The Challenge
Fertilizers are essential for agriculture and result from complex industrial processes. Nitrogen, a key nutrient, is synthesized from air to produce ammonia, the foundation for all nitrogen-based fertilizers. A leading European company in fertilizer production faced a critical issue at one of its plants: a Between Bearing pump manufactured by Flowserve experienced frequent mechanical seal failures.
This issue led to:
• Recurring machine downtime
• Production disruptions
• Increased maintenance costs
Fluiten was engaged to develop a solution to eliminate these problems, enhancing reliability and reducing overall costs.
Project Objective
Operating limits:
• Product: ammonia
• Solving the mechanical seal issue
• Delivering the solution within tight deadlines during a plant shutdown
• Achieving maintenance cost savings by offering a competitive price-quality ratio for both initial installation and spare parts.
Outcome: Fluiten was selected as the supplier for new machinery and future interventions at the
plant
Technical Analysis – Problem Diagnosis
The pump operated with ammonia under the following conditions:
• Temperature: 30°C
• Pressure: 13-17 barg
• Vapor pressure: 13.4 bar
The minimal margins between the vapor pressure of the pumped fluid and the pressure in the stuffing box led to evaporation of the liquid film between the sealing surfaces, causing:
• Overheating of the seal and secondary gaskets
• Formation of blistering and premature wear on the surfaces
Alternative Evaluation:
To avoid modifications to the existing flushing system, an improved solution was devised while maintaining the current flush plan (11-52, with an atmospheric pressure tank).
Adopted Technical Solution:
• Fluiten BM6T cartridge mechanical seal, compliant with API682 4th Edition.
• Shrink sleeve on the process side to increase internal pressure.
• Orifice modification on plan 11 to enhance flushing flow.
• High-efficiency circulation device for plan 52, providing better cooling.
• Narrow face design to reduce heat generated by the seal during operation.
The configuration was designed to be fully interchange zable with the existing system without requiring modifications to
the pump stuffing box
Intervention Execution
• Timeline: 20 working days
• Involved Departments: Sales, technical, production, and logistics teams
Results
Technical Improvements
• Increased seal reliability: MTBR (Mean Time Between Repair) increased from 2–3 months to 24–36 months
Economic Benefits
• Reduce in specific and overall maintenance costs related to the machine and the plant
• Improved production cycles with reduced machine downtime
Why Choose Fluiten?
Fluiten’s ability to analyze complex issues and develop tailored solutions has established it as a strategic partner for the client, contributing to the operational and financial success of their plant.
