Sundyne, a global leader in the design and manufacture of pumps and compressors, announced that it is sponsoring the Honeywell UOP 2023 HF Alkylation User’s Symposium, taking place June 26-29 at the Cheyenne Mountain Resort in Colorado Springs, CO.
At the conference, Sundyne’s Jason Fouraker will present a technical paper entitled: “Approved Magnetic Drive Pumps in HF Acid Service.” This session codifies lessons learned since 1992, when a refinery in Australia deployed an HMD Kontro sealless magnetic drive pump for HF Alkylation – which remains in service today. The session will discuss Sundyne/HMD’s innovative approach to addressing the industry-wide issues associated with casting failures for pumps handling Hydrofluoric Acid. It will provide details on HMD’s unique solution using alternative alloy materials combined with a new validation method of Non-Destructive Examination (NDE) for the pump casing.
In addition to outlining UOP accepted minimum design requirements for HF Alkylation service, this session will also cover how Sundyne has developed this newly accepted proprietary production process that dramatically increases pump reliability and most importantly, increases safety for personnel in HF Alkylation facilities.
Hydrofluoric Acid (HF) Alkylation is a refining process that mixes hydrocarbons from a fluidized catalytic cracking unit (FCCU) with a hydrofluoric acid catalyst, to make high octane gasoline. For decades, HF Alkylation units have been particularly vulnerable to corrosion, because HF acid by its nature seeks out and attacks imperfections in cast components, leading to pump failures and product leakage.
“We’ve spent almost 10 years working with UOP to demonstrate and to validate our proprietary pumping solution to safely & reliably handle hydrofluoric acid,” said Sundyne’s Jason Fouraker. “At the summit, we’ll talk in greater detail about Sundyne/HMD’s unique liquid contact materials, and our NDE & testing plan that’s specifically designed for HF Acid. We’ll demonstrate our secondary containment and leak detection solutions, and a handful of key Sundyne personnel will join me at the event to help attendees understand the best ways to address their HF Alkylation pumping challenges.”
