Expanded PTFE is manufactured by expanding 100% virgin PTFE using a proprietary process that produces a uniform and highly fibrillated microstructure with equal tensile strength in all directions. The lightweight ePTFE exhibits characteristics significantly different than any other type of PTFE sheet manufactured. This sheet is much softer, more flexible, and easier to compress than skived or restructured PTFE sheets and thus conforms easily to irregular and rough surfaces. Even though the sheet is soft and easy to compress, when PTFE fibers are expanded in a controlled manner, they become extremely strong. These high strength, biaxially-oriented fibers make ePTFE the PTFE product with the lowest creep and cold flow. Therefore, ePTFE can be safely used in temperatures that might cause other styles of PTFE to creep, lose bolt load, and leak. Expanded PTFE gasketing products are available flat sheets, rectangular profile sheet-like gasket tapes, and form-in-place joint sealant.
Filter leakage, due to surface irregularities between a lid and a fixed flange, caused contamination in a plant. This increased the risk for chemical burn injuries and corrosion of nearby equipment. The fragility of PVC flanges limited the ability to solve the problem by simply increasing the bolting torque on the flanges (i.e., increasing gasket seating stress).
PACKING STYLE TEADIT® 2773 CASE HISTORY
Pumping of abrasive fluids is one of the fundamental stages of the production process of a Sugar and Alcohol Plant. The use of low mechanical resistance packings in pumps means a greater number of packing replacements, affecting the plant productivity.
TEALON™ TF1580 CASE HISTORY
This equipment often suffered internal leakage and clogging of its channels due to the fragmentation of the original gasket, affecting its thermal performance. A skived PTFE gasket presents a fragile behavior when compressed by the fins of the heat exchanger. Steam injection was a frequent practice to maintain the required level of steam necessary for equipment operation, resulting in atypical operational cost of $225,000.00 every 6 months.
TEADIT® 24B CASE HISTORY
A manufacturer of
blowers was having difficulty sealing a new nitrogen blower for a large
manufacturer of commercial and consumer products. Blowers can be very challenging
sealing applications, as they often have very complex sealing areas which require
a non-standard gasket as standard flat gaskets can be extraordinarily
difficult to install, if even possible, and require a lengthy installation
process
2238-OX Case History
A major oil and gas company had an accident at a gas separation facility in the Middle East in a system in oxygen service. This is a critical service which poses a large safety risk to the facility and requires very careful selection of materials and extreme cleanliness standards. After the incident the customer initiated the process of re-evaluating the materials, including sealing products, that they were utilizing in this extremely critical service. The customer began searching for the best technical solution for packing material to equip all their on/off valves in the plant with. Download the case history here and find out how Teadit provided an engineered solution!
Case History Sealpack 47 & 2774
A large sugar mill was having issues with constant leakage out of their
sugar crystallizer mixer, which is operating at 30psi and 180°F, with a rotational speed
of 10RPM. Agitators on large mixers such as this can pose more challenges to
braided packing than would appear from the basic operating parameters. Large
agitators in general tend to have challenges with shaft alignment which can
pose a serious issue for braided packing as it creates uneven wear on the
packing and can lead to premature failure. Find out how Teadit provided two unique solutions for this type of application!
Teadit 24SH – Spiral Heat Exchanger Case History
A biochemical manufacturer reached out to a Teadit partner for support
regarding premature gasket failure on a spiral heat exchanger. Spiral heat
exchangers pose some unique challenges for sealing due to their very large
diameter as well as their unique sealing surface. Read more about the solution provided by Teadit that not only fixed the issue, but reduced maintenance cost, production loss and installation failure!
TEADIT® 2005 – Harsh Chemical Agitator CASE HISTORY
A major chemical processing customer was experiencing media leakage of
harsh chemicals from packing on some of their agitators. Large diameter
agitators such as this can pose many challenges for braided packing sets. This
type of equipment often suffers from shaft alignment issues as well as worn or
damaged shafts which can be difficult scenarios for braided packing to be
successful in. This specific application posed another challenge in the form of
the packing configuration being utilized in the equipment. Previously the
customer had been utilizing a packing configuration consisting of 10 rings of
PTFE packing. A configuration with a high amount of packing rings such as this
can lead to an insufficient amount of load being applied to each ring. In
packing sets the load / stress applied is greater at the rings closest to the
gland follower and will decrease for each ring further away from the top ring.
TEADIT 24SH - Electrolytic Nickel Plant
A recently acquired Nickel Plant was experiencing leaking flanges, however it was posing serious safety and environmental concerns! The customer turned to Teadit, knowing we strive to seal for both a safer and greener tomorrow. Find out the which of our products was the fix here, as well as how we were able to provide a six figure savings!
Teadit 2235 -- Steam Valves
Steam service requires a material that can withstand high
temperatures for an extended period without degradation, and valves require a
packing material that is robust and pressure resistant without damaging the
valve stem. A major petrochemical plant was having problems with high temperature, superheated steam leaking from valve stems throughout the facility. Leakage of such high temperature steam posed a significant safety risk for all those on site and the leakage was also negatively influencing the quality of the process. In addition, the steam leakage was causing extremely high maintenance costs due to down time. Steam valves can prove to be a challenging application to create an effective, long term seal.
Teadit 2002 – Paper Refiner
A
major paper manufacturer was not achieving their desired level of performance
from their previous packing material on their refiner. A common challenge in pulp and paper applications,
such as this, is that the media is often abrasive which can be difficult for
mechanical packings and requires a packing material with more mechanical
strength to resist wear from the media. Another common challenge in certain
rotating equipment applications is that a high amount of heat is generated due
to friction between the packing and the shaft. The thermoset packing material
is not ideal for handling abrasive types of medias and required a high amount
of flush water in order to dissipate the friction heat, as it does not have as
high of heat dissipation properties as other types of packings. Find out how Teadit found solutions and savings for their customer...
24SH - Seawater Pumps
An industrial facility was using sea water for their cooling system and
wanted to change from graphite gasketing material due to potential galvanic
corrosion.
NA1100 Spiral Heat Exchanger Case History
A global leader of heat transfer, separation, and fluid handling came to Teadit for consultation on an issue they were experiencing with the gasket being used in one of their spiral heat exchangers.
TEADIT GR1700 CASE HISTORY
A phosphorus miner
and phosphate fertilizer producer had a gasket, carbon fiber with NBR binder,
that was not suitable for the application, SO2,
it was being used in and ended up failing in less than a year.
TEADIT® 2236 Fugitive Emissions Case History
A
large petrochemical refiner came to Teadit seeking help with valves in their
plant putting out high levels of fugitive emissions. As Teadit specializes in
products that assist in the reduction of fugitive emissions, the refiner
reached out to us for a solution.
TEADIT® 25BI for Heat Exchangers
A premier biopharmaceutical company raised concerns about the gaskets being used on their heat exchangers and whether they had the ability to withstand the cycles they were being put through...
TEADIT® 2773/2202 for Pumps in the Sugar Industry
A world
leader in the agribusiness industry began experiencing excessive leakage of
products and by-products, as well as having multiple pump failures all due to
abrasive media and the wrong installation of material.
24SH for Aggressive Media Case History
A global
leader is sugar production was unhappy with their current sealing device,
rubber-steel rings, due to the limited chemical resistance it had. The flanges
these gaskets were failing on were challenging, as they were uneven with rough,
structured surfaces.
2005 FDA Case History
A
German confectionery producer was having an issue with their previous waxy PTFE
packing which they found had short life term in the big agitators moving the
chocolate.
