One of the challenges facing plant instrumentation engineers today is the effective and reliable monitoring of thrust bearing wear in critical pump applications.  Typically pumps of this type are in continuous use and operational downtime is normally only permitted during planned outages.  Predicting the wear and hence requirement to replace the thrust pads, is essential to fit in with this regime.

 With rotational speeds between 3000 and 7000 RPM, protection against potential pump damage is also key, as excessive thrust wear can not only damage the bearing assembly but also the impeller, resulting in the plant potentially being out of action for 6 months or more.
 

The company Huilerie de Tahiti in Papeete recently inaugurated its new coconut oil-fired boiler house in the presence of Oscar T

Dunphy has launched their new, in-house designed touchscreen for the Ratiotronic TM 6000 digital burner/boiler management system. The panel has all the functionality of a standard PC including IP addressable web access.

The touchscreen offers building services engineers the facility for multiple set points as well as a unique timer features which enable burners to fire at specific temperatures and pressures preset for any time of the day or night.

The Windows style interface makes the system easy to navigate. On screen documentation is also available for datasheets and manuals of all system components. This advanced digital combustion management system provides engineers with one central point of control for monitoring all operational aspects of burners, boilers and related peripheral equipment.It has a large, easy to read 19 inch screen with 1080 x 1280 resolution and 65,000 colours.

Queensway based Dunphy Combustion Ltd has recently completed a state of the art, carbon neutral, energy installation for a major dairy and cheese making factory in Wels, Austria. Landfrisch Molkerei GmbH approached Dunphy

Earlier in 2007, Byworth Boilers announced the launch of their new fuel efficient steam boiler.  It was claimed that the Byworth Yorkshireman2 steam boiler is the most fuel efficient boiler of its type due not only to unique XiD boiler tube, but by the quality and integrity of design and engineering.  Fuel savings will vary according to the efficiency of the existing boilers, but can be between 2 and 20%.

With Gas prices predicted to rise yet again during 2008, many forward thinking companies have averted the impact of this increase by investing in this latest boiler technology.  A leading mushroom producer in Lancashire, Drinkwater Mushrooms, not only purchased his sixth Byworth boiler to keep up with spiralling expansion, but purchased the first Yorkshireman2. So impressed were they by the significant reduction in fuel oil usage and the rear end temperature (over 40degC lower than similar boilers) that discussions are taking place regarding a second installation.

An Indonesian garment producer has reduced its fuel consumption by a third, simply by improving the water supply to its boiler.

The Cathay Murni Garment Factory has been using a 20-year-old steam boiler to supply hot water for washing and steam for ironing.  The factory draws its water supply from a bore hole, but the water has a hardness of 200 parts per million. In an attempt to prevent limescale build-up on the boiler

Annual maintenance and strip downs happen every year and planning is the key, working out when you can fit in that all-important service, is a vital part of maintaining a healthy boiler house, but can you really afford to have the downtime?

Novartis vaccines and diagnostic plant at Speke in Liverpool relies heavily on its three boiler houses, accommodating various sizes and makes of boiler. When your prime business is manufacturing vaccines to prevent and cure diseases, ease suffering and enhance quality of life, you need steam, you need quality steam, and you need it running. So how do you plan for that all essential maintenance?

 

Byworth Boilers are aware that boiler users are increasingly suffering from rising fuel bills, and with this in mind the boiler manufacturer embarked on a 2 year project in conjunction with Leeds University.  The brief was, by rigorous testing, to ascertain and prove the optimum configuration of shell, furnace, and tubes for maximum boiler efficiency and low emissions. 

The project almost came to an early close when on testing the existing Byworth Yorkshireman range of boilers, it was found that efficiency results for this range were actually higher than previously claimed and better than similar boilers available.  However, rather than resting on laurels, the company persevered with the research which has culminated in the launch of the Yorkshireman2 boiler range.

BABCOCK WANSON is leader in the field of the design and the installation of thermal oil heaters TPC and EPC (high outputs, service contracts on demand, compliance with environmental standards).

User advantages :
reliability and rugged long life construction ;
guarantee on both the burner and the boiler ;
efficiency, which can be higher than 92% over the operating range ;
investments and maintenance costs reduced ;
optimised heat balance, associates the high output of the boiler with very low thermal losses on the distribution system which means very high overall plant efficiency ;
very short response time, low inertia ;
optimisation of the thermal coefficient of transfer of the boundary layers ;
low pressure of operation normally no more than total system resistance (10 bar max) for high temperature