However, costly breakdowns can be reduced or even virtually eliminated byutilising the DuPont™ Kalrez® perfluoroelastomer (FFKM) O-ring seals. Inexamples where these high performance products have replaced the OEM fittedmetal seals, uninterrupted production periods in excess of 10 years have beenexperienced without any lost production processes due to seal failures.Scheduled maintenance periods can also be safely extended leading to manpowersavings coupled with increased production outputs.
The Kalrez® O-ring seals are available in the UK from authorised distributorDichtomatik Ltd. Finished O-rings, custom shapes, sheet and cords aremanufactured exclusively by DuPont™ from raw material right through to thefinished products, and Kalrez® is now the choice of elastomer for themost demanding sealing applications.
Kalrez® is recognised as the market leading perfluoroelastomer which isresistant to over 1800 different chemicals while offering the high temperaturestability of PTFE (327°C). The advanced properties of the product help maintainseal integrity with increased production safety, while also helping to minimisemanufacturing and maintenance costs.
Typical worldwide markets that can benefit from the proven advantages offeredby Kalrez® products include aggressive chemical processing, food andpharmaceutical production activities, oil and gas recovery, petroleumapplications, power generation together with semiconductor wafer processinginvolving a wide range of industrial and electronic grade chemicals.
Subsequent removal or in-situ repairs of affected equipment such as gear pumps,centrifuges, reactors and quick-release couplings can be expensive,particularly if the MTBF times are of short duration, leading to highunscheduled costing levels together with production shut-downs and processliquid losses. Labour costs alone covering major component strip-downs orcomplete unit replacements can be very substantial.