Increase Pipeline Pumping Station Reliability

February 2, 2022 | 5 minute read

Hundreds of thousands of miles of pipelines transporting liquid hydrocarbons stretch around the world, with many more miles planned. John Crane understands pipeline integrity is a mission critical activity of which we are a key part. A seal failure could not only mean production losses costing up to $1.5M a day, but could also lead to devastating, long-term consequences for groundwater, livestock, tourism, and associated livelihoods.

In response, our experienced and innovative seal design team at John Crane, sought to redefine existing sealing methods in a bid to support all impacts associated with operation interruptions.

In 2017 John Crane launched the unique Type 8648VRS single stage, crude oil pipeline seal, with its patented ‘no hang up’ technology that we call the non-pusher secondary seal concept (NPSS). The impact was almost immediate with operators reporting mean time between repair (MTBR) of up to 3 times that of previous solutions. John Crane had solved the common issue of between bearing pumps (BB pumps) shuttling and causing abrasive wear to conventional pusher seals, supplying around 1000 units in 30 months.

Since then, we have added to the Type 8648VRS range with products for natural gas liquids (NGLs) and hydrocarbon products, a plan 66A high-pressure containment bush, and a non-contacting containment seal (Type 8628VSC) that can contain full pipeline pressure.

As midstream operators continue to rely on high-pressure pipelines with an increasing demand for safety and containment, we continued to develop the range, introducing two new products. These additions will allow these market leading seal concepts to be deployed into all operators no matter what product they are pumping, and what seal configuration they require.

John Crane is excited to be able to offer the same improvements in reliability and safety for single and double seals and those operators preferring the dual arrangement. Introducing the Type 8648VRS Dual Pressurized and Type 8648SC Dry Running Secondary Containment Seals                                                     

The Type 8648SC is a standardized non-pusher elastomer, dry running, secondary containment seal designed specifically for non-crude oil hydrocarbon services. As well as benefiting from the NPSS, the Type 8648SC, used in tandem with the Type 8648VRS performs in response to the primary seal leakage or failure. In the event of the seal coming into contact with the process fluid, the faces will close and prevent a mass escape of this fluid.

The Type 8648VRS Dual Pressurised, features the NPSS inboard and outboard, has an inboard reverse pressure capability and is ideal for high levels of contaminants where it’s difficult to clean the process through filtration. If an operator was considering transporting multiple liquids via the same pipeline, this seal could be the optimum choice.

At the core of all our pipeline seals is our patented NPSS. Our clients who have adopted this technology across their pumping stations confirm that it significantly extends reliability where short seal life and excessive leakage were prevalent previously.

This product range not only lasts significantly longer than traditional seals, making it attractive for new pipeline installations, John Crane can support you with pipeline champions in every region and an extensive global service network for any retrofitting needs.

Contact us to discuss how we have redefined sealing technologies for liquid pipelines and find out how we can

·      Reduce your pipeline operating costs.

·      Increase pump reliability by removing the common causes of seal failure

·      Provide environmental assurance in case of unexpected seal failure

·      Use proven results to inform your OPEX/CAPEX decisions

Altogether these make John Crane’s Pipeline seal portfolio a very compelling choice – for the bottom line, corporate reputations and the environment.