Vesconite Bearings: Quick payback on wear ring

This was the result of a study by a large pump original equipment manufacturer (OEM) that compared energy usage on a typical submersible pump when a Vesconite Hilube wear ring was in place and when a stainless steel wear ring had been installed.

Vesconite Hilube is a low-friction wear-resistant polymer. Wear rings made from the material are designed to seal the pressure leakage of the liquid between the inlet and the impeller and the pump casing, and should result in a higher pumping efficiency due to lower by-pass.

Vesconite Bearing technical pump consultant Phillip de Villiers was, therefore, pleased when the pump OEM’s results independently proved Vesconite Hilube’s ability to improve pumping efficiency and decrease electricity usage.

The study showed a 0.11kW/h energy reduction when operation of the pump with a large diameter stainless steel wear was compared with operation of the same pump type with a dimensionally-identical Vesconite Hilube wear ring.

Assuming the Vesconite Hilube wear ring’s use on an industrial pump, operating 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, the electricity savings from installing a Vesconite Hilube wear ring add up, particularly when the pump is operated in a jurisdictions in which electricity charges are high.

In the specific pump that was studied by the OEM, the wear ring would have a three-month payback even where a low electricity cost was assumed, notes De Villiers.

He adds that electricity savings for a five-to-ten stage submersible pump can be significant if the electricity savings of each stage are added together.

With concerns about global CO₂ emissions from electricity generation - which reached 12Gt in 2010 - as well as an awareness that pumps account for 10% of global electrical energy consumption, technological interventions are valued by pump manufacturers and pump users.

They are also of interest to state and national governments that are interested in reducing carbon emissions to keep global warming under 1.5°C.