John Crane’s Type 8628VL, a next generation mechanical seal, has been engineered to solve the oil and gas industry's toughest challenges - maintaining sealing integrity in multiphase ethane and ethylene pipelines.
Designed to perform under volatile pressure and temperature conditions, the Type 8628VL leverages spiral groove non-contacting technology to deliver exceptional reliability, operational efficiency and environmental compliance.
Ethane pipelines present unique challenges due to frequent fluid phases shift from liquid to vapour to supercritical, which can compromise conventional seal performance.
The Type 8628VL addresses this by employing dual non-contacting seal faces in a tandem configuration, a design validated by peer-reviewed Lubricants (MDPI) research.
A leading ethane transmission company operating along the US Gulf Coast faced a major operational challenge - managing phase change during pumping with pressure variations.
Ethane, which exists as a liquid at around 18C and 40 bar (580 psi), transitions to vapour at approximately 32C (89F). This phase change created sealing and reliability issues, impacting uptime and seal life.
“Unlike hybrid or contacting seals, the Type 8628VL delivers pure non-contacting operation, even during rapid phase transitions,” said Mike Eason, chief technology officer at John Crane. It’s a significant step forward for the sector.
“We will continue to expand our portfolio with products that meet customer reliability and energy transition goals. The Type 8628VL is a testament to our commitment to innovate for greater efficiency zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.”
New benchmark for ethane pipeline performance
