Located in Southern Ontario, Canada, one of North America’s largest renewable fuel facilities is committed to producing clean, sustainable fuel while contributing to national greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets. Producing roughly 45 million gallons of renewable fuel per year, this facility had been facing some challenges.
Their gasket material had been chemically breaking down and the media – raw glycerin, free fatty acid, and methyl ester – was seeping through their Teflon®-lined piping system. This caused major safety hazards at the facility in addition to unwanted downtime and ongoing maintenance as the natural oils found in methyl esters caused the gasket materials to break down. Free fatty acid reacts corrosively when in contact with petroleum-based rubbers. Unfortunately, these rubbers are often found in gasket materials made with NBR, SBR and neoprene.
The facility technicians purchased new Durlon® 9000 1/8” cut gaskets from a local distributor, as it is a glass-filled PTFE gasket made with Teflon® polymers, and is a high performer in aggressive chemical applications. Durlon® 9000 held up where other materials had failed and helped resolve several leaking issues throughout the systems due to chemical disintegration of gasket material.
The plant has now replaced 100% of its gaskets with Durlon® 9000, in various applications with pressures ranging from 20-80 psi (1.4 – 5.5 bar), temperatures ranging from 20oC-100oC (60oF-212oF), and a pH range of 1.5 to 7. The facility has significantly increased plant health & safety and decreased the amount of downtime spent completing non-routine maintenance.
