In 2007, Organik Kimya opened its facility in the Netherlands, located in the Botlek chemical complex on Rotterdam Harbor. This facility produces polymer emulsions for the paint and coatings industry. The manufacture of polymer emulsions is the company's most prominent business globally, with more than 250,000 metric tons (551 million pounds) produced a year, with 80,000 metric tons (176 million pounds) coming from the Rotterdam facility. Its product portfolio includes more than 150 different types of polymer emulsions that are supplied to more than 1,000 customers operating in a total of 85 countries.
The Mouvex C24i Series Eccentric Disc Pumps
Protecting people and the environment
Organik Kimya makes polymers and has emulsion vessels where it puts together different types of monomers. From those vessels it pumps to the reactor vessels where the monomers start reacting and forming polymers. Critical to the successful operation of the Rotterdam plant is not just that there are no production-halting breakdowns but also that all of the raw and finished products are always safely contained as many of them can be toxic or hazardous to both humans and the environment.
Monomers are dangerous because they can be toxic and flammable. The most important thing is if the pumps fail during an operation, the monomers must be removed because they can react and harmful materials must not be allowed to sit in the pump for a long time. In addition if there is too much maintenance on the pumps, opening the system with dangerous materials inside can be harmful to people and the environment.
Breakdowns and leaks can also have a negative effect on Organik Kimya's bottom line not only in lost in-service time and injury to site personnel and the environment, but in the amount it costs to clean up the leak and the pump.
If the company has to open up a pump, it must be flushed every time and flushing is time-consuming, expensive and creates a lot of safety issues. The complete system has to be flushed, the pump removed and the system flushed again to make sure there are no chemicals inside before it can be opened up. Even a very small spill means that people must be removed from the area and the incident has to be investigated which costs time and money.
Additionally, the pumps must also be ATEX-certified since they are handling potentially flammable materials. This also means that the pumps must not generate any excessive heat when they are operating, as this heat could ignite the flammable materials, which could lead to more problems for the facility.
Mouvex C24i pumps
Since 2007, the process of transferring a blend of monomers and water from the immersion vessels to the reactors has been handled by a quartet of C24i Series Eccentric Disc Pumps from Mouvex®, Auxerre, France. The pumps were supplied to Organik Kimya by Verder B.V. in the Netherlands, a distributor of positive displacement pump technologies for use in various industries, including chemical processing, food and beverage, and water/wastewater.
The Mouvex C24i pumps are suited to Organik Kimya's needs because they feature a seal-free design that does not require a mechanical seal, packing or magnets, eliminating leakage and reducing maintenance and downtime.
They also operate via the Mouvex eccentric disc operating principle, which allows for consistent flow rates and improved energy savings. They are dry-run capable and can handle both low- and high-viscosity liquids, while their strong suction power allows them to successfully clear pipes of expensive materials and useable end products. The C24i model is specifically capable of delivering a flow rate of 24 m3/h (6,340 gph) at differential pressures to 9 bar (130 psi) and at speeds up to 460 rpm.
No downtime and low maintenance
“Downtime in these types of plants costs a lot of money, a lot more money than the actual price of the pump,” said Rob Blok of Verder B.V. “If downtime is one or two hours, that can be 50,000 to 100,000 Euros (US$54,500 to US$109,000). That's why they chose the Mouvex pumps, for the reliability and the low maintenance costs.”
Organik Kimya also prefers the Mouvex pump because it's fully enclosed. Other pumps have a lot of wear parts, a lot of soft parts, but this pump has no soft parts inside, so it's very low maintenance. In addition, with its system of pumping, it doesn't matter if the clearance is one micron or one millimeter (equivalent to 1,000 microns), it still pumps. The company is happy with the C24i pumps because they have had a lot of problems with mechanical seals and these pumps don't have a seal.
Operating the Mouvex C24i Series Eccentric Disc Pumps
Sustainability and environmental awareness
The C24i's leak-free design also goes hand-in-hand with Organik Kimya's commitment to sustainability and environmental awareness in its polymer-production processes. The company ensures that all of its production activities are undertaken while adhering to the most stringent environmental safeguards and since the 1990s has allowed audits to be performed by insurance companies with possible risks evaluated and eliminated or minimized through the implementation of environmentally conscious technologies like the C24i pumps.
The pumps that manufacture Organik Kimya's polymer emulsions must be reliable, dependable, easy to operate and, most importantly, safe for site personnel and the environment. The Mouvex C24i Series Eccentric Disc Pumps that Organik Kimya deploys at its Rotterdam facility check all the right boxes.
Maintenance Manager, Rob van Oostveen concluded, “A leaking pump causes trouble in terms of fire-safety risk and also in toxic risk. We do not have a lot of time to play around with pumps and pump failures. We need the pumps running over and over again. We use Mouvex pumps because of their simple and safe way of operation.”
