Protective Wisdom: HF Releases and Associated Pumps

Abstract

Catastrophic releases of hydrofluoric acid from pumps in Alkylation Units are a matter of public record. Exposure to HF can be fatal and specific safety measures are needed to enter the unit. Therefore, the reliability of these units is of utmost importance to reliability engineers. This tutorial teaches why and how we must: View the entire system. It includes pumps and their characteristics, seals and their geometries, also unique Plan 99 seal support systems. Look for experience. Never allow experimentation; it is unnecessary and costly in view of existing experience elsewhere. Teach what the support system does and how it must be part of operator surveillance. In this tutorial, the author-presenter examines pumps that are presently in service and are thought to have only recently developed troublesome failure histories. The impressive pros and relatively few cons of properly engineered canned motor pumps are briefly highlighted.