The Importance of Mechanical Seals to Waterworks

Reducing the amount of water used for sealing not only helps reduce the cost of water and water-wast treatment, but also helps end users improve system reliability and save maintenance time and money.

It is estimated that more than 59% of seal failures are caused by seal water problems, most of which are caused by water impurities in the system, and eventually cause blockage. Wear of the system can also cause seal water to leak into the process fluid, damaging the end user's product. With proper technology, end users can extend the life of seals by several years. Shortening the mean time between repairs (MTBR) means lower maintenance costs, longer equipment uptime and better system performance. In addition, minimizing the use of seal water helps end users meet environmental standards. More and more government agencies put forward more and more strict requirements for water pollution and excessive use of water, which put pressure on water plants to reduce water=waste production and overall water consumption to meet regulatory requirements. With the help of current water-saving technologies, it is easy for water plants to use sealed water wisely. By investing in system control and following best practices, end users can achieve a range of financial, operational, and environmental benefits.

Double-acting mechanical seals without water control devices usually use at least 4 to 6 liters of sealing water per minute. The flow meter can usually reduce the water consumption of the seal to 2 to 3 liters per minute, and the intelligent water control system can further reduce the water consumption to 0.05 to 0.5 liters per minute according to the application. Finally, users can use the following formula to calculate the cost savings from sealed water protection:

Savings = (water consumption per seal per minute x number of seals x 60 x 24 x running time, in days x annual x seal water price (USD) x reduction in water consumption)/1,000.