A global pulp, paper, and personal care product manufacturer of a wide variety of fibre-based products is committed to maintaining safe, incident-free facilities. This manufacturer produces many paper products, and the different processes used are complex and vary greatly from one another.
Unlike other industries, pulp and paper uses an array of different media, some abrasive, others caustic. This manufacturer began to notice that plant health and safety was put at risk by inventorying too many different gaskets for each process; the wrong gasket could mistakenly be used in the wrong service, possibly resulting in a severe and potentially costly incident. Not only was the manufacturer incurring a large inventory cost, unplanned downtime was always drawn out by plant personnel having to figure out which gasket had been previously used.
The Durlon® application engineering and sales team worked alongside the manufacturer to thoroughly understand their unique needs, complex processes, and varied use of different media.
- Media: Various liquors used in pulp & paper: bleach solutions; white water; steam
- Pressure: 13.8 bar (200 psi)
- Working Pressure: 10.3 bar (150 psi)
- Temperature: 50°C to 130°C (122°F to 266°F)
- Special Requirements: A wide variety of cut gasket sizes; required a high pH solution
Together they were able to identify one type of gasket material suited to more than 98% of their applications, effectively eliminating over 75% of unnecessary stock.
The switch to Durlon® 8400 (Phenolic/NBR) made a big difference in maintenance cost by allowing for a consolidated inventory and unifying the choice to a single gasket material. Not only was the gasket material easier to order for the procurement team, the risk of using the wrong gasket in the wrong service was greatly reduced, allowing the customers to maintain their commitment to a safe and healthy work environment.
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