Tag Archive for: high temperature

Digester Sumps

Digesters break down wood chips into pulp using heat, pressure, and chemicals such as sodium hydroxide and sodium sulfide. Digester sumps collect residual slurry, wash water, and fibers from the process for recirculation, cleaning, or disposal. Maintaining flow from these sumps is essential to prevent downtime and ensure stable pulp production.

Challenges:
The slurry in digester sumps is hot, fibrous, and chemically aggressive. Fibers tend to bind and form mats that clog conventional pumps, while high temperatures and caustic chemicals accelerate corrosion and seal degradation. Downtime for cleaning or repairs can disrupt continuous operations and reduce plant efficiency.

Solution:
Hevvy/Toyo pumps are purpose-built to handle hot, fibrous, and caustic slurries. Their recessed impellers and agitator options prevent fiber buildup and maintain consistent flow, even with high solids content. Available in stainless steel and elastomer-lined configurations, they resist corrosion and provide long service life under the extreme conditions found in digester sumps.

Emergency Dump Ponds

Emergency dump ponds are designed to receive large volumes of slurry or process fluid during plant upsets or maintenance shutdowns. These ponds temporarily hold overflow materials from extraction or upgrading operations until they can be reprocessed or safely treated.

Challenges:
Dump ponds contain unpredictable mixtures of bitumen, sand, water, and process chemicals, often with fluctuating levels and extreme temperatures. Solids settle rapidly, creating heavy sludge that clogs suction lines and damages standard pumps. Access and response time are critical during emergencies, so reliability is essential.

Solution:
Hevvy/Toyo’s submersible pumps are ready-to-deploy and built for rugged, emergency conditions. Their agitator design breaks up settled solids and restores flow quickly, while abrasion-resistant construction handles unpredictable slurries. The modular design enables fast setup and recovery, giving operators a dependable tool for rapid response in emergency pond situations.

Coke Ovens

Coke ovens convert coal into coke, a critical fuel and reducing agent in steelmaking. The process produces large volumes of wastewater laden with tar, oils, and suspended solids that collect in sumps and require removal or recirculation for treatment.

Challenges:
Coke oven wastewater is highly contaminated with viscous hydrocarbons, fine solids, and corrosive chemicals. Conventional pumps struggle with sticky residues that cause blockages, seal failures, and motor overloads. High temperature and chemical content further accelerate corrosion and wear.

Solution:
Hevvy/Toyo’s heavy-duty submersible and cantilever pumps excel in handling viscous, contaminated fluids. Their open impellers, optional elastomer linings, and agitator technology prevent buildup and maintain smooth flow. With corrosion-resistant materials and mechanical seal protection, these pumps offer reliable operation in the harsh, hot, and chemical-laden environment of coke oven systems.

Desalting Sludges

Desalting sludges are dense mixtures of oil, water, and solids generated during the crude-oil desalting process. The desalting unit removes salts and other contaminants before refining, but this separation leaves behind thick, abrasive, and often corrosive sludges that must be safely removed and transferred.

Challenges:
These sludges are highly viscous and contain sticky hydrocarbons, solids, and sometimes corrosive chlorides, making them difficult to pump. Standard centrifugal pumps struggle with suction loss, overheating, or clogging, while maintenance can be hazardous due to the sludge’s chemical nature and high temperature.

Solution:
Hevvy/Toyo submersible agitator pumps excel in handling heavy, viscous, and abrasive sludge. Their agitator technology keeps solids suspended, while robust high-chrome or stainless-steel materials resist corrosion and wear. This ensures continuous operation with minimal manual intervention — reducing downtime, cleanup, and maintenance costs.