Slurry Pump Parts ✔ - Element Mining and Construction Oy

One of the challenges that our customers came to us with was the rapid wear of wet-end parts. A large gold-processing plant assigned us the task of increasing the operating time of the liners for their 10/8 slurry pump. Element’s specialists visited the customer’s site, examined the operating conditions, and determined that the liners’ short operating time was due to an incorrect choice of wet-end part material. Based on the collected data from the pump installation and slurry data, Element’s engineers proposed replacing the metal wet-end parts with natural rubber. This resulted in a 1.5-fold increase in operating time and a decrease of over 2 times in spare parts expenses for the processing plant.

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Element supplied a set of wet-end parts to a large gold mining company in March of . Due to the high load of solids, as well as the very coarse and large size of ore after the primary mill, the equipment in the process plant experienced a significant wear rate at the mill discharge circuit. The average operating time of the OEM’s wet-end parts was 1,100 hours and they complied with all of the customer’s requirements. However, replacing these parts entailed high costs. Element provided wet-end parts made from High Chrome White Iron in accordance with their material standard. As a result, the first set of parts lasted for hours of operation, and the second and third sets demonstrated the same lifespan. Consequently, the customer was able to achieve the same amount of operation time as with OEM parts while incurring significantly lower maintenance costs.

H+H produces Aircrete, a lightweight masonry material that combines the strength, durability, and thermal efficiency of concrete with the convenience of a lighter material that is easy to cut and work with on-site. The materials used in the manufacture of H+H Aircrete are: sand, pulverized fuel ash (PFA), cement, lime, and water.

These are combined into a slurry with a small amount of aluminum powder added to the mix.  This initiates a chemical reaction, generating minute bubbles that form the characteristic aircrete structure and appearance. When the mixture has partially set, the resultant “cakes” are wire-cut into blocks or panels and transferred into autoclaves for high-pressure curing.

Pumps are used in the process at various locations including what is known as ”batch feed”, the most aggressive area of the process. That is where the block-making machines are fed with a thick slurry containing fly ash, sand, water, quicklime or lime sludge, cement, aluminum powder, and gypsum, with exact proportions dependent on client specifications. The slurry density was fairly consistent at approximately 1.6 SG.

Challenge

• Insufficient wear life of pumps parts
• Blockages
• Low production rates

Solution

• Two Metso Outotec Orion HM150 pumps

 Benefit

• Extended wear life of parts
• Higher availability

Insufficient wear life with their previous pumps

Unsatisfied with their existing supplier’s pumps, H+H contacted Metso Outotec in hope we could find a solution to three main issues:

• Insufficient life from their existing 3rd party pumps, as the pulverized fuel ash (PFA) used to feed the process got coarser overtime. Originally, it had been possible to use rubber pumps because of the finer nature of the PFA. However, as the feed became coarser over time, this accelerated damage to the wear.
• Blockages were occurring with standard closed impellers that led to suboptimal production rates
• Spares requirement of the customer was not being met

“By discussing with the operational process staff, we were able to identify numerous operational issues that were occurring,” says Steve Sedgewick – Senior Manager, Pumps Business Line at Metso Outotec. “With our expertise, we were able to resolve these issues for the customer in our product offer.”

The Metso Outotec solution

The customer’s design criteria for the process was to use existing motor sizes whilst matching the flow and head of the current installations. Additionally, they hoped for equipment that would provide a good wear life without incurring process incidents such as blockages.

Metso Outotec first provided an Orion HM150 pump on trial at H+H’s Pollington site in Yorkshire.

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“With this trial, we were able to prove our product versus existing pumps and pumps from competitors”, says Greg Dixon - Senior Pump Sales Manager, Europe at Metso Outotec.

The Metso Outotec Orion Heavy Duty pumps are designed for the toughest pumping applications. The Heavy-duty Metal variant (HM) features a class-leading design, with extra thick sections at known points of wear and a high aspect ratio impeller. This results in a long wear life as well as excellent performance.

“Wear life and performance are further optimized through the modular pump design which provides a choice of impeller design and gland seal options,” adds Greg. ”For this particular application, we offered a solution to their issues that their existing supplier was not able to provide an equivalent for.”

Responsive to customer needs

A key quality that impressed Alan Humphreys at H+H was how responsive Metso Outotec’s team were to inquiries and support requests, as well as the experience and knowledge that allowed them to suggest the solutions to their previously unsolved problems.

“We contacted Greg Dixon at Metso Outotec who responded very quickly to our request,” says Alan. "They were traveling to another customer site and adapted their travel plans just so they were able to visit our site that very same day.”

Along with being at the forefront of sustainable technologies, another customer requirement that Metso Outotec addressed was related to spare parts.

“In any production process, we must have parts available so that when a pump is no longer able to operate, the pump can be repaired and production continues,” Alan adds. "For us, the spare parts solution that Metso Outotec implemented has delivered a step-change in responsive support compared to our previous supplier.”

At Metso Outotec, we are in a unique position to partner with our customers to ensure their success. It is our core expertise to help our customers transform their operations, and in turn, transform the industry. That is why we are the partner for positive change.

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