Hydrocarbon Engineering Magazine Raves About Viking's New XPD 676 PumpRefineries, petrochemical plants and their EPCs have had limited choices for positive displacement (PD) pumps that comply with API 676 design standards until recently. While many pumps claim to ‘meet the intent’ of the standard, or ‘comply, with exceptions’, Viking Pump has developed a new series of steel internal gear pumps that are engineered and manufactured to comply fully with all requirements of this critical standard. The XPD 676 Series offers capacities to 1600 GPM (360 m3/hr) on viscosities from 28 to 2 million SSU, with differential pressures to 200 psi (14 bar).
Some of the recent applications where Viking has recently provided API 676 compliant pumps include: hydrocarbon transfer (EU refinery), rail car unloading of crude oil (US refinery), processing rubber cement (ME petrochemical plant), fueling on offshore platforms (EU, Asia), and processing polyols (ME petrochemical plant). These projects help illustrate the variety of liquids and viscosities that Viking pumps can handle, from thin, high vapour pressure hydrocarbons (due to very low NPSHr), to extremely viscous polymer reactor discharge at very high temperatures (due to low shear with integral jacketing and the ability to adjust clearances for viscosity).
The API standard helps reduce the risk of handling hazardous or flammable hydrocarbons by ensuring the highest quality and reliability available in a pump. Some of the requirements of the standard include use of an API 682 compliant mechanical seal with minimum 25 000 hr (three year) design life, anti-friction bearings with minimum 25 000 hr L-10 life at operating conditions, additional 3 mm corrosion allowance on pressure containing parts over and above the maximum allowable casing pressure, extensive non-destructive evaluation (NDE) of steel castings and weld repairs, and much more. Together, these features that are not normally found on ‘manufacturer’s standard’ pumps ensure the ultimate in safety, by reducing chance of emissions, leakage or catastrophic failure. The standard maximizes reliability by requiring the best available components, and validates that reliability through NDE and certified hydrostatic and performance testing at the specified operating conditions. Due to the extreme robustness of the pumps, Viking provides a five year warranty on the XPD 676 Series.
