Product category:
Couplings, Seals, Gaskets
News Release from: Meco Shaft Seals | Subject: Vacuum dryer seals
Edited by the Processingtalk Editorial
Team on 15 March 2006
Seals improve vacuum dryer efficiency
A processor making chemicals for use in the aerospace industry needed seals for a horizontal rotary vacuum dryer, which would not allow grease or particles from packings to enter the process
A processor making chemicals for use in the aerospace industry needed seals for a horizontal rotary vacuum dryer, which would not allow grease or particles from packings to enter the process They had been using an unsplit double-faced mechanical seal, which was not able to hold vacuum, causing drying times to be excessively long
This article was originally published on Processingtalk on 26 Mar 2003 at 8.00am (UK)
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Meco split shaft seals for dry powder applications
The Meco original "EAS" externally-adjustable fully-split seals offer complete containment of dry, abrasive powders, pastes, slurries, corrosives and fluids on a wide variety of rotating equipment
The seals were expensive to replace and failed frequently.
The dryer shaft diameter is 267mm, turning at 4 rpm.
Process temperature is 160C/320F and pressure ranges from 20mm Hg vacuum to 14 psig.
Different products are dried in the dryer in separate batches.
The products consist of abrasive pastes, containing a variety of solvents.
No one elastomer material was compatible with all the processes so Meco designed a mechanically-driven (elastomer-free) "Ex-Pac" model seal for the dryer.
Advantages provided by the Meco seals include accommodating both thermal growth and run-out motion of the shaft, as well as changes in process pressure during the drying cycle.
The Meco seals hold the vacuum throughout the cycle, causing the drying process time to be shortened by 50% on many batches.
Split designs afford quick and inexpensive rebuilds, done annually in this case.
Since the installation of these seals in 2002, Meco has successfully applied the Ex-Pac seal to dryers at higher temperatures and pressure ranges than those detailed here. Request a free brochure from Meco Shaft Seals ...
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