Billerud Korsnäs installs Apex pumps for abrasive dosing 04 August 2014

Billerud Korsnäs has replaced a progressive cavity pump at its Beetham, Cumbria plant with Apex 10 hose pump technology for dosing abrasive pigment in kraft paper manufacture.

Installing the pump, from Watson Marlow, solved a problem with stator and rotor wear on the progressive cavity pump that was causing poor performance, downtime and additional maintenance.

Engineering manager Tony Halhead explains that 34,000 tonnes of kraft paper are produced per year across three shifts. However, the plant was experiencing difficulty with its existing pump for dosing pigment into paper stock.

"We dose very low, precise volumes as shade is critical," states Halhead. "However, the abrasive nature of the pigment was causing the stators and rotors in our one-inch PC pump to wear, leading to a drop in performance."

The engineering team at Beetham had become used to speeding up the three-phase inverter in the control box to maintain flow rates – causing even faster wear.

However, if the drop in performance went unnoticed, it could lead to a variation in shade and expensive rejected paper.

"We were experiencing dips in performance on a regular basis so we decided to address the situation," says Halhead.

"Other Watson-Marlow pumps were being used on site successfully so we thought they would be a natural first port of call."

Watson-Marlow recommended the Apex10 hose pump, because it is engineered for uptime and process continuity – with, for example, heat dissipation paths, precision machined hose elements and optimised hose compression.

Billerud Korsnäs installed two Apex10 models, one duty and one standby, on a mobile skid piped with valves to speed changeover.

Halhead says the pumps are flooded suction (600mm head into pump via 2.5 metres of half-inch flexi hose), with discharge via 18 metres of half-inch flexi hose inclusive of an 8.5 metre lift into the paper stock tank.

"Since installation, the Apex10 pumps have been running reliably in a 24/7 operation," comments Halhead. "We are now considering the replacement of other progressive cavity pumps on site with Apex models."

Brian Tinham

Related Companies
Watson Marlow Pumps Group

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