A critical glue agitator vessel was affecting productivity for a silicone manufacturing facility in France. The installed mechanical seal was had a life of between 4 and 8 weeks, and replacement required the agitator to be off-line for 7 days. This situation was costing the company thousands of Euros in lost production.
The root cause of the failure was as a result of the high viscosity of the product in the agitator. This caused high levels of radial movement in the mixer paddle shaft, which subsequently led to the mechanical seal faces leaking. This leakage allowed barrier fluid from the mechanical seal support system to leak into the product causing contamination.
After initially seaking assistance from the original seal provider, the manufacturer turned to AESSEAL® for help. AESSEAL® recomended a CDMSC dual mechanical seal along with a SP2 seal support system. The CDMSC seal is ideally suited to this application with its ability to accept up to 6mm of radial movement (the original seals installed on the mixer were designed to accept just 0.1mm of radial movement). The CDMSC seal has now been installed for over 7 months and continues to operate without issue, already saving over €300,000 and repaying the upfront investment within 2 weeks.
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