Amarinth provides 40 centrifugal pumps with innovative design features for the Artlant Mega PTA plant

A variety of demanding duties

A total of 40 centrifugal industrial process pumps, worth in excess of €2M, was ordered by Artenius UK / Tanton Technology. These had to meet a number of demanding duties, including low NPSH, high temperature, high speed, low flow, high head and pumping of slurry. Installed power ranged from 5.5KW to 315 KW.

Amarinth was invited onto the project vendor list by Artenius UK / Tanton Technology based on its previous experiences of working with Amarinth and its staff.

Innovative design

To meet the stringent hydraulic requirements of the project required a bespoke design for most of the pumps. Amarinth based the designs around its A Series API 610 OH2 and C Series ISO 5199 pumps incorporating numerous modifications to suit the application.

For example, the process of manufacturing PTA produces high temperatures and the resulting thermal expansion of pipework can put large stresses on equipment nozzles, including pumps. The traditional method of handling thermal expansion is using expansion joints and bellows, but for pumping slurries and high temperature acetic acid these are not desirable.

To overcome these issues Amarinth adopted an innovative sliding baseplate so that the pump was able to move as the pipework expanded, reducing the risk of leakage.

Savings on the seal support system

For the Plan 54 double mechanical seals Amarinth turned to Kytola in Finland and incorporated an innovative seal support system that would meet the specifications but at a significantly reduced cost over the traditional seal support system, a saving that Amarinth passed on directly to Artlant.

Managing documentation

The project produced a significant volume of documentation but with its comprehensive web based document management system Amarinth was able to keep all parties supplied in a timely manner.

Helping in a world recession

The world recession hit the project during construction causing delays in the build, however Amarinth was able to assist Artlant and stored the pumps for 18 months until the plant was finally ready to commission them.