South African motorists were sent into panic once again this past weekend as oil refineries were shut down due to a lack of crude oil.

This comes after Sasol Ltd declared force majeure at its second biggest refinery on Friday due to a lack of crude oil.

On Monday, Sasol said it will restart its refinery by the end of July.

The shutdown of the Natref refinery around 100 kilometres from Johannesburg has sparked concerns of petrol and diesel shortages in the country where 60% of fuel products are imported.

Sasol, however, said it did not expect any shortages.

Sasol is the only producer of petroleum products in South Africa through its two refineries – Secunda, with output of around 150 000 barrels per day (bpd) and Natref, around 108 000 bpd.

“The crude tanker has arrived in Durban and cargo dispatches are under way. Natref should start-up to run at maximum production capability by end July,” Sasol said in the statement.

The company, which owns the Natref refinery with a subsidiary of France’s TotalEnergies, said it does not “anticipate any fuel supply shortages to fuel stations, including our own”.

Meanwhile, South Africa’s Energy Department said the country will not run out of petrol and diesel.

The department’s deputy director-general of mineral and petroleum regulation, Tseliso Maqubela, said, “I don’t expect that diesel and petrol would be affected greatly, however, we are concerned about the impact this is going to have on the availability of jet fuel, particularly for the airports”.

Maqubela said officials would use this week to assess the impact of the move and what it would take to recover.

“There is the ability to import fuel in the country. We’ve always planned for such an eventuality but I think the impact on jet fuel, because this was something that was not expected, is something we’re going to have to look at,” Maqubela said.

Polluted water and run-off from mines and quarries require pumps that can handle these highly acidic liquids. To meet this challenge, Tsurumi has continued developing its range of submersible pumps that are made of 316 stainless steel casting.

Since its foundation in 1924, the Japanese company Tsurumi Manufacturing Co., Ltd. has been engaged in the manufacture, supply and sales of pumps, environmental devices and related equipment, with submersible pumps being key products. As well as producing general drainage pumps, Tsurumi puts great effort into applications for difficult-to-handle liquids, such as corrosive and high temperature liquids and seawater. The company is now launching its LH-14/LH-W-14 series corrosion-resistant pumps, which are suitable for drainage of corrosive liquids in mines.

Tsurumi’s submersible corrosion-resistant pumps are made of 316 stainless steel, allowing the LH-14/LH-W-14 series to handle corrosive acidic liquids and chemical liquids with low pH values. These pumps use highly corrosion-resistant materials for all parts that are exposed to fluids, including the impeller, pump casing, motor frame, outer cover, strainer stand and flange, so that the pumps are thoroughly protected from corroding. Stainless steel Tsurumi puts particular effort into developing submersible pumps made of 316 stainless steel casting. Recently, polluted water and run-off from mines and quarries have been cited as social problems in many countries, to the point that demand for pumps that can handle these liquids has been increasing year by year. In fact, more than 40% of the run-off from mines is strongly acidic with a pH value of less than 4. To meet this application, Tsurumi has continued development of all stainless steel pumps that are made of 316 ­stainless steel casting.

Because they are made of stainless steel casting, the pumps are resistant to wastewater containing abrasive substances, as well as corrosive liquids. These pumps have been designed to deliver the durability needed in harsh fields where pumps made of aluminium, stainless steel and cast iron suffer damage in a matter of weeks, if not days. Stainless steel casting considerably improves product ­reliability in comparison with ­stainless steel in applications involving heavy-duty work. Tsurumi’s all stainless steel pumps are intended for service in harsh ­environments such as mines and quarries and can cover a wide range of applications.

The LH-14/LH-W-14 series is a submersible stainless steel casting high head corrosion-resistant pump designed for handling aggressive and corrosive liquids. The all wetted parts are made of 316 stainless steel, enables it to withstand demanding conditions found in construction, aggregate and mining applications. Being the pump cylindrical and slim, it can be installed in a well casing for deep well dewatering.

The center flange construction assures a stable installation even if fixed by the discharge pipe. The pump incorporates seal pressure relief ports that prevent the pumping pressure from applying to the shaft seal. Furthermore, to endure even extended operation at low water level, these pumps feature flow-thru design that forcibly cools down the motor.

The LH-14 series has a single impeller, and the LH-W-14 series has dual impellers. The LH-14 and LH-W-14 series are available in a wide product lineup, covering a discharge bore diameter of 80 to 200 mm, motor output of 11 to 110 kW, and maximum head of 51.8 to 184 m.

These pumps, as well as Tsurumi’s general drainage pumps, are equipped with an anti-wicking cable, motor protector, SiC dual inside mechanical seals with silicon carbide faces, and Oil Lifter, with extensive research and a track record accumulated over many years combined into Tsurumi ­original technologies.

The material used for rubber parts such as the mechanical seal, oil seal, O-ring and packing, is FPM (FKM), which provides high resistance to heat and chemical exposure. With these features, Tsurumi pumps are designed to provide high reliability and excellent ­durability, enabling continuous operations for long periods.

Experience and expertise Making skillful use of the experience and expertise of many years, Tsurumi focuses on the development of products that can withstand demanding applications. Tsurumi offers a range of products that can serve in harsh conditions such as draining high temperature liquids and seawater as well as corrosive liquids. To order our products, please contact us direct. •

Vesconite Bearings is supplying a Georgia-based vertical-turbine pump manufacturer with a 5000-unit blanket wear-rings order, allowing the manufacturer to request low-friction Vesconite Hilube polymer wear rings for 10 of its vertical-turbine-pump models.

The company ordered its first Vesconite Hilube wear rings in 2015 and, after testing, started ordering larger quantities from 2017. In March 2019, Vesconite visited the pump manufacturer and finalised fixed volume requirements and pricing for the blanket order. The company supplies the central and south-eastern USA with pumps for the municipal, industrial, fire and flood-control industries.

The order covers a one-year period and allows the company to regularly draw on the 5000-unit blanket wear rings order. Vesconite Bearings technical sales representative, Charlie Simpson, said: “The company sees the value of using the product and has switched all of its wear rings to Vesconite Hilube ones in all of its own-brand vertical-turbine pumps.”

Vesconite Hilube wear rings allow for extremely close clearances to ensure greater pump efficiencies and are designed for use with mildly acidic or basic liquid

SCHROEDAHL, a CIRCOR International brand has announced that new, self-modulating TDL Automatic Recirculation Valves (ARVs) are now available in cast material that is more than 35% lighter.

The all-in-one pump protection solutions are designed to keep pumping systems running smoothly in firefighting, refinery, power and chemical applications without cavitation or overheating.

Unlike control valve packages, the self-operated flow-sensitive Schroedahl TDL Automatic Recirculation Valves operate without a separate power supply or any control system and begin protection as soon as they are installed.

The valves combine a high-quality main line check valve and the automatic bypass control system in a new, durable design. The valves’ self-actuated integrated bypass control function ensures minimum flow rate, guarding pumps against overheating and cavitation. The systems provide high pump stability with less vibration and fewer coupling or gear problems. TDL ARVs’ modulation bypass function also offers savings for operators with reduced energy consumption for frequent partial load operation.

Additionally, the bypass check valve prevents reverse pump flow, and allows for parallel pump installations.

Blackmer, part of PSG, a Dover company, has announces that its GNX Series Sliding Vane pumps are now available in 3-inch and 4-inch models.

The GNX Series pumps are alignment-free reduced-speed positive displacement pump and have been designed for the transfer of non-corrosive, non-abrasive industrial and petroleum products for both portable and stationary applications.

Originally launched in 2017 in 2-inch and 2.5-inch models, Blackmer GNX Series heavy-duty sliding vane pumps include the features of Blackmer legacy GX Series pumps but also incorporate a commercial-grade, single-stage gearbox, motor and baseplate.

The new gearbox fits between the motor and pump and is held in place by a permanent dowelled connection that creates a structural link between the high-speed and low-speed sides of the system. This results in a pump that will not need to be realigned either at initial installation or following maintenance. The 2-inch and 2.5-inch models have aluminum gearboxes and the new 3-inch and 4-inch models have cast iron gearboxes.

GNX Series pumps provide flow capacities ranging from 7 to 500 gpm (25 to 1,893 L/min) at working pressures up to 175 psi (12.1 bar).

Wanner Engineering has introduced the Hydra-Cell D66 Series seal-less positive displacement pumps for use in processing, OEM, municipal, and commercial applications.

The new Hydra-Cell pumps offer a maximum flow capacity of 65.7 gpm (248.7 l/min) and pressure ratings up to 700 psi (48 bar) for models featuring brass, ductile iron, or 316L stainless steel (metallic) pumps heads and 250 psi (17 bar) for models equipped with polypropylene (non-metallic) pump heads.

The company says that the seal-less design of Hydra-Cell D66 pumps means that there are no mechanical seals, cups, or packing to leak, wear, or replace. It has spring-loaded, horizontal disk check valves and the D66 seal-less design allows it to handle viscous fluids and abrasive particulates up to 800 microns in size. The D66 also features Wanner Engineering’s Kel-Cell technology so that in the event of a closed or clogged inlet condition, the D66 will run dry indefinitely without damage to the pump.

The new Hydra-Cell D66 is available with NPT or BSPT as well as SAE flanged NPT or BSPT ports and with a choice of pump head, valve, diaphragm, and o-ring materials.

Handling corrosive, toxic and flammable materials needs a special type of pump. When it was time for API manufacturer Ofichem to upgrade its pumping equipment, it found that Almatec® E-Series and CX Series AODD pumps proved the ideal solution.

The Dutch Ofichem Group BV is a developer, manufacturer and distributor of active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) for use in the global human and veterinary-medicine markets.

One of the most dangerous chemicals Ofichem handles is hydrochloric acid, which is highly corrosive and must be handled with extreme care. To that end, because of the toxic, corrosive and dangerous nature of many of the raw materials that Ofichem uses, safety for both site personnel and the environment is an overriding day-to-day concern.

In the large-scale production area, for example, as many as 500 kilograms (1,100 pounds) of solvents, acids or powders will be transferred in a single day, with various liquids also used to facilitate any number of chemical reactions.

Equipment upgrade In 2007, Ofichem was looking to upgrade the pumping equipment at the lab and contacted Gerrit Klaassen, commercial director of Holland Air Pumps, Oirschot, The Netherlands, for some recommendations.

“If you look at safety issues, our highly toxic products are kept in special areas, things like carcinogenics that cause cancer,” said Remco Vree Egberts, R&D manager and project leader for the Ofichem Group. “Also, if there happens to be a fire, we mandate that the area should be enclosed for at least 60 minutes.”

“For me, it was obvious that Ofichem needed a safe pump in this environment, one that has no leakage,” said Klaassen. “A plastic pump that is easily cleaned and has no corroding parts would be ideal for the application.” Handling corrosive, toxic and flammable materials is a fact of daily life at the Lab Ofichem facility, which is why it is critically important that the correct type of pump be identified and incorporated into the production process.

Wim Ekkelkamp is Ofichem’s technical manager and the man responsible for purchasing the pumps that are used in the Lab Ofichem production facility.

Ideal solutions As it happens, Holland Air Pumps is a distributor of air-operated double-diaphragm (AODD) pumps from Almatec®, Kamp-Lintfort, Germany. In analyzing Ofichem’s API-production setup, Klaassen determined that the Almatec E-Series and CX Series AODD Pumps would be the ideal solutions. E-Series and CX Series pumps are made of solid-block PE conductive material and rated for use in explosion-protected areas as they meet the ATEX requirements of European Directive 94/9/EG regarding the use of equipment or systems in potentially explosive atmospheres.

In terms of operation, these pumps are self-priming and dry-run capable, and possess the ability to empty containers completely. Air consumption and operating cost are optimized through the incorporation of the patented, maintenance-free PERSWING P® air-control system.

“Ofichem chose these pumps because they are reliable, they are very easy to clean, both on the outside and the inside, they are ATEX-certified, which is very important in our production areas, and they have very quiet operation; these are the reasons why we use the Almatec pumps,” said Ekkelkamp.

Low downtime “The thing is, quality is also important, because if you buy a cheaper pump but have downtime of one month every year, then the pump is not cheaper,” added Egberts. “With these pumps we have very low downtime and that’s the most important for us because if our production time is down one day we will lose at least €7,425. That’s why we choose pumps based on quality, not price.”

When the Ofichem Group decided that the time had come to introduce Good Manufacturing Practices to its API-production operation, it knew that this meant that each and every aspect of production would have to operate at the highest level of efficiency and safety.

“We have to keep production moving, we have to keep downtime as low as possible, and we have to be safe, so when we are purchasing any new equipment, the quality is very important,” Egberts said.

So choosing the proper pump technology became a top-of-mind concern for Ofichem’s daily handling many different types of hazardous, toxic, flammable and corrosive chemicals. Any concerns have been assuaged through the incorporation of Almatec AODD Pump technology in its chemical-handling applications.

“It’s very important that our pumps don’t break, that they have solid-block construction and that they don’t have any corrosion,” said Egberts. “If there is any corrosion in the pump, I can’t use it anymore.

We chose the Almatec pumps because they are capable of handling the products we are using. It’s a personal-safety issue — you don’t want any leaks, you don’t want people getting products on them. It’s also a product-safety issue, which in our business is very important. We have been using Almatec pumps for more than 11 years at this facility and we’ve never had a problem with them. We are really happy with them and will continue to use them in the future.”

ITT’s Goulds Pumps has added the IC Open (ICO) Impeller i-FRAME pump to its portfolio of ISO standard pumps.

Designed to handle chemical slurries and waste liquids and challenging food and beverage applications, the ICO augments the standard IC pump design with an open impeller for handling solids. This new feature means that the ICO is also able to deal with air- and gas-handling applications.

Available in 34 sizes and three different materials, ICO is built to ISO 2858 dimensions and meets ISO 5199 standards. In addition to the open impeller, the pump features flanges drilled to DIN/ISO or ANSI, plus a modular design of four bearing frames, which maximises interchangeability across its 34 sizes.

The pump can deal with flows up to 400 m3/hr and heads up to 150 m at temperatures ranging from -40ºC to +280ºC and has a cyclone seal chamber with improved heat removal plus a patented spiral groove design that removes solids from the sealing area.

Its heavy-duty i-FRAME Power Frame helps prevent pump bearing failures and there is also an i-ALERT 2 sensor for continuous machine health monitoring.