

major pump suppliers

Reliability improvements and up-rating

Obsolescence risk management

Energy efficiency audits

Active members of the Pump Centre

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The importance of bringing new plants online more quickly is a major challenge to both plant owners and engineering companies, necessitating continued reductions in project schedules while enhancing design integrity. and like all other industries, the chemical sector must also meet sustainability targets, so operational efficiency is paramount. all this can be achieved through enhanced chemical plant design, construction, and maintenance solutions.

This is where working with a specialised supplier with in-depth application knowledge and manufacturing experience can pay dividends. This kind of partnership can help create a comprehensive brief and

detailed specification that adds real value to the overall system, while ensuring that budgets and delivery deadlines are met.

process re-engineering can overcome these challenges because it requires us to look at things differently. By taking the time to re-assess what’s really required engineers can tap into every conceivable process area, ensuring, for example, that the right actuators are being used to get the best possible performance, right the way through to engineering the hardware or software that controls it for them. for many companies, the answer is to gain these advantages by working with an experienced solutions provider. not only does this create excellent solutions

Re-engineering the chemical process

for customers, it also allows them to focus on what they do best. so, instead of trying to work out how to optimise the system, the chemical processing plant can focus on how best to manufacture its product. you can read ERIKS’ whitepaper on process re-engineering by scanning the below Qr code on your mobile device.

innovative engineering solutions will help chemical processing plants with fast-track project execution, process flexibility, lowering of operational cost and minimising risks in operating and maintaining the plant. This will relieve pressure on the chemical industry as it meets high market demand for its base products.

INcREaSED DEMaND FoR

chEMIcaLS IN thE pRoDUctIoN

oF pRoDUctS SpaNNINg aLL

INDUStRIES pLacES EvEN

gREatER DEMaNDS oN thE

DESIgN aND coNStRUctIoN

oF LaRgER, MoRE coMpLEx

chEMIcaL pLaNtS. thIS MUSt

BE achIEvED whILE woRkINg

to coMpLy wIth StRINgENt

StaNDaRDS aND coDES

DESIgNED to pRotEct pEopLE

aND thE ENvIRoNMENt.

Focus on Chemicals Focus on Chemicals


Qualified experts in 57 national companies in over 176 countries demonstrate festo’s comprehensive involvement in – and acceptance by – the various industries in which it works. But even so, the company doesn’t rest on its laurels. instead, it invests 7.5% of turnover in continuing research and development, to ensure that festo automation solutions don’t just keep pace with, but set the pace for, the chemical and petrochemical industries.

The safe choiceThere are few operating environments more hazardous than in the petrochemical industry – yet even in these conditions the highest standards of process reliability are expected. hardly surprising, when you consider the exceptionally high costs of an unplanned shutdown of an otherwise continuously operating system.

The harmful environmental influences encountered within the industry include wildly fluctuating temperatures, high levels of moisture, corrosion, and potentially explosive atmospheres. so all festo products and system solutions for use in petrochemicals are specifically designed

for these environmental and operating conditions – to maximise productivity, minimise downtime, and enhance system efficiency.

Quality, quantity and economysystems for producing large quantities of chemical base materials vary widely – just like the locations in which they may operate. out in the open, or inside in corrosive or explosive atmospheres, the equipment needs to be robust, reliable and safe.

in this highly competitive market, it also needs to be an economical choice: in terms of purchasing costs and Total cost of ownership.

festo’s range of products for basic chemistry – for gaseous, liquid or powder products – includes highly corrosion resistant products, and products with explosion protection. naturally, in such a dangerous operating environment, you would want nothing less, but with festo you also get more: the assurance of the highest possible quality of processes and products. and of course, the highest possible quality of processes and products.

Adding valueThe maxim for fine and speciality chemicals production is nothing less than ultimate quality at all times. which means that the automation equipment must also be of the highest quality and reliability. There’s simply no other way to ensure the very high added value of these continuous processes.

usually located indoors, the systems are operated in batch mode, covering a wide and varied range of products including colour pigments, liquid crystals, fibres, lubricants, household cleaning products and cosmetics.

festo’s success in this market comes from the high reliability of the product range, and the optimum system availability it provides. however, as in all areas of the chemical and petrochemical industry, safety is also an important consideration, and the festo range includes products with high corrosion resistance and effective explosion protection.

From builder to userfesto products in the chemical and petrochemical markets are as trusted by oems as end users.

The automatic choice.

wIth ovER 50 yEaRS’ ExpERIENcE IN aUtoMatIoN tEchNoLogy,

FESto havE LoNg BEEN thE aUtoMatIc choIcE FoR aUtoMatIoN

SoLUtIoNS IN thE chEMIcaL aND pEtRochEMIcaL INDUStRIES.

BUt thEy aRE Not oNLy a SaFE choIcE IN EvERy SENSE oF

thE woRD. thEy’RE aLSo a qUaLIty choIcE – whEthER yoU

aRE pRoDUcINg pEtRochEMIcaLS, BaSIc, FINE oR SpEcIaLIty

chEMIcaLS, oR yoU’RE aN END USER oR oEM.

for oems – process valve manufacturers, container builders, sensor and pump manufacturers, and suppliers of sub-systems and small system parts – festo is a valued and reliable partner. with experience in a wide range of processes, a worldwide presence, and extensive expertise in solving automation problems in pneumatics, festo can help oems in these markets to create competitive, effective and reliable equipment.

for end users, the same festo qualities lead to different – but equally important – benefits. so experience, reliability and expertise mean end users can depend on festo for systems which operate smoothly and efficiently; for standardised components for ease of purchasing; for products, modules and systems such as complete valves and fittings and preassembled control cabinets; and for plug-and-play equipment.

in addition, festo’s comprehensive offering extends beyond the products themselves to on-site assistance, and consultation and service packages.

Reducing costs, increasing availabilitysophisticated diagnostics and condition monitoring concepts are available from festo to help reduce system lifecycle costs and provide a more rapid return on investment – together with increased competitiveness.

Transparent, easy to integrate, and forward looking, the festo diagnostics portfolio includes concepts which guarantee near 100% system availability.

safety firstThe last thing you hope to need, but the first thing you need to consider, is the safety of the products you are choosing.

festo products conform to a range of safety standards, applicable in a variety of countries, as follows:

festo products are also designed to be resistant to aggressive media (vapours, acids, oils etc.) and to protect against moisture and foreign body penetration. high-alloy stainless steel and corrosion-protected coatings are also used, together with control cabinets and fittings made of stainless steel, tetrafluorethylene tubing and special sealing and scraper materials for the actuators.

so no matter what explosion protection zones are to be found in your facility, and no matter how unfriendly the operating environment, festo has suitable conforming products for the entire pneumatic control chain, together with extensive documentation and declarations of conformity.

ATEX: Europe, North Africa, Middle East FM = Factory Mutual/UL = Underwriter Laboratories: USa cSa: canada NEpSI: china t.I.I.S.: Japan IEc-Ex: australia, New Zealand, South Africa goSt: Russia Inmetro: South america

Focus on Chemicals


NEW PRODUCTS FROM AMBERSIL

out in the openraw materials, predominantly bulk chemicals, arrive onsite and are processed/offloaded into the bulk storage tanks located in the ‘tank farm’ outside of the main building. here the complex tangle of pipes, valves, controls and the tanks themselves allow the on-demand supply of the chemical constituents that enable ambersil to process the base chemicals into useful products. as with any structures exposed to the elements, maintenance is an on-going task, made more complex by the nature of the exotic solvents and gasses stored. control valves are cleaned with amberklene fe10 (rapid drying solvent degreaser) then lubricated with ambersil 40+ multi-purpose lubricant and ambergrease eXl.

The chemical mixing and dosing is largely controlled by automated systems, so there is a significant need for electrical systems maintenance, using ambersil air duster, pcB cleaner, and (for the touch screens) ambersil universal screen cleaner. where repair work is carried out on the steel infrastructure, whether it is welding (ambersil Bioweld anti-spatter), drilling (Tufcut) or corrosion prevention (cold galvanise and galva colour); the ambersil range offers every mro solution required for right first time results.

Taking a bathon the filling lines, the chemicals are turned into the finished ambersil product. The conveyors, motors, bearings and chains of these lines require a variety of maintenance chemicals, along with the usual bearings, chains, motors and fasteners which are all part of the ‘maintenance jigsaw’. products such as ambersil dry film anti-stick on guide rails to ensure smooth product flows, chainspray on drive chains, and amberklene fe10 to degrease bearings are used. Throughout the site, the recently nsf registered (food grade) Tufcut metal cutting lubricant and tapping fluid is used for drilling steel panels and supports during equipment repair and installation.

Before shipping, aerosols are pressure tested in a heated water bath. water bath drive chains are lubricated with ambersil chainspray, bearings with ambergrease eXl (due to its very low water washout), and ambersil copper anti-seize is used for drive wheel unit assembly – premium high-copper content and performance.

finally, in the warehouse, a fleet of forklifts requires regular maintenance. yet again, ambersil products are used, including Battery Terminal protector – with its colour-changing dye providing a visual warning

of acid leakage. general panel and surface cleaning is taken care of with amberclens anti-static foaming cleaner.

Where “normal” isn’t normalThe aggressive, unusual, or pervasive nature of the fluids and gasses utilised in the chemical industry mean that “normal” operating conditions for bearings, motors, and maintenance chemicals often lie at the edge of manufacturers’ specifications. fortunately, ambersil provide the “complete chemical solution™”, with over 200 products formulated to the highest standards: including ral matched paints, fast-drying zinc coatings in a range of finishes, and protective oils in multiple viscosities and with extensive industrial/military approvals. ambersil also specialise in solvent degreasers and solvent technology, backed up with metalworking fluids, spatter releases, wipes, sealants, and much more. equipment at the ambersil plant experiences greater maintenance burdens than in most factories. however, unexpected downtime at the facility is virtually non-existent, thanks to the robust maintenance schedule and the use of ambersil’s own world-class quality maintenance chemicals, which perform every time.

MaINtENaNcE chEMIcaLS aRE vItaL to thE EFFIcIENt pERFoRMaNcE oF aNy

pRoDUctIoN FacILIty – INcLUDINg thE oNE whERE thEy aRE MaDE. aS yoU woULD

ExpEct, at thE aMBERSIL FactoRy, UNLIMItED accESS to thESE MRo chEMIcaLS IS

USEFUL, ESpEcIaLLy coNSIDERINg thE chaLLENgES FacED By thE ENgINEERINg tEaM.

kieran NealeMarketing ManagerAmbersil



Extreme pumping

containing and transporting potentially hazardous products simply goes with the territory for pumps in the chemical industry. There is no room for error or complacency, and design, manufacture, service and repair must all be of the very highest quality to ensure risk-free operation. however, simply by doing the job they are designed to do, the pumps are exposed to aggressive and often damaging substances, which can have a detrimental effect on their service life.

Exotic solutionsTraditionally, building-in resistance to these aggressive chemicals and abrasives has required major expenditure on exotic metals and their alloys.

a more recent development has been the use of plastics with chemical resistance. when combined with steel casing armour to provide mechanical integrity, this type of pump construction offers a cost- effective alternative. probably one of the largest-ever plastic pumps in this category has recently been built by munsch. The munsch mammut has a discharge size of

400mm and can handle flow rates of up to 2000m3/h. specifically designed to handle acids, alkalis or chemically contaminated fluids – with or without solids – the mammut is a horizontal centrifugal pump with volute casing and single-entry, and a single-stage radial impeller. The casing armour meets en-Js 1025.

Typical applications for the pump include not only chemical transfer, but also flue gas cleaning systems and exhaust gas scrubbing.

Big challengesat the other end of the scale, chemical dosing pumps often have to meet equally big challenges and operate in equally harsh environments, but whilst handling flows at a fraction of those of the larger pumps. however, pressures can be as high as 700 bar. milton roy is a world leader in dosing equipment and a major manufacturer of chemical dosing pumps for over 50 years – manufacturing not only dosing pumps but also dosing valves and complete dosing systems.

ERIKS dudley and aberdeen are authorised service centres and engineers have undergone comprehensive training at the milton roy factory. engineers are now fully competent to carry out every aspect of maintenance and repair of the pumps, from commissioning through to complete overhauls. in addition, ERIKS’ aberdeen facility is able to design and build bespoke milton roy dosing pump systems, that can either be skid mounted for offshore installation, or fully integrated into the production process of a chemical works.

Positive pumpingmilton roy dosing pumps are reciprocating positive displacement pumps, with a variable flow rate than can be adjusted whether the pump is running or not. in contrast to their outsize cousins, milton roy dosing pumps can handle a range of doses from 0.0009ml/h to over 70,000l/h, at pressures from 7 torr to 700 bar, and at temperatures ranging from –70°c to over 300°c.

The huge variety of fluids the pumps can handle includes most chemicals of varying viscosities, including slurry-laden, abrasive, corrosive, pyrophoric and radioactive substances.

safer servicingeven the most robust and high-quality pumps clearly still need servicing. and when they do, as when they are operational, the overriding concern is for health and safety.

ERIKS ensures potential exposure of staff to chemicals is minimised, by insisting on thorough decontamination of the pumps on site before they are moved to the workshop. successful completion of the decontamination process must be certified prior to collection. msds sheets must be attached to the pumps when they are moved to the workshop, to alert staff to what products they have been in contact

with, which may still be present despite the decontamination.

ERIKS has developed exacting workshop procedures aimed at minimising risks of exposure to potentially dangerous substances. segregation is an important element of repair processes for the chemical industry, and ERIKS operates a strict policy to avoid chemical pumps – and the equipment used in their service and repair – coming into contact with other pumps.

standard pump repair request forms and processes ensure safe procedures are adhered to at all times. all repair work to centrifugal pumps is carried out to iso13709 standards, to guarantee consistent quality when addressing clearances, tolerances and fits, during pump overhauls and repairs.

when dealing with chemical pumps, any mistake – whether in handling during maintenance or when the pump is reinstalled in the production line – may

have severe consequences. so ERIKS goes to the extreme to ensure that milton roy dosing pumps are serviced and repaired to the highest standards: not just maintenance but also for health and safety,

Munsch Mammut performance data

pump capacity [Q]: up to 2000 m3/h

differential head [h]: up to 70m

solids content: up to 10 Vol.-%

particle size: up to 15mm

motor rating [p]: up to 450kw

Milton Roy performance data

pump capacity:

0.009 ml/h to over 70,000 l/h

pressures: from 7 torr to 700 bar

Temperature range:

- 70 degrees c to over 300 degrees c

Milton Roy performance data

to over 300 degrees c

Munsch Mammut performance dataExtreme pumpingin the chemical industry

pUMpS USED IN thE chEMIcaL INDUStRy caN RaNgE FRoM DoSINg pUMpS

wIth MINIScULE FLow RatES, to MaSSIvE pUMpS wIth ENoRMoUS FLow

RatES. BUt at Both ExtREMES, MaNy oF thE chaLLENgES aRE SIMILaR,

aND thE NEED FoR SaFEty, RELIaBILIty aND qUaLIty IS paRaMoUNt. andy crusePumps Business Development DirectorERIKS UK

Dousing pump manufactured in Aberdeen



The petrochemical refinery was experiencing recurrent failures of a cylindrical roller bearing in a critical centrifugal pump. The criticality of the pump meant that every bearing failure resulted in costly downtime. after several replacement bearings had failed, the refinery decided to seek help, and turned to nsK to resolve the issue.

Proven improvementsnsK operates its asset improvement programme (aip) to help customers unlock additional profitability, through improved machine reliability and increased working knowledge.

aip has achieved many impressive results, by combining customers’ own knowledge of their working environment, culture, processes and problems, with the engineering expertise and innovation of nsK. The key to its success is the close working relationship nsK develops with the customer’s employees, establishing a dialogue which efficiently and effectively helps identify the issues and problems that affect them, helps with the understanding of these issues and problems, and quantifies their financial impact on the business.

in this particular case over a one year period a total of €27,800 was lost due to bearing replacement, fitting time and production downtime cost.

Rather than simply providing another replacement bearing, NSK sent engineers into the refinery to investigate further.

They found that there was a transition from a belt drive to a direct drive on the pump, and that this was resulting in a drastic reduction in the radial load on the bearing. The reduction led to rollers slipping on the inner raceway, which caused the bearing failures.

Money-saving solutionThe nsK engineers’ solution was to replace the cylindrical roller bearing with an nsK hr deep-groove ball bearing.

The advantage of this bearing in this particular application was that its minimum radial load was lower than that of the cylindrical roller bearing, and the load capacities were sufficient to match the application requirements.

with the new nsK bearing in place, the pump has since run smoothly and reliably, without a single breakdown. The corrective measure has led to a longer bearing life, reduced maintenance and repair, and – crucially – the elimination of downtime. The new bearing actually costs less than the original but more importantly due to no failures in service within the first year has managed to save the customer more than €27,800 per annum. That’s more than just small change, thanks to nsK providing more than just bearings.

The chemical industry represents one of the most demanding environments for pumps to work in, with some of the most diverse pump applications to be found. from small chemical dosing pumps to larger pumps for tanker unloading or bulk transfer, pumps are used throughout the production process for handling all manner of chemicals and chemical-based products.

processes such as formulation, supply, packaging and filing, batching and blending, system flushing, recirculation and reclamation, waste water treatment and fluid filtration all demand pumps of one kind or another.

Reliabilitydiaphragm pumps are the most widely used in the industry due to their reliable design, which ensures maximum safety when handling volatile fluids. for the transfer of abrasive fluids, peristaltic pumps are popular and practical, as they do not actually come into contact with the media. This type of pump also offers a low Total cost of ownership, and flexibility which makes

the pumps suitable to be adapted to a wide range of uses.

A leading world-class manufacturer of diaphragm pumps, with no less than eighty years’ experience in the market, is ARO.

aro has a record of innovation in pump technology, reflected in best-in-class pumps and dispensing technologies. new technological developments spring from the company’s extensive knowledge of the chemical industry, and the need for productivity, quality and safety.

Lowest TCoaro eXpert series diaphragm pumps offer the lowest Total cost of ownership of any in the industry, and are supported by a lengthy 5-year warranty. aro pumps are in use in the chemical and other industries worldwide, and in chemical facilities are used throughout the process – but particularly for transfer and batching of caustic fluids, hydrocarbons, solvents and other fluids.

caustic fluids – such as nitric, hydrochloric and sulphuric acid, hydroxides and ammonias – require the pumps’ construction materials to be highly accurately and correctly specified. To optimise performance in these applications, aro pumps can be manufactured using stainless steel, pVdf, hastelloy, pTfe and Viton.

liquid hydrocarbons, including mineral oil, gasoline and diesel fuel are easily handled with selected aro diaphragm pumps or piston pumps, which are in use in distillation processes around the world.

lastly, for common solvents such as paint thinners (toluene, turpentine), glue solvents (acetone, methyl acetate, ethyl acetate), spot removers (hexane, petrol ether), liquid detergents (citrus terrenes) and perfumes (ethanol), aro recommends pumps manufactured from groundable acetal and stainless steel for safe and efficient transfer and a longer pump service life.

More than just bearings.oFtEN It’S Not JUSt thE paRtS, BUt thE kNow-how,

ExpERIENcE aND SUppoRt whIch goES wIth thEM that MakE

a REaL DIFFERENcE to cUStoMER SERvIcE. that waS thE

caSE whEN NSk caME to thE REScUE oF a pEtRochEMIcaL

REFINERy wIth a BEaRINg pRoBLEM.

EURopE IS cURRENtLy LEaDINg

gLoBaL ExpENDItURE oN R&D IN thE

chEMIcaL INDUStRy. wIth RESEaRch

aND DEvELopMENt coME INNovatIvE

pRoDUctS whIch oFtEN NEED NEw wayS

oF haNDLINg thEM. whEN NEw thINkINg

oN pUMpS IS REqUIRED, oNE coMpaNy

haS a hERItagE oF pUMpINg pRogRESS

whIch IS haRD to BEat, aND aN ExpERt

SERIES oF pUMpS whIch MoRE thaN

MEEtS thE INDUStRy’S cURRENt

REqUIREMENtS.

EXPerts in their field



fortunately, sKf have designed and engineered explorer angular contact Ball Bearings for the real world – which doesn’t get much more real than in the chemical industry.

a large number of pumps of all shapes and sizes are used in the industry, they face a wide and varied range of challenges, and they are required to be highly reliable.

By its nature, the industry tends to use pumps for moving all kinds of aggressive media and, if a gasket fails, it may not long before the bearing suffers. if that’s not spotted early, a relatively minor problem can lead to major damage and expense, as the impeller or even the casing is affected. These are definitely tough conditions to operate under, but they’re the perfect proving ground for a bearing.

a bearing as robust as the sKf explorer cannot only resist misfortune and mistreatment more effectively, but when it does fail it does so more slowly, and more consistently. so there’s more time to identify the fault, and less risk of a sudden, catastrophic, expensive failure.

Bearings built betterpumps that can accommodate higher loads and speed, that may run under poor lubrication or contaminated conditions, and that may experience cavitation – leading to increased bearing loads, impeller damage, increased vibrations and shaft deflections – need bearings that can take the strain.

The sKf explorer bearings have been specifically engineered for these types of operating conditions.

PTFE was discovered by accident. It began with a scientist trying to make a new refrigerant, and ended with him sawing in half a bottle of tetrafluoroethylene gas to find out what was happening inside. luckily what he found led to the patenting of PTFE by his employer, or he could have been out of pocket to the tune of one gas bottle, and maybe out of a job too.

The discovery was made in 1938, but it was the 1950s before PTFE was first used for one of its most well-known applications. A French engineer had been using PTFE to stop his fishing tackle sticking, when his wife asked him to try it on her frying pan. Thirty years on, the slippery, non-stick qualities of PTFE (branded ‘Teflon’ in 1945) were so well-known that the head of the Gambino crime family – who avoided conviction in three major US Mafia trials – was nicknamed The Teflon Don.

And where does the hose fit in? Just about anywhere in your process that you want unreactive and non-contaminative properties.

PTFERIKSThe ERIKS range of PTFE hoses is growing steadily, and ERIKS is also manufacturing its own PTFE hose products. So now you can get PTFE qualities in your hose, with ERIKS’ quality of service.

ERIKS uses the best quality compounds and the best manufacturing and assembly processes in the industry. Because unlike some hoses, producing a ready-to-use PTFE hose is not just a matter of cutting to length and fixing on an end.

A PTFE process hose, for example, will have a PTFE inner, but will be wrapped in metal braid to provide additional structural strength, and silicone wrapped on top of

that to enable easy cleaning. This all takes time – but so does replacing a hose which has failed or, worse still, a product batch which has been contaminated.

A clean sweepAcross the chemical, pharmaceutical and food industries, PTFE hose has a clean sweep of approvals for its non-absorbent, non-reactive, non-contaminative properties.

Phalite-free and anti-static, PTFE hose is approved by the US Food and Drug Administration, and not only is it safe to use with chemicals, drugs and foodstuffs, it’s also inert to reaction with the sometimes even more aggressive products used to clean hoses between processes.

So it may have come a long way from fishing hooks and frying pans, but PTFE hose from ERIKS is still as tough as a new york mobster.

The mobster, the frying pan, the fishing hook and the hoseWHAT Do THE FoUR THINgs ABovE HAvE IN CoMMoN?

FoUR sIMPLE LETTERs: P, T, F AND E – oTHERWIsE KNoWN As

PoLYTETRAFLUoRoETHYLENE. HERE’s HoW THEY’RE RELATED.

(real) life can be

tougha coMpoNENt caN Look pERFEct IN caD, aLL thE SpEcS caN

MEaSURE Up, BUt thEN It gEtS oUt INto thE RoUgh aND DIRty

REaL woRLD aND SUDDENLy It DoESN’t Look qUItE So BRIght,

ShINy aND EFFEctIvE. aND thE RoUghER aND toUghER thE

appLIcatIoN, thE SooNER thE SpaRkLE RUBS oFF.

featuring cleaner steel with fewer impurities, they have also been heat treated with a unique sKf process to provide temperature stabilisation up to 150°c. They’re manufactured to p5 running accuracy so they run smoother and cooler with less vibration, and p6 dimensional accuracy for greater control of mounted clearance or preload, for better ball control. combine with a cage and raceway contact surfaces that provide a superior oil film even when lubrication is inadequate, and you have a bearing that lasts substantially longer than most.

That means that in a sealed-for-life pump, you can be confident that the bearing will easily match the life of the pump and the lubricant, and even exceed them. and in pumps which do require lubrication, even if they are over- or under-lubricated the sKf explorer bearing will carry on operating efficiently and safely.

in fact, the life of an explorer angular contact ball bearing can be at least three times longer than a conventional bearing, depending on operating conditions.

so life can be tough, but with the right bearing it can also be long.

carl Lilley FcMICCC ManagerERIKS Hose Technology



a single seized-up screw can cause problems out of all proportion to its size. and when you multiply that by the huge number of screws to be found in a chemical plant, you’re looking at a problem which can, literally, screw up everything.

for example, at a routine shutdown of a refinery in Vienna, it was estimated that around 130,000 screws, of sizes m5 to m130, had to be loosened and checked at pipings, instrumentation and process control devices, valves, fittings, tanks and containers, and heat exchangers.

if only a tiny percentage had proved difficult or impossible to release, the time wasted would have been significant. and in cases where a seized screw has necessitated cutting out the affected joint and length of line, the time wasted and money spent soon escalate.

spare me the copperof course, every maintenance engineer worth their salt knows the kind of problems that can arise, and generally takes steps to avoid them with some form of lubrication to the screws.

unfortunately this is often the cheapest non-specific solution, using a copper paste.

although copper can be effective in the short-term and the right conditions, most screws are in place for the long-term, and in the chemical industry the conditions are usually far from the right ones. so when the time comes to undo the screws which were lubricated, perhaps as long ago as 10 years, with copper paste, they can be just as solidly seized as ones with no lubrication at all.

That’s why it makes sense to use a lubricant which has been proven in the chemical industry, and developed by a leader in the field.

More than oKoKs, a manufacturer with 30 years’ tribological expertise, is the leader in the german mro lubricant market, and specialises in industrial greases and high-performance oils for maintenance and repair purposes. The company’s expertise are pastes and greases, with a range of no fewer than 16 different oKs assembly pastes available. These range from basic copper- and aluminium-based pastes to complex formulations with a range of additives, developed for specific applications.

The high standard of the products and their manufacturing processes is evidenced by their breadth of certifications: from iso 9001: 2008 for quality, and iso 14001: 2004 for environmental standards, to ohsas 18001: 2007 for work protection.

within this high-quality range, oKs 217 is the high-temperature, high-purity paste proven in use in the chemical industry.

Chemistry for chemicalsThe formulation of oKs 217 paste makes it particularly effective for use in the chemical industry. The potential for contact with aggressive substances,

and the inherent dangers should reactivity or corrosion lead to leaking connections, make this a particularly challenging environment for a lubricant paste.

To meet these challenges, oKs 217 has been formulated from a semi-synthetic oil base, with a mixture of various solid lubricants, and additives for additional protection against, for example, corrosion. The benefit of the specially created combination of solid lubricants is the prevention of reaction with metal surfaces, which removes the risk of burning together. as well as an extremely low metal and metal alloy content, the oKs 217 lubricant paste contains only traces of sulphur, chlorine, and fluorine, whilst there are no lead compounds, sulphides, chlorides or fluorides present at all. This helps to greatly reduce the possibility of reactivity with other chemicals which may be present in the environment in which the paste is used.

Though the paste may not normally come into contact with process materials, it only takes the failure of a single gasket for it to happen.

Apply nowoKs 217 paste is applied when the screws are being tightened, but its main benefit is when the screws come to be loosened: whether that’s in a few months or a few years.

however, the paste does also aid assembly and tightening, by ensuring a constant co-efficient of sliding friction, enabling the optimal ratio of tightening torque and attainable pre-tension whatever the screw dimensions or the materials involved. at the same time, cold welding is avoided. available in a 250g brush tin for easy application, in a 1kg tub, or in larger quantities, oKs 217 is as essential to tightening screws as a screwdriver.

Complementary oKs products for the chemical industryoKs 1110 For lubrication of fittings, seals, plastic parts etc. in operation or assembly

oKs 611 For rust removal, lubrication

oKs 641 For rust removal, cleaning, protection and lubrication

oKs 701 For lubricating measuring instruments

oKs 2611 For cleaning lubrication points before use of lubricants

oKs 2621 For cleaning electrical contacts and switches

oKs 2801 For ensuring imperviousness of lines under pressure

StIck wIth okS FoR yoUR ScREw LUBRIcatIoN, aND yoU caN

BE SURE yoUR ScREwS woN’t StIck NExt tIME yoU coME to

UNDo thEM, DURINg MaINtENaNcE oR REpaIR opERatIoNS.

Time savings Time savings


hoses aren’t a problem until they’re a problem. But then, whether it’s a minor leak in a water hose or a major burst in a hose carrying dangerous chemicals, the consequences can range from extended downtime to employee injury, or anything in between. and once something goes wrong, the difficulties are only beginning.

for example, when a failed hose needs replacing, it often turns out there’s no inhouse documentation or knowledge of what type of hose needs to be specified – depending on the temperatures it has to cope with, the pressure of the media flowing through it, the size and the flow rate required. That’s bad enough if you’re specifying a hose to carry a low- temperature fluid or air, but could be fatal if you’re transporting a corrosive chemical or high-pressure steam.

on the other hand, the maintenance engineer who decides to be proactive,

and not wait for an accident to happen, will often find that there is little or no inhouse documentation or knowledge of when hoses were last tested or replaced. so it’s impossible to identify which hoses are due for replacing, never mind what hose to specify.

of course there’s always some supplier who will tell you the hose you need and provide one which will do the job – more or less. But how much time do you waste by going through that process every time there’s a hose failure; how much can you depend on the supplier’s knowledge; and can you rely on the quality of the hose they supply?

It’s to overcome all these time-wasting difficulties and eliminate all the uncertainties, that ERIKS is developing National Hose Databases for individual hose customers.

Everything you ever wanted to know about hoses…but no-one bothered to record. That’s the amount of information which ERIKS will collate into a national hose database for any customer who requires it.

from the full hose specification to the in date, out date, due date of next test and result of previous test, the national hose database makes all essential information easy to find online, 24/7. in addition, a traffic light system highlights any hose which has failed a test or is overdue for testing, so it’s easy to see which hoses need urgent attention. if there’s a recommendation that a hose should be replaced within the next six months – even if it has passed its most recent test – this can also be recorded. lastly, if proof of testing is required for health and safety or other purposes, the database will enable a hose test certificate to be printed directly from the site.

straight from the hose’s mouthTo ensure the ERIKS national hose database is as effective as possible, it does not rely on second-hand information about the hoses at a customer’s facility. instead, it is based on the most up-to-date information, collected and collated by ERIKS’ own hose experts during a site visit.

This takes the form of a walk-around survey of the hoses on site, during which all hoses are inspected, identified, and – if they have not already been – tagged for easy identification in the future. The ERIKS’ survey results can also be cross-checked with any existing client hose register, before the customer’s hose specifications, test results and testing calendar are uploaded to the ERIKS national hose database, as a one-stop, always accessible, definitive record.

once the database has been set-up, ERIKS will also establish a testing regime at a frequency agreed with the customer – whether this is every six months or just once a year, depending on the type of hose, types of media carried and so on. The uniquely comprehensive tests, carried out by experienced ERIKS hose experts – can include pressure testing with water, nitrogen or air, and internal inspections with cameras.

A hose by any other name…ERIKS is the largest hose supplier in europe, holding £9m of high-quality hose stock in the uK and €16m in holland, and is the only hose supplier able to supply any hose a customer may require. This means most hose orders can be fulfilled and dispatched by courier on the same day as they are placed.

ERIKS supplies only the highest-quality hoses, and also manufactures hoses and supplies all necessary ancillary components. inferior and cheaper hoses are readily available from other suppliers, but only ERIKS can supply all the hoses you may require, and of a standard you can depend on for safety and long life.

it is this comprehensive offering which has recently led a major multi-site uK chemical manufacturer to establish a national hose database with ERIKS, and to become an ERIKS customer for steam, air, chemical, water, powder, soap and water, low temperature, high temperature and cryogenic hoses for all its ten uK sites.

They realise there’s more to a hose than just a length of pipe, and there’s more to a good hose supplier than just the hoses they supply.

How long is a piece of hose?how LoNg IS a pRoBLEM wIth a pIEcE oF hoSE goINg to hoLD Up yoUR pRocESS?

a FEw MINUtES? a FEw hoURS? a FEw DayS? It aLL DEpENDS oN thE NatURE oF

thE pRoBLEM, thE typE oF hoSE, thE kNowLEDgE avaILaBLE IN-hoUSE, aND thE

avaILaBILIty oF a SUItaBLE REpLacEMENt. BUt By EStaBLIShINg a NatIoNaL hoSE

DataBaSE FoR cUStoMERS, ERIkS aIMS to cUt hoSE pRoBLEMS aND RESULtINg

DowNtIME to thE MINIMUM. carl Lilley FcMICCC ManagerERIKS Hose Technology

THE UNIQUELY

CoMPREHENsIvE

TEsTs, CARRIED oUT BY

ExPERIENCED ERIKs

HosE ExPERTs, CAN

INCLUDE PREssURE

TEsTINg WITH WATER,

NITRogEN oR AIR, AND

INTERNAL INsPECTIoNs

WITH CAMERAs.

Best practice Best practice


The legislation which applies to the storage of chemicals and oils is the pollution prevention guidelines: safe storage of drums and intermediate Bulk containers (iBcs): ppg26. The main points of the legislation concern inspection of primary containers for leaks, rust and damage; provision of secondary containment; inspection of secondary containment; and repair or replacement of secondary containment if damaged.

But however closely you adhere to the guidelines, the nature of accidents is that if they can happen, they will. when they inevitably do, eriKs rX can help.

Taking stepsdealing with a spill is something which has to be done quickly and methodically, to avoid it spreading and avoid it leading to another problem – whether that’s something as minor as a slip on an oily floor, or as major as an injury or health risk from contact with hazardous materials, to wider contamination of a large area or a watercourse, for example.

Best practice is to follow eriKs’ 8 steps to control a spill, as outlined in the diagram (opposite). and as step 5 indicates, if the spill is small enough for you to deal with, you need to use the appropriate types of sorbents to adsorb the liquids and make the area safe and clean once more.

soaking it upfor smaller spills, the most important thing is to clear it up as quickly and effectively as possible, to leave a clean and spill-free area.

some people rely on adsorbent granules, but these can leave as much mess as they remove, as well as posing potential health risks from dust and silicates, and potentially causing damage to machinery too.

The cleaner and more effective alternative is eriKs rX melt Blown polypropylene (mBpp) sorbents.

able to adsorb up to 25x its own weight, compared with granules’ adsorbent capability of just 1x their own weight, mBpp adsorbs faster than granules, as well as being easier to clean up afterwards.

spills with fewer thrills

IF a thRILL IS SoMEthINg whIch gEtS thE hEaRt RacINg, thEN chEMIcaL aND

oIL SpILLS cERtaINLy FIt thE BILL. BUt thEy’RE Not thE kIND oF thRILL aNyoNE

woULD SEEk oUt. howEvER, EvEN IN thE BESt-RUN FacILItIES thEy caN happEN,

aND – Not JUSt FoR yoUR owN pEacE oF MIND aND SaFEty, BUt aLSo to coMpLy

wIth LEgISLatIoN – yoU NEED to BE pREpaRED.

IDENtIFy what typE oF LIqUID

haD BEEN SpILLED

IF SpILL IS too LaRgE to haNDLE, NotIFy

aLL RELEvaNt paRtIES (FIRE BRIgaDE,

SaFEty MaNagER, ENvIRoNMENtaL

oFFIcER, Etc)

MakE SURE that coRREct ppE IS woRN

IDENtIFy thE SoURcE oF thE SpILL aND USE

MINIBooMS to SURRoUND aND coNtaIN thE SpILL to

pREvENt FURthER SpREaDINg oR LEakagE INto

DRaINS

USE appRopRIatE typES oF

SoRBENtS to aDSoRB LIqUIDS

DISpoSE oF aS coNtaMINatED

waStE, IN appRopRIatELy

LaBELLED waStE BagS

REpLENISh kIt wIth aBSoRBENt MatERIaLS aND othER SaFEty

EqUIpMENt

REvIEw pRocEDURES

aND coNtINgENcy

pLaNS

it can also be used as a preventative – placed under a joint that’s being undone, for example – rather than just reactively once a spill has happened.

with no health risks, and no risk of damaging machinery, mBpp is not only cleaner and safer to use, but is also cleaner after use, leaving just 0.02% residue after incineration. so with less consumption and less waste, mBpp can save as much as 25% against the cost of using granules – and that’s excluding the additional reduction in labour costs.

stronger and longereriKs rX perform+ chemical pads and rolls have a spunbound layer on one side, which provides a hard wearing cover for light foot traffic. This makes it ideal for use where a spill creates a slip hazard as in a walkway.

The pads and rolls adsorb chemicals and other hazardous liquids, up to a total capacity of 134l for the 100 41x46cm pads in a dispenser box, and 267l or 134l total capacity for the 81x46cm roll and 41x46cm roll respectively.

The pads are perforated to minimise waste, and the rolls are not only perforated across their width but also down the centre, to help cut costs further.

static-resistant for greater safety when handling flammable liquids, both pads and rolls are yellow in colour, to provide a visible warning of a spill when in use.

A wardrobe of solutionssocks and pillows may not be the first things you think of for preventing or cleaning up spills, but eriKs rX chemical socks and chemical pillows are actually ideal for the job.

The chemical socks are highly flexible and highly adsorbent, so they can be shaped around leaky – or potentially leaky – machinery or drums, to soak up or prevent a leak or spill. Their flexibility also makes them ideal for shaping to surround and contain liquids during a land spill. available in a choice of two lengths, the chemical sock has a total adsorption capacity of 85l for the box of fifteen 7.6 x 122cm socks, and 84l for the box of six 7.6 x 305cm socks.

chemical pillows are designed for soaking up larger spills which are concentrated in one specific area. measuring 46x46cm, they come in a box of 10 pillows, which has a total adsorption capacity of 78l.

The rX range also includes a full range of oil-only adsorbents - which adsorb petroleum-based liquids whilst repelling water - and a maintenance range which adsorbs most industrial liquids, whether oil- or water-based.

Handy solutionsno matter what products you have to deal with spills, they are no use if they’re not quickly and easily accessible so they can be utilised as quickly as possible. so in any area where you have chemicals or oils stored, make sure that you have the appropriate eriKs rX product stored nearby, and that all relevant personnel know where to find it, and how to use it.

Because the less thrilling you can make a spill, the more thrilled you’ll be in the long run.

paul SkadeCategory Manager Tools and Maintenance ERIKS UK

Fenner : The Language of Power Transmission

Boost your drive efficiencyOptimising your drive at the design stage can contribute significantly to the operating life, reliability and overall efficiency of your application.

With this in mind, we developed easy-to-use Fenner Select® on-line drive design assistants, providing engineers with a structured, detailed approach to achieving optimum drive performance.

Visit http://selectors.fptgroup.com and check out this invaluable, FREE resource!

Fenner Select® Drive Design Assistant

http://selectors.fptgroup.com

ERIKS UK Amber Way, Halesowen, West Midlands, B62 8WG Tel: 0121 508 6000 Fax: 0121 508 6255

For Fenner, call ERIKS T : 0845 006 6000

Fenner is a registered trade mark of J. H. Fenner & Co.

The family of on-line drive design assistants include:

Friction belt drives Synchronous belt drives Chain drives COMING SOON... Couplings

“

ISSUE 17 www.eriks.co.uk/knowhow30

in Balcombe, sussex, the battle lines were drawn between the drilling

company cuadrilla and the anti-fracking protesters. as far as the latter were concerned, it could have been the town-munching godzilla they were preparing to fight, a company that wasn’t so much trying to earn a crust as wickedly undermine the earth’s crust.

much of the media coverage voiced the fears of the plucky little band fighting to save the planet from oblivion; toxic chemicals polluting the water, the high risk of earthquakes, the industrialised disruption to the sleepy, peaceful hamlet of Balcombe.

The problem being, of course, that no fracking was taking place. The site was being drilled conventionally, with the aim of gauging potential oil reserves in that part of the weald Basin. so it was all a great deal of fuss over nothing.

at least, that’s what the pro-frackers would have you believe. and that’s how their backers in the media reported it.

The truth – as is so often the case – lies somewhere between the two opposing

points of view. any substantial discoveries might well lead to a decision to use fracking. But even then, fracking can only proceed when any applications to the environment agency are approved.

The real problem here is that when people take up opposing positions within an argument, their aim changes from seeking ways to finding a solution to finding ways to win the argument. each side will deliberately ignore any facts that might endanger their chances of emerging triumphant. and each side digs in, immovable, irrevocably resistant to any calls for a more amicable approach.

as another example of this phenomenon, anti-frackers recently gleefully announced that an article published in science magazine has found fracking is accompanied by an increase in quakes triggered by distant seismic events.

in fact the report stated that, although over 100,000 wells across the us have been subjected to fracking in recent years, the largest induced earthquake recorded was too small to pose a serious risk, being of a magnitude of 3.6. however, the report went on to say, wastewater is often injected into

a nearby disposal well. and due to the weakening of a pre-existing fault through elevating the fluid pressure, several of the largest earthquakes in the us midcontinent in 2011 and 2012 may have been triggered by these disposal wells. (Thankfully, this is extremely rare.)

so, in their briefings to the media, the anti-frackers deliberately fail to mention the existence and inherent problems of a second kind of well. and in their briefings to the media, the pro-fracking lobby, quoting the safety record of the 100,000 fracking wells, also fail to mention the existence and inherent problems of a second kind of well.

Is this really the way to debate and arrive at workable solutions to Britain’s growing energy problems? Shouldn’t we be talking purely in terms of science and technology, rather than taking up positions more akin to sci-fi and theology?

The Tig

separating Frack from Friction thERE’S aN aREa whERE FRackINg IS REaLLy goINg oFF thE

SEISMIc ScaLE – aND It caN BE wItNESSED whENEvER thE

oppoSINg FoRcES oF ItS aNtI aND pRo LoBBIES cLaSh.

“

ADvERT

PARTNERSHIP BASED ON TRUST – AND TRUST BASED ON QUALITY

NSK UK Ltd · Northern Road, Newark, Nottinghamshire, NG24 2JF · Telephone +44 (0) 1636 605123 · [email protected]

Total Quality by NSK: Bearings tough enough for refi neries

Refi neries and chemical plants: giant, complex mazes comprising kilometers of piping and innumerable pumps, compressors, gearboxes, ventilators and electric motors operating night and day. Bearing failures in any of these components can lead to expensive downtime. So, in our constant drive for total quality at NSK, we´ve developed a new generation of HPSTM angular contact ball bearings to help you avoid such costly situations. Combining high speed and high load capacity, these tough, state-of-the-art bearings are the perfect partners for reliable, longterm service.More about NSK at www.nskeurope.com or call us on +44 (0) 1636 605123 Angular Contact Ball Bearing

GR2481 PetroChemical ad.indd 1 07/10/2011 13:23

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