C HEMICAL PROCESSING

PCM Moineau solves dos ing p r o b l e m s

Rhone-Poulenc is an exper t on silica in every shape and size: for instance, addit ives for tooth- pas te or rubbe r used in the manufac tu r ing of tyres or as a suppor t for the activated mate- rial used for the p roduc t ion of fertilizers. The opera t ions lead- ing up to a silica s t ruc ture tha t is appropr ia te to its appl ica t ion calls for p a r t i c u l a r l y m i n u t e r e a g e n t dosing. The p rocess mus t not be al tered unde r any condi t ion whatever the quant i - t ies p roduced . The f low-rate mus t vary between 10 l /h and 150 l/h, while preserving the same precision.

Convent ional dosing p u m p s cause problems of fouling and lead to very high ma in t e na nc e costs. By using PCM Moineau progressive cavity p u m p s (type 0.4 1 10), accurate dosing is guaran teed and leads to a con- siderable reduct ion in opera t ing costs.

Arjo Wiggins consul ted PCM p u m p s for a relatively complex problem. To manufac tu re high grade paper, the process invari- ab ly involves the dos ing of co lour ing agen ts m ixe d in to

the paper pulp. This opera t ion has the drawback of prema- turely fouling the ball valves of the dosing pumps. This makes for very high ma in t enance costs and frequent in te r rup t ions in product ion.

By us ing a PCM Moineau p u m p (type 0.03 ID 10), flow- rates of up to 30 l /h are possible

at a pressure of 10 bar; no colouring defect was identif ied a nd no servic ing is needed. Operat ing costs have been re- duced considerably.

Contact: PCM Pompes, 17 rue Ernest Laval, BP35, 92173 Vanves Cedex, France. Tel: +33 1 41 08 15 15; Fax: + 33 1 41 08 15 00; WWW: www.pcmpompes.com

[ ] Marks s igns five year CPX deal

A H Marks, a specialised organic chemical manufac tu re r based in Nor thern England, has signed a five year contract for CPX che- mical process p u m p s with the sales and manufac tu r ing opera- t ion of Ingersoll-Dresser Pumps at Newark.

Out of a total of 700 p u m p s at the V~yke site, the cont rac t covers 300 m a i n l y s t a i n l e s s steel un i t s and inc ludes the s u p p l y of r e p l a c e m e n t s for t h e s e p u m p s a n d a n y ne w p u m p s of this type required for t he s i te . The c o n t r a c t was awarded by A H Marks based on the resul ts of an exhaust ive 2-year research p rogramme car- ried out by the company which compared the performance of CPX p u m p s with competi t ive models.

The research showed t h a t

CPX p u m p s offer increased per- formance levels and provide a dramat ic reduct ion in mainte- nance and energy costs over e x i s t i n g c h e m i c a l p r o c e s s pumps.

Ingersoll-Dresser Pumps was already a major suppl ier to A H Marks, with a round 150 of the company 's Wor th ington Simp- son p u m p s at the VOyke site, inc luding a n u m b e r of E-Line epoxy resin based pumps.

The V~cke facility is on a 75 hectare (185 acre) site of which 14 hectares (35 acres) have so far been developed. The cur ren t site comprises fifteen manufac- t u r i n g un i t s , emp loy ing 440 people, p roduc ing more t h a n 50,000 tonnes per a n n u m of organic (aromat ic and al ipha- tic) chemicals . The c ompa ny has a policy of expans ion and

has an impress ive record of capi tal inves tment in p l an t and services - more t h a n £20 mill ion in the last five years, of which app rox ima te ly 20% has been directly a t t r ibu tab le to environ- m e n t a l p r o t e c t i o n . E f f l u e n t t r ea tmen t facilities include neu- t ral isat ion, peroxide oxidation, solvent recovery and extraction.

A fur ther six hectares, for which out l ine p l ann ing permis- sion has been obtained, have been designated for fur ther ex- pansion. Future inves tments are p l a n n e d a t t he level of £5 mil l ion per annum.

Establ ished over 100 years ago, A H Marks is the largest privately-owned chemical com- pany in the UK with an annua l tu rnover of a round $85 mill ion (£55 mil l ion) and sales to over 30 coun t r i e s worldwide. The

WORLD PUMPS OCTOBER 1997