Share this
How to Improve the Equipment Downtime Metrics at Your Bay Area Petrochem Plant
by Paul Lesnau on 4/28/20 8:45 AM
Some refineries, like those in Northern California refineries, face downtime challenges due to the age of the plants. Some assets, installed decades ago, demand an inordinate amount of maintenance activity to remain functional. With thousands of pumps supporting round-the-clock operations, measures to reduce planned, as well as unplanned, downtime associated with pumps can make a significant impact on equipment downtime metrics.
Improving requires careful evaluation of operational variables, determining which ones have the greatest influence on performance, which ones can be controlled, and to what degree. Whether you’re working at Chevron or P66, when you take a close look at your maintenance records, you’ll likely find that, more often than not, it’s mechanical seal failures that are responsible for unplanned downtime.
But how do you resolve this root cause?
Solving Poor Equipment Downtime Metrics
Seal support systems play a vital role in maintaining a seal chamber environment to ensure reliable pump operations. When mechanical seals and their support systems are no longer adequate for the process, pump leakage—gradual or catastrophic—is sure to ensue.
Working closely with reliability and rotating equipment engineers in Northern California petrochemical plants for many years, I’ve found that seal support systems are key to improving petroleum plant equipment downtime metrics.
Selecting Seal Support Systems to Mitigate Unplanned Downtime
Pumps, seals, and seal support systems installed a decade or longer ago were designed for specific process applications at that time. In the ensuing years, the quality of crude being processed likely changed, placing greater stress on the seals and seal support systems. If you are not already seeing leaks, it will eventually happen if you don’t take action.
When you’re faced with pump leaks, whether from fugitive emissions that are early indicators of eventual failure—and potential environmental sanctions—or gradual but consistent leaks that seem manageable at the moment, it’s time for a systematic review of problematic pumps and their maintenance histories. It will likely reveal seals and seal support systems in need of upgrades or replacements—the primary area of opportunity for improving equipment downtime metrics.
⇒ Upgrading or replacing seal support systems to more closely match current process needs
With this option, you may include a range of improvements, such as:
- Better cooling capacity
- Elimination of elbow joints that are prone to leakage and reduces system efficiency
- Filter upgrades to reduce particulates that damage seal faces and induce leakage
- Tubing geometry, instrumentation, and components designed to provide warning of failure, or impending failure, of a seal.
⇒ Selecting mechanical seals that are better suited to the current process needs
This may include replacing outdated packings with mechanical seal cartridges, single seals with dual seal arrangements, or a selection of a more compatible barrier fluid or gas.
Mechanical seals and seal support systems properly matched to the current requirements of the pumping process increase pump reliability, reducing the likelihood of unplanned downtime caused by mechanical seal failure. But design matters, too.
The Significance of Seal Support Systems’ Design on Downtime Metrics
Inspections and planned maintenance activities associated with seal support systems take less time when the systems are properly designed, instrumented, and configured. Properly located pressure, temperature, and flow gauges provide instantaneous readings of system performance, allowing quick inspections or diagnosis of developing problems. With transmitters attached to these instruments, system performance can be monitored centrally, further reducing the need for on-site inspections.
The time required for planned maintenance activities may be shortened with ergonomically-designed panels or skids that provide serviceable access to system components and instrumentation. You will want properly-located vents and drains to facilitate scheduled system purges, recharges, or recalibrations. And bypass loops can provide a continuous supply of flush fluid when filters are replaced or cleaned. In addition, block-and-bleed valves isolate gauges to ensure the safety of maintenance professionals whenever gauges need to be recalibrated or replaced.
Seal support systems specifically designed to meet the demands of a wide range of process demands throughout petrochemical plants in the Bay Area greatly reduce the chance of downtime. Considering the number of seal support systems installed in a petrochemical plant, even the savings of a few minutes for any inspection or maintenance activity can have a significant impact on improving equipment downtime metrics in a petrochemical plant.
Get Expert Seal Support System Guidance—Locally
Selecting new seal support systems, or even targeted upgrades, requires specialized knowledge of local processing needs. That’s why it’s important to work with a boots-on-the-ground vendor who has the ability to expertly evaluate your current seal support systems and make recommendations to prevent mechanical seal leakage. The vendor you rely on should bring practical industry knowledge and be thoroughly versed in the API 682 Seal Plans.
Swagelok brings years of global industry expertise to petrochem refineries right here in Northern California. We are locals—and know your local processing needs. We can provide fast seal support system parts and assemblies as well as on-going technical guidance. We deliver service you can rely on when the downtime clock is ticking.
For help to improve your equipment downtime metrics with new or upgraded seal support systems, visit Swagelok Northern California or contact our team by calling 510-933-6200.
About Paul Lesnau | Sales Manager, Business Development Manager, and Field Engineer
Paul holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from North Dakota State University. Before joining Swagelok Northern California, he was the West Coast Regional Sales Manager for an organization based in Illinois involved in pneumatic and hydraulic applications where he supervised product distribution throughout the western United States, Canada, and Mexico. While in this role, he was able to help provide technical and application-specific expertise to customers and distribution to drive specifications.
Share this
- Archive (465)
- Assembly Services (207)
- About (100)
- Seal Support Systems (96)
- Best Practices (88)
- Training Services (74)
- Fittings (51)
- Semiconductor Applications (49)
- Hoses and Flexible Tubing (47)
- Regulators (44)
- Tubing (42)
- Grab Sampling Systems (32)
- Sampling Systems (32)
- Gas Systems (30)
- Services (30)
- Downloads (29)
- Valves (24)
- Application Support (18)
- Orbital Welding (17)
- Case Studies (13)
- Steam Systems (13)
- Frequently Asked Questions (12)
- Tools (12)
- Measurement Devices (7)
- Subsystems (6)
- Thermal Management (6)
- September 2023 (1)
- August 2023 (2)
- June 2023 (1)
- March 2023 (3)
- February 2023 (3)
- January 2023 (4)
- December 2022 (4)
- November 2022 (4)
- October 2022 (4)
- September 2022 (1)
- August 2022 (3)
- July 2022 (2)
- June 2022 (4)
- May 2022 (1)
- April 2022 (2)
- March 2022 (1)
- February 2022 (2)
- January 2022 (3)
- December 2021 (1)
- November 2021 (6)
- October 2021 (6)
- September 2021 (8)
- August 2021 (4)
- July 2021 (3)
- June 2021 (6)
- May 2021 (6)
- April 2021 (7)
- March 2021 (5)
- February 2021 (4)
- January 2021 (6)
- December 2020 (5)
- November 2020 (6)
- October 2020 (6)
- September 2020 (8)
- August 2020 (7)
- July 2020 (8)
- June 2020 (8)
- May 2020 (6)
- April 2020 (9)
- March 2020 (7)
- February 2020 (10)
- January 2020 (21)
- December 2019 (23)
- November 2019 (21)
- October 2019 (22)
- September 2019 (21)
- August 2019 (22)
- July 2019 (23)
- June 2019 (20)
- May 2019 (23)
- April 2019 (22)
- March 2019 (21)
- February 2019 (20)
- January 2019 (21)
- December 2018 (14)
- November 2018 (19)
- October 2018 (23)
- September 2018 (17)
- August 2018 (29)
- July 2018 (11)
- June 2018 (6)
- May 2018 (5)
- April 2018 (4)
- March 2018 (5)
- February 2018 (3)
- January 2018 (3)
- December 2017 (2)
- November 2017 (4)
- October 2017 (3)
- September 2017 (2)
- August 2017 (6)
- July 2017 (4)
- June 2017 (4)
- May 2017 (4)
- April 2017 (3)
- March 2017 (4)
- February 2017 (3)
- January 2017 (3)
- December 2016 (3)
- November 2016 (3)
- October 2016 (3)
- September 2016 (5)
- August 2016 (5)
- July 2016 (4)
- June 2016 (5)
- May 2016 (3)
- April 2016 (4)
- March 2016 (5)
- February 2016 (11)
- January 2016 (1)
- December 2015 (3)
- November 2015 (4)
- October 2015 (3)
- September 2015 (4)
- August 2015 (4)
- July 2015 (8)
- June 2015 (5)
- May 2015 (3)
- April 2015 (4)
- March 2015 (4)
- February 2015 (3)
- January 2015 (4)
- December 2014 (2)
- November 2014 (3)
- October 2014 (4)
- September 2014 (4)
- August 2014 (4)
- July 2014 (5)
- June 2014 (4)
- May 2014 (4)
- April 2014 (5)
- March 2014 (4)
- February 2014 (3)
- January 2014 (4)
- December 2013 (5)
- November 2013 (3)
- October 2013 (4)
- September 2013 (3)
- August 2013 (5)
- July 2013 (5)
- June 2013 (5)
- May 2013 (3)
- April 2013 (6)
- March 2013 (4)
- February 2013 (4)
- January 2013 (8)
- December 2012 (4)
- November 2012 (6)
- October 2012 (6)
- September 2012 (4)
- August 2012 (4)
- July 2012 (4)
- June 2012 (4)