Jiangsu Haifa Machinery Manufacturing Co., Ltd.

From Frequent Shutdowns to Stable Operation: Olefin Loop Circulation Pump Helps a Petrochemical Enterprise Reduce Costs and Increase Efficiency

Event Background  In the fourth quarter of 2024, a large petrochemical enterprise in East China encountered challenges with unstable operation of circulation pumps during the upgrade of its polypropylene unit. The enterprise uses a loop reactor process to produce high-end polypropylene, requiring extremely high continuous operation capability and sealing reliability for the circulation pumps. However, after six months of operation, the original equipment frequently experienced mechanical seal leakage and excessive vibration, leading to 2–3 unplanned shutdowns per month. Each repair took over 8 hours, resulting in a direct production loss of approximately 150 tons per incident.On-Site Situation  "The most troublesome issue was seal leakage. Not only did it require an emergency shutdown, but we also had to clean the site, which affected the quality of subsequent batches," recalled Manager Li, head of the enterprise's equipment department. On-site engineers reported that under high-temperature and high-pressure conditions, the impeller and flow-passing components showed significant wear, reducing efficiency by about 12%. The production team had to at reduced load, maintaining a capacity utilization rate of only around 85%. Additionally, the cost of replacement parts due to repairs increased by an average of about 80,000 yuan month.Company Response  After receiving the feedback, our technical team conducted a one-week on-site diagnosis of the operating conditions. Based on the characteristics of high-viscosity, particle-containing media in the loop reactor process, we developed a customized olefin loop circulation pump solution. The solution was installed and commissioned in January 2025, with key improvements including: the adoption of a double mechanical seal with a flushing system (designed for continuous production users in the petrochemical industry) and optimization of the impeller hydraulic model to reduce turbulent wear. On-site data showed that after the new pump was installed, vibration levels dropped from 4.5 mm/s to 1.2 mm/s, and seal life extended from 6 months to over 18 months. Manager Li stated, "After replacing the pump, we operated continuously for 9 months with zero unplanned shutdowns, capacity utilization increased to 97%, and maintenance costs dropped by about 70%."Industry Evaluation  At the Petrochemical Equipment Technology Exchange Conference held in March 2025, this case was praised by attending experts as "a practical implementation of loop pump system optimization." Industry analysts pointed out that with the growing demand for high-end polypropylene, the reliability requirements for pumps under similar operating conditions will continue to rise. The improvement approach for the olefin loop circulation pump provides a reusable technical pathway for similar units, particularly in terms of seal reliability and wear-resistant design.

(Source: Company News | Editor: Zhang Gong)

Jiangsu Haifa Machinery Manufacturing Co., Ltd. was restructured from Jiangsu Ligong Group Co., Ltd., which was founded in 1958, and the Jingjiang Stainless Steel Pump and Valve Factory of the Iron and Steel Research Institute of the Ministry of Metallurgical Industry. The company primarily produces API610 chemical process pumps—OH1, OH2, OH3, OH4 pumps, BB1–BB5 multistage pumps, VS1–VS6 barrel pumps, HES chemical process pumps, sixth-generation ultra-low carbon stainless steel high-quality leak-proof molten urea pumps, urea hydrolyzer feed pumps, pitot tube pumps, rotary jet pumps, molten salt pumps, vertical submerged pumps, high-temperature magnetic drive pumps, magnetic pumps for conveying solid-containing media, industrial pumps, canned motor pumps, slurry pumps, titanium tetrachloride pumps, self-priming pumps, fluoroplastic-lined pumps, leak-proof pumps, alkali pumps, axial flow pumps, long-shaft vertical submerged pumps, CQC first-class energy-efficient chemical pumps, and high-pressure descaling industrial pumps. www.jslgpump.com Tel: 13905263417 E-mail: jslgpump@gmail.com E-mail: jsareva@163.com