Wear ring flushing
Wear ring flushing
(OP)
For the coker heater charge pump,licensor document specifies, Wear ring flushing is required ( since coke fines are present in the pumping stream ). But the reputed vendors are not recommending wear ring flushing and states that this is giving detrimental effect to the performance of the pump after a long run. However vendors also say that the wear ring design, clearance are all taken care to avoid entrapment of coke fines and wear out of the wear rings. Can anybody share the experience of the wear ring flushing in such pumps? Is this wear ring flushing is mandatory to the pumps that handle coke fines. However these pumps are provided with coke crusher impeller on the first stage , double suction impeller. The pumps are BB2 pumps .Thanks to clarify





RE: Wear ring flushing
The second problem concerns what stream you would use. If you are flushing with heavy coker gas oil, it gets very expensive as a certain amount of this flush will coke off in the heater and be lost to the coke pile. Using HCGO as a seal flush can cost US$500,0000 per year or more for a single pair of pumps. Using it for wear ring flush could easily triple that cost.
Design the wear rings with appropriate hardness, but do not flush the rings.
Johnny Pellin
RE: Wear ring flushing