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By Gennaro A. D’Alterio
P
umping high-temperature process American Petroleum Institute (API) many years sign and construction materials. Most of these re-
liquids around the clock places ago set forth rigid standards for the design, con- quirements are stated in API Standard 610.
extraordinary demands on most struction and performance of process pumps used Over the years, however, a number of revi-
system components—particularly for these applications. The original API standards sions have been made to that standard as more ex-
the chemical pumps. In many ap- were issued some 40 years ago for refinery services. perience was gained through high-temperature
plications, catastrophic pump fail- According to the text of API Standard 610, process pump use. The changes also reflect the sig-
ure is seldom an option because it can lead to pro- “API standards are published as an aid to procure- nificant improvements made in pump design and
duction down-time, wasted effort, added mainte- ment of standardized equipment and materials. construction materials.
nance costs, ruined final product and personnel These standards are not intended to inhibit pur-
hazards. chasers or producers from purchasing or producing Rising costs spark alternatives
Because pump performance and reliability products made to other standards.” Some manufacturers of high-temperature
are critical issues whenever — and wherever — The intent was to minimize failure possibili- heavy-duty process pumps have refined their prod-
high-temperature liquids are being transferred, the ties from known causes with appropriate pump de- ucts often to meet subsequent revisions to the orig-
B
A word of caution: In the author’s opinion, when
API- and ANSI-style pumps, the pumps in use employing non-API pumps in traditional API serv-
at Mitsubishi’s Polyester Film plant in Greer, ices, users should not over-specify construction,
S.C., bridge the gap between these two standards
and offer advantages for use in applications gov- performance and software requirements in an at-
erned by the Ninth Edition. For example, these tempt to obtain a pump with API characteristics at
pumps are of a configuration similar to that of API- a lower, non-API cost.
610 pumps, with heavy-duty centerline-supported
casings in a variety of materials, including carbon Conclusion
steel and 316 stainless steel. The pumps are capa-
The API-610 Standard Ninth Edition — and
ble of flows as great as 6,000 gallons per minute
(gpm), heads to 800 ft, discharge pressures to 500 the availability of many suitable pumps to meet its
psig and temperatures to 500° F using ambient air requirements — gives chemical pump users the
cooling or 850°F with water cooling, actually ex- option to consider lower-cost alternatives. The in-
ceeding the capabilities defined by API-610. termediate heavy-duty process pumps also offer de-
Other standard construction features of these
sign, construction and performance advantages
pumps that permit their use for many API-610 ap-
plications include precision rabbetted casing and over ANSI-type pumps for many applications —
bearing housing joints, a confined casing gasket, a true back pull-out design, fully enclosed Francis vane without the added expense of a virtually compara-
impellers keyed to the pump shaft, ANSI Class 300# RF or RTJ flanges, casing wear rings and heavy- ble API-610 pump. CP
duty angular-contact thrust bearings.
A variety of mechanical seals can be employed, and cylindrical or tapered-bore stuffing boxes also
can be specified to meet process requirements.
D’Alterio works for the Dean Pump Div. of
To help extend seal and bearing life, the pumps are available with seal-chamber cooling jackets
and bearing-frame cooling coils to improve reliability and minimize downtime. Met-Pro Corp., Indianapolis. Contact him at
The pumps incorporate oversized shaft diameters to minimize shaft deflection, further enhanc- gdalterio@met-pro.com.
ing bearing and seal life, major causes of premature pump failures. Typical construction details include
standard pedestals for mounting on heavy-duty fabricated API-type baseplates; optional base mount-
ing includes a yoke-mounted centerline support that fits on an existing ANSI standard baseplate.