Hayward Tyler’s High-Pressure Reactor Recycle Pumps for Butanediol (BDO) Production

Chemical and Polymer Facility Relies on Hayward Tyler’s BDO Solution

The compound butanediol 1,4 (BDO) is a versatile intermediate used in the chemical industry. Its largest derivative product is tetrahydrofuran (THF), which is used to make spandex fibers, resins, solvents, and printing inks. The second-largest product is polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), which is used to make high-performance materials, electronics, and automotive equipment.

Production of BDO occurs in a reactor where high-pressure hydrogen is injected into a feedstock chemical stream to produce BDO. Within the reactor system, a set of high-pressure process pumps continuously recycle the BDO reactor fluid. With large quantities of gas being injected and consumed in the reactor process, the BDO recycle pumps face challenging conditions. Gas can become entrained and loss of liquid in the pump end becomes a primary concern. Rapid pressure spikes up to 6,000 psi can occur in the process. Continuous operation of the BDO production is of significant importance. Unplanned downtime of the production plant can cost the operators as much as $500,000 per day in lost revenue.
Following a string of bearing failures every six months within the existing oil-filled, canned motor pumps at a BDO production plant in LaPorte, Texas, Hayward Tyler, Inc. (HTI) successfully replaced the existing pumps with its own sealless, vertical, canned motor pump (dry stator) package. HTI’s design and application team worked directly with site engineers to understand the problem and design a reliable
solution that met their requirements. These pumps have been operated reliably since 1997.