How to handle the alkaline water used in water pump systems
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Dear fellow sailors: We use chlorine and hydrogen fluoride in our production processes, and negative pressure is often required during manufacturing. Due to environmental regulations, we need to add lye to the water in our water flushing pumps to facilitate adsorption; for this purpose, we use a dedicated lye tank with a pH level of over 12. Over time, residue made up of sodium chloride accumulates in this tank, which causes problems with our water flushing pumps and leads to frequent failures of their seals. I have considered using filters in the pipelines and cleaning the lye tank regularly, but I found that neither approach is practical. I was wondering if any of you have any experience in this area
What kind of pump is used? What machine seal? When it’s not possible to modify the process, the only options are to work on the pump and the mechanical seal. You can try using a double-end face with cooling water for flushing
At the production site, alkali pumps can be self-flushing sealed pumps or pumps with hot water for sealing and cooling water to prevent salt formation and scaling
It has nothing to do with cooling; it’s mainly the alkali slag and similar substances that cause wear on the mechanical seal, leading to frequent failures of the seal
The main issue is that the circulating water used in the water jet pumps contains alkaline residues (likely sodium chloride), which causes the mechanical seals of these pumps to fail frequently
Cooling water not only cools but also cleans the seals; what type of pump and seal are you using currently?
The filters are also not cleaned in a timely manner; it is recommended to replace them with screw pumps, as screw pumps are more resistant to wear caused by sediment. Generally, the mechanical seals of regular pumps are not resistant to wear.
Our company uses an exhaust gas absorption system; once the pH reaches 8–7, all the contents are removed and the absorption solution is reconfigured
It is recommended to change the rinsing method and use PLAN54 for rinsing, with clean water being used as the rinsing fluid