Kevin Grandia: Keystone XL pipeline means fewer jobs than they say

THE CORE TALKING points for the supporters of TransCanada's Keystone XL pipeline center around U.S. domestic energy security and economic growth. However, Keystone is an "export pipeline" that will take tar sands oil from Alberta and pump it down to a tax-free zone in Texas and out to foreign markets.

In other words, the EU, China, and Latin America get the oil, the foreign-owned oil companies get the cash and North Americans get a few jobs and oil spills!

It's a complicated issue for sure, so I've tried to break out the main points in an infographic. Please feel free to download and share it, use it and tear it apart! All the information has been fact-checked and verified by energy policy experts.

Taking into account the fundamental data from the U.S. and global oil markets, the end location of the Keystone XL, the infrastructure being built at refineries processing the bitumen, and the commitment of oil companies to selling their product for the best price, it is easy to see Keystone XL offers greater energy security and economic growth, just not in America.

Europe and Latin America will have more energy security thanks to a massive fuel pipeline they can tap as long as they're willing to pay.

Additionally, oil companies will have a new bounty of profit to play with. Yes, some of that will fall back into American hands, but not as much as it would if the majority of the products to be processed in Port Arthur were sold in America, or if the refineries were not located in a Foreign Trade Zone and had to pay a tax on their products.

As for the promise of new jobs, there is a short-term influx on cash for constructing the pipeline, but the latest estimates find that there will only be about 35 permanent jobs over the long term. These pipelines, once built demand very little maintenance. That is, of course, until there is an oil spill.

In making the final decision on whether to approve the Keystone XL pipeline, it comes down to whether President Obama is comfortable with making more cash for foreign oil companies that are already the most wealthy companies in the world, for the long-term pay off of 35 permanent jobs and the oil spills that will inevitably occur.

Cavitation Erosion

Cavitation erosion is primarily a mechanical process, although it acts synergistically with corrosion and is often considered with other forms of corrosion. Cavitation erosion can be defined as metal removal from the surface caused by high stresses associated with the collapse of vapor bubbles in the fluid. Cavitation occurs in a centrifugal pump when the local pressure of the fluid is reduced to the vapor pressure. In a multistage pump, vapor bubbles form in the low-pressure areas at the impeller inlet and are swept by the flow into regions of higher pressure where they collapse. A great many bubbles may form and collapse in a small area, producing many microjets of high kinetic energy. The energy released by the bubble collapse is expended as impact loading on the
metal surface. This situation is aggravated if protective oxide films are present because these are damaged, exposing fresh metal to the corrosive action of the fluid. This cyclic loading eventually causes the formation of microscopic fatigue cracks. These cracks propagate and intersect, resulting in the removal of metal from the surface and the characteristic spongy or porous appearance of cavitation damage.


Although every effort should be made in the design and application of centrifugal pumps to prevent cavitation, it is not always possible to do so at capacities less than the rated maximum efficiency capacity of the slurry pump. It must be recognized that at a low flow operation, the stated NPSH required curve is not usually sufficient to suppress all cavitation damage. The stated NPSH required is that needed to produce the head, capacity, and efficiency shown on the rating curve. At low flows, some cavitation damage should be expected. It may be impractical to supply an NPSH that would suppress all cavitation at
these low flows, as it could be many times that it is required at the best efficiency point. Therefore, the possibility of cavitation damage frequently becomes a consideration when selecting material for centrifugal pump impellers.

Cyclone feed Mining slurry pump

With the development of slurry pump technology and the theory of modern hydromechanics and mechanics, Excellence Pump Industry Co., Ltd. designs series EZ (L) slurry pump according to users’ feedback by using advanced software design tool. Series EZ (L) slurry pump has complete model range and are characterized by wide performance cover and easy selection.



Model Explanation



Application

Series EZ (L) slurry pumps are widely used in power, metallurgy, mining, coal washery, building materials and chemical industries. They are suitable for handling high abrasive and corrosive slurry with maximum concentration by weight to be 45% (ash) and 60% (ore), such as handling the fine ore and tailings in mining, removing ash and sludge in power plant, delivering coal mud and heavy media separation. The pump of this series can be operated in series according to special requirements.

Development of New Type Plough-Shaped Tooth

When dredging hard cohesive soils such as clayey silt, mild clay and clay, traditional teeth such as chisel teeth can only penetrate to a shallow depth of the soil layer and bear more cutting resistance, which directly affects the dredging efficiency of the trailing suction hopper dredger.

In order to improve the excavation capacity of the draghead, especially for dredging the above mentioned soils, a plough-shaped tooth was designed and developed which can cut thicker soil layers with smaller resistance and therefore remarkably enhance the dredging efficiency.

This tooth is designed based on the working mechanism of the curved surface of the moldboard plow, and the mathematical model of horizontal straight generatrix plough body surface was established using tliree dimensional parameters. In order to design the accurate 3D model of the socket of the new tooth, reverse engineering techniques and the software Solidworks are used for 3D modeling. The finite element analysis is also carried out for optimizing the stresses and strains of the tooth. The excavation capability of the plough-shaped tooth manufactured by a quick forming technique and precision casting technique was improved through continuous laboratory tests and field tests.

The results of the laboratory test showed that when excavation of the same soil with the same cutting resistance of 80kg. the penetration depth of the traditional chisel tooth is about 3~4cm with an excavating width of 11.4 cm, the average penetration depth is only 3cm: however, the cutting depth of the new tooth is about 9~12cm with an excavating width of 13-14 cm, the average penetration depth is 11.2cm. In addition, under the same penetration depth and the same trailing speed, the average resistance of the traditional chisel tooth is 623kg and the average excavating width is 11.4cm.

However, the average resistance of the new plough-shaped tooth is 413kg and the average excavating width is 13 cm. The resistance of the new teeth is 34% lower than the traditional teeth and the excavating width is increased 14%. The field tests also showed that the concentration of the slurry dredged by the new teeth also increased compared with the traditional teeth under the same external conditions.

Ralated Article:   Pump Solutions Group Appoints Tomas Valencia Vice President, Sales & Business Development – EMEA

Valencia will be responsible for the sales and business development activities in EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa) for a variety of PSG operating companies, including Mouvex, Almatec, Wilden and Blackmer, to name a few. Valencia will report to Karl Buscher, Senior Vice President, Commercial for PSG.

“For two decades, Tomas has consistently performed at a high level in terms of sales, marketing, business development and product management,” said Buscher. “His proven international success in the Latin American, European and U.S. markets will be a tremendous asset to PSG. We are looking forward to great things from Tomas.”

Valencia joins PSG after nearly 20 years of experience in global multinational companies, most recently working at Johnson Controls and York International. Valencia has a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, as well as a Master’s of Business Administration (MBA) degree. Valencia will be based out of PSG’s Maag facility in Oberglatt, Switzerland.

A Pump’s Role in Safe Chemical Transfer

A Pump’s Role in Safe Chemical Transfer: “One important point is the compatibility of the material with the chemical,” “The second factor is, if we use solvents, for example, we must use the appropriate chemical process slurry pump that won’t cause an ignition. This means using Chemical slurry pumps with electric conductive material. The third factor is suction capability.”

In Europe, the most important legislation introduced in recent years has been Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals—better known as REACH. Implemented in June 2007 by the European Union, REACH replaced 40 existing directives. There are 73 substances on the Substance of Very High Concern (SVHC) candidate list. The regulation puts greater responsibility on the industry to manage the risks of chemicals and provide safety information on the substances. However, REACH remains a work in progress.

One other way that the chemical industry is creating a safer environment is through certifications. Equipment must meet certain standards to gain certification and must be considered safe to handle known dangerous chemicals—such as acids, solvents and caustics. In the past, the CE symbol was the recognized symbol for safety. The CE marking or formerly EC mark, is a mandatory conformity marking for products sold in the European Economic Area since 1993. The CE marking is the manufacturer's declaration that the product meets the requirements of the applicable EC directives. Therefore, Excellence centrifugal slurry Pumps can develop freely in EU market by obtaining the CE certification. On the other side, we can export our products to Europe even worldwide and ensure the normal promotion to any country in EU.

Chemical Project In Middle East

This article come from: http://www.centrifugalslurrypump.com/Mining-News/A-Pump-s-Role-in-Safe-Chemical-Transfer.html

Xylem Awarded Contract for Beijing Drainage Pumping Project

This May, Xylem was awarded a $2.9 million contract from the Beijing Drainage Group to install Flygt submersible sewage pumps in 19 pumping stations in downtown Beijing. The new pumps will allow the stations to operate at higher capacity and with higher drainage efficiency, increasing water storage space and preventing overflow.

“We are proud to have been chosen to be part of this meaningful project with the BDG,” says Shuping Lu, vice president and country director for China. “Our Flygt pumps reduce the costs associated with pump station design, excavation, civil work, installation and commissioning, while maintaining superior performance even under heavy flooding conditions.”

Xylem, headquartered in White Plains, NY, is a global leader in water technology focused on providing solutions to the world’s most challenging water and wastewater problems. In 2012, the company was named on the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index as advancing sustainable solutions. Beijing Drainage Group (BDG) Co. Ltd is a state-owned wastewater utility established with the approval of the Beijing Municipal Government focused on water pollution control and the effective management of water resources.

Ralated article: Eliminating dry running can save money and protect equipment

Every year, air operated double diaphragm (AODD) pump users spend thousands on electricity, replacement parts and labor because they dry run their pumps. Unlike many other types of pumps, AODD pumps can run dry (run without being fully primed) without immediate damage. Therefore, they are useful in applications such as sumps and tank transfers in which the liquid may unexpectedly run out.

Routinely relying on an AODD pump’s ability to run dry, however, can incur substantial costs—including energy loss, increased maintenance and lost compressor capacity. This article details these costs, the prevalence of dry-running pumps and solutions for running a greener and more cost-effective operation.

The Cost of Dry Running an AODD Pump
When a pump runs dry, 100 percent of the consumed air is wasted. Although lost energy from wasted air is the most obvious cost, additional maintenance, downtime and lost compressor capacity are also significant.

A simple method to estimate the cost of a dry-running pump is to multiply the percentage of time that the pump runs dry by the total operating cost.

As seen in Table 1, the yearly dry-running costs can exceed the cost of the original pump. Furthermore, the air and maintenance costs are often much higher, as a dry-running pump can operate two to three times faster than it does when under load. This means more air usage and faster wear and tear on the pump.

While the direct pump and compressed air costs are substantial, the associated costs can be just as high. A few 70 standard cubic feet per minute (scfm) “leaks” in an air system represent a significant drain on a compressor, requiring plant engineers to consider increasing the overall system pressure, or increasing the size and number of compressors. Frequent and unexpected pump failures can also lead to product loss and production downtime, both of which can match the air and maintenance costs.

The Prevalence of Dry-Running AODD Pumps
Despite the high cost of dry-running pumps, the practice is a common occurrence in many factories. Some typical causes and observations seen at several factories are described in this section.

Operators Leave Pumps Running
A chemical factory needed to rebuild one to two pumps every month. Given the number of pumps that the factory had and the amount of time the pumps needed to be in use, only one to two rebuilds per year should have been required. The parts cost per rebuild was $300 to $500 plus labor, and the maintenance bills were adding up quickly.

Operators unintentionally left the pumps running throughout the weekend. Because the plant’s energy or maintenance bill was not included on performance reviews, the operators had little incentive to remember to turn off the pumps.

The same pattern is repeated in other factories. Another example is a large paint factory at which workers use pumps to empty large tanks. Again, operators would turn the pump on, get distracted by other tasks and forget to turn them off.

Failed or Missing Level Sensors
Because AODD pumps are often used in “dirty” situations—outside or in waste sumps in factory floors—debris or corrosion frequently cause level sensors to fail. Non-contact types are susceptible to debris or being dislodged as well.

In many of the observed factories, sumps had level sensors that were bypassed because they were not reliable enough. In these cases, the sump pumps operated 24 hours per day, despite the sump filling only occasionally. By equipping two of their pumps with monitoring equipment, the operators discovered that a 2-inch pump was only pumping liquid 32.8 percent of the time, and a 1-inch pump only 7.3 percent of the time. More than half of their energy and maintenance bill was being used to needlessly pump air.

Whether the cause is operator error, a failed level sensor or simply installing a pump to run non-stop when unnecessarily, dry-running AODD pumps appear to be a common occurrence.

Solutions
Although dry-running pumps can be costly, several solutions, ranging from inexpensive procedure changes to sensor-based control solutions, can reduce costs substantially. Most of these solutions will show a return on investment within six months to one year, depending on the frequency of dry running.

Solutions can be divided into three categories: procedural changes, level sensing sensors and switches, and air monitoring controllers.

Procedural Changes
If personnel are informed of the true cost of dry-running pumps, including the resulting increase in maintenance, they can work individually to avoid leaving pumps running unnecessarily. Adding dry-running observations to maintenance records can help diagnose the root cause of pumps that require frequent rebuilding. Routinely checking sump level sensors for correct operation can also help to avoid long stretches of dry-running operation.

The main issue with this solution is that it relies on human intervention to ensure proper pump operation.

Level Sensors and Switches
A myriad of level sensors and controllers can be used to turn pumps off when they are not needed. Inexpensive, simple float-trigger switches indicate when a tank or sump level is too high or low, turning the pump on or off as required. Because floats can easily become obstructed by debris, many float-less types—such as capacitive (both contact and non-contact), radar and ultrasonic—are other options.

When considering level sensors, end users should evaluate the whole system cost because many sensors require an additional solenoid and, in some cases, a separate programmable logic controller (PLC). Installation requirements for all the separate components should also be taken into account. Unfortunately, since many level sensing solutions are in contact with the pumping liquid, they suffer from corrosion or clogging. Even non-contact sensors can be blocked by debris or dislodged.

Figure 1. Air monitoring controllers monitor the pump through the air line without contacting the pumped fluid.

Air Monitoring Controllers
Another category of controllers that avoids the problems of level detection devices is air monitoring controllers. Air monitoring controllers work similarly to load-monitoring controllers on electric motors, turning the pump off when the air input indicates

Replacement Submersible Pumps Increase Lift Station Efficiency

A harmonic sound coming from within a pump station is not the sound municipal sewer system operators want to hear. From the rhythmic clunking inside the 4,000-gallon-per-minute Lift Station No. 9, Wayne Johnson knew he had an impending problem—perhaps a big one.

The superintendent of water and wastewater utilities for Thief River Falls, Minn., considers Lift Station No. 9 his most essential because it receives the entire sewage flow from the town’s 3,400 connections and operates immediately ahead of the three-pond treatment facility. The collection system that serves the 8,500 residents has 14 pump stations along 43 miles of 8-inch to 15-inch sewage collection lines. The 350-acre complex of ponds in Northwest Minnesota represents the state’s largest of its type and produces a higher-quality effluent, well below the minimum effluent standards discharged into the Red Lake River.

Johnson said that he initially hoped the audible clanging that day was caused by nothing more than a partially clogged pump. A set of related circumstances beyond just a clog could have left Lift Station No. 9 crippled with the risk of a bypass of 1.6 million gallons of raw sewage into the popular canoe and fishing stream that flows through the area, located 100 miles from Lake of the Woods.

His worst fears were realized when something more serious emerged at the heart of the noise in the lift station. It emanated from one of two 75-horsepower submersible pumps that the city had acquired four years earlier, before Johnson had become superintendent.

A three-man crew uncrates and prepares the new pump for installation after piping modifications.

“Lift station No. 9 at that time had received two 75-horsepower pumps while keeping a 38-year-old, 125-horsepower original equipment pump in place as a backup to operate during high flows through the dry-pit facility. The noise was so deafening from this [75-horsepower] pump that you couldn’t stand to be inside the station when it was running,” he recalled. “This was the second major problem with one of the pumps in two years of operation, and I was convinced I was dealing with a poorly engineered hydraulic design. The problem was further aggravated because of the manufacturer’s unresponsive customer service.”

The two 75-horsepower pumps had been acquired in 2005 after three rounds of bids to replace the two smaller pumps installed in 1974 as original equipment in the triplex station. The first two rounds of bids included installation and were rejected because the quotes exceeded the projected cost. A second round of bids separated the pumps and installation increments but was also rejected.

Finally, the replacement pumps were bid as a standalone, factory-direct quote without installation with the city deferring the work, hoping to negotiate a lower installation cost in the future. The price of the previously installed pump was significantly lower at bid time, so the pumps were purchased and held in a warehouse awaiting a favorable installation price. By 2009, the replacements could not be deferred any longer, and the units were finally set into Lift Station No. 9.

The crew maneuvers and lowers the volute for the replacement pump through the side door into the station.

Quality Overrides Cost 
Most purchasing professionals will concede that the lowest-cost capital equipment does not ensure the highest quality. While in storage, the full warranty period had expired. Once in operation, one of these less expensive pumps failed within the first two years because of a bearing failure. A service mechanic was finally sent to the city after repeated contact with the manufacturer. The mechanic installed a new style of wear ring on the failed pump and added newly designed impellers on both units to ostensibly improve the hydraulics. The action bought some time but not a resolution.

“When the second pump failure occurred, it took months of additional contact with Germany to get a mechanic back to our station,” Johnson said. “It was a risky situation to be left with only the previously repaired pump operating in an alternating cycle with the 38-year-old original equipment pump intended only as a backup unit. We had left the last of the three original pumps in place for operation only in high-flow conditions induced by the system’s inflow and infiltration issues. A field mechanic blamed the problem on a turkey feather in the flow off our poultry plant. It would have cost $20,000 to repair the second failed pump, and by that time, I had simply lost all confidence in the pumps and the manufacturer’s follow-up service.”

Meanwhile, Lift Station No. 9 was left vulnerable, relying on the rebuilt pump that clogged as often as twice a week. The pump’s hydraulic design provides for open access of the impeller/wear ring to stationary volute wear ring interface. This open area was prone to becoming packed with debris, which can cause the jamming of the wear-ring interface and contribute to the loss of hydraulic efficiency and to frequent partial-to-full clogging of the pump hydraulic end. Fortunately, it was a dry year in the region that eliminated the need for a third pump to handle high flows. “But it was a horrible situation we were left with,” Johnson said.

Workers place and secure the volute before the remainder of the pump is received.

Emergency Replacements 
Johnson turned to a representative of a factory-authorized brand of pumps that the utility had used exclusively in the other 13 stations along the collection system. A nationwide search located two 80-horsepower, self-cleaning, high-efficiency submersible pumps in Atlanta that were immediately available but would require modest modifications for use in the dry pit versus a fully-submersible installation.

To expedite the process, the city responded by declaring an emergency procurement upon recommendation of its consulting engineering firm. This allowed direct procurement without the time for a customary bid procedure and brought the pumps into service within three months. Large horsepower pumps are rarely held in inventory due to their cost, but the two found in Atlanta  reduced the lead time to manufacture units, according to a spokesman.