Celeros Flow Technology has injected new life right into a heritage pump for a Canadian heavy oil restoration buyer, enabling them to increase production. The pump – a Mather & Platt BB5 – was more than 40 years old and had been subject to numerous post-installation alterations.
Heavy oil deposits are extraordinarily viscous and require the injection of excessive stress, high temperature steam to enhance fluidity and allow the oil to be pumped to the floor. In order to spice up extraction on this venture, the customer needed to extend water temperatures from 90° C to 140° C. However, there have been concerns that the present pump may not be capable of ship this requirement. Nozzle masses were a particular concern. They turned to Celeros Flow Technology model ClydeUnion Pumps, their most well-liked supplier of some 20 years, for assistance.
Mather & Platt is certainly one of several heritage pump brands for which Celeros Flow Technology provides full lifecycle support1. Their aftermarket engineering staff undertook an intensive examination of the quadragenarian Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD) boiler feed water pump used in the heavy oil extraction process. The investigation revealed that the pump had suffered a variety of seal failures over time that had broken the stuffing field and affected operational efficiency. There had also been no upkeep interventions for decades – however the pump had never truly failed.
Says Mike Golds, Global Upgrade and Rerate Programme Manager for ClydeUnion Pumps: “It is testament to the standard of the unique pump that it had continued to operate in such harsh situations and with no common upkeep over such a protracted time frame. More importantly, it gave us confidence that a thorough overhaul could achieve the desired improvement in efficiency, saving the customer the fee and misplaced manufacturing time that can be associated with sourcing and putting in a new unit.”
Celeros Flow Technology overhauled the SAGD pump and carried out a mechanical seal improve and Plan 23 seal flush to optimize pump performance. In addition, finite component analysis was undertaken to confirm that the nozzle loads would stand up to the specified temperature enhance. As digital pressure gauge , the pump is now capable of delivering steam at the larger temperatures required. The seal upgrades ensure it meets the latest specifications.
Concludes Mike Golds: “We are really pleased with the end result of the SAGD pump upgrade. It has not solely achieved the specified manufacturing improve for the shopper, but additionally provided a more sustainable and cost-effective solution than complete pump replacement. Using fashionable engineering and evaluation, we’ve been in a position to give the existing pump a model new lease of life and ensure it’s going to continue to carry out nicely for many more years.”
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