WorldWide Drilling Resource

New Slurry Pump for Petcoke Operations Adapted from Information by BJM Pumps PABTEX, L.P., an affiliate of Kansas City Southern Industries, in Port Arthur, Texas, is a major bulk commodity han- dling facility and vessel loading terminal, specializing in exporting petroleum coke (petcoke). Every 42-gallon barrel produces 45 gallons of petroleum products; most of which is refined into gasoline (47%), heat- ing oil/diesel fuel (20%), and jet fuel (8%). What remains is used to produce numer- ous liquid and gas distillates including petcoke. Part of the refining process is sep- arating distillates from residual oil after it goes through a vacuum distillation unit. These lighter grade petroleum products such as hydrocarbon gases, naphtha (a flammable liquid hydrocarbon mixture), and light and heavy gas oils, are separat- ed from the oil in a coker unit. After dis- tilling the petroleum by-products, the remaining solid residue is petroleum coke, which has to be cut out of the coker unit with high-pressure water. Petcoke is over 90% carbon, and gives off 5-10%more carbon dioxide than coal when burned. Petcoke, depending upon the grade, is used as inexpensive fuel in offshore power generation, coal- fired boilers, or in the steel and aluminum industries. Oil refineries usually store petcoke on-site awaiting sales, or ship it to other companies, like PABTEX, who store it in large piles before selling it. When the raw petcoke is transport- ed to PABTEX's terminal, the coke goes to a system of shakers, which breaks the petcoke into smaller chunks that are eas- ier to transport on a conveyer system. However, below the shakers is the open conveyer shaft which goes down 70-80 feet belowground. Due to the likelihood of rainwater filling up the conveyer shaft, a large sump is sunk into the bottom of the shaft to make sure the water can be pumped out to an existing retention pond. With the shakers directly above the bot- tom of the conveyer shaft, pieces of petro- leum coke fall into the shaft and eventually wash into the sump. PABTEX tried several submersible pumps in the conveyer shaft sump appli- cation. However, coke is like coal fines when you try to pump it - very abrasive, and easily separated into a slurry. Most submersible pumps, being cast iron, can- 60 MARCH 2015 WorldWide Drilling Resource ® & ! $ # & # & " ! $ # " ! & # & " & ! " & " $ # & & ! & " & & "! " ! & " " ! ! ! !% $ # "! ! not hold up in this very demanding serv- ice. Petcoke is too abrasive and, without an integral agitator, solids settle-out and clog the pump. The KZN heavy-duty submersible slurry pump with agitator has been applied to similar abrasive applications such as lime slurries, mill scale coal runoff sumps, wash down sumps, and ash transfer. Its success can be attrib- uted to two important fea- tures - its wear resistance and solids handling capa- bility. All wetted parts are constructed of abrasive-resistant 28% chrome iron for maximum wear life. A replaceable hard- ened wear plate is located on the suction side, where erosion would cause a loss of pump performance. An integral agitator fluidizes settled solids into a slurry making them easier to pump with less chance of clogging. The semi-open impeller handles abrasive solid concentrations as high as 70% by weight. The KZN slurry pump achieves max- imum service life because of numerous design features such as: j Class H motor insulation - and built-in amperage and temperature overload protection. j Double silicon carbide mechanical seals - in a separate oil-filled seal chamber. j Heavy-duty lip seal - additional pro- tection for the mechanical seals. j Stainless steel shaft and shaft sleeve - maximum wear and corro- sion protection. j Pump volutes cast from hardened ductile iron, twice as abrasive resist- ant as standard ductile iron. The walls are extra thick at the point where pumped slurry enters the discharge. WWWWDDRR gets results! We can customize an affordable marketing plan for you. Call today and give us a try! (850) 547-0102