Canned Motor Pumps to API 685 for Petrochemical Industry

In refineries and petrochemical plants, centrifugal pumps are widely used, with a strong emphasis on their reliability and efficiency. Due to the challenges and costs associated with maintaining mechanical seals, there’s been growing recognition among plant designers and operators of the benefits offered by canned motor pumps.

In practice, it has been found that the canned motor pumps are generally less susceptible to repairs than conventional chemical pumps with mechanical seals and thus have a longer service life. Beyond being leak-tight and reliable, canned motor pumps require minimal maintenance and offer high availability. The American Petroleum Institute (API) is a standardization organization for the oil and gas industry, covering various aspects like exploration, production, refining, fire safety, calculations, and shipping. API 685 is a specification standardizing the use of seal-less pumps in petroleum and petrochemical refineries.

Canned motor pumps meeting API 685 standards are utilized in scenarios where leakage is unacceptable and where utmost reliability and availability are crucial, especially when handling toxic, explosive, or environmentally harmful substances.

■ Double sealing cover:

even in very rare cases of destruc[1]tion of the can no liquid will penetrate to the outside, therefore 100% leakage-free!

■ No mechanical seals:

these cost-intensive wearing parts are cancelled by the seal-less method of construction, therefore optimal MTBF values (mean time between failure), reduced maintenance costs and long service life.

■ No lubrication liquids and locking media necessary at all:

no cost-intensive and lavish installation of lubrication and cooling systems are necessary thanks to the seal-less shaft construction and the medium-lubricated slide bearings.