Large Mining Company Averts Downtime with Eaton Strainers

Challenge

A project engineer from a large mining company was looking for strainers to implement into their cooling water supply lines. The water went into their shell-and-tube heat exchangers that cool sulfuric acid.  The cooling water supply lines were getting clogged with debris which was a major issue that could result in costly downtime or premature failure. Debris was also getting through to their heat exchanger tubes which was causing a potential clogging issue. This company is one of the largest producers of copper, gold and molybdenum and unscheduled downtime is not an option.

Solution

A buyer from the mining company reached out to Valin to discuss strainer options.  One of Valin’s filtration specialists scheduled a call with both the buyer and the project-lead to further understand the application. Based on the customer requirements, we partnered with Eaton to provide the best solution. We went with Eaton’s 950B Duplex Basket Strainers. Duplex strainers contain two separate housing for strainer baskets. Because of the design of the strainer, the process flow does not stop while maintenance is being done on the unit. This practically eliminates downtime due to maintenance and is perfect for removing larger debris from the cooling water that could have downstream ramifications such as clogging equipment, contamination, etc. 

Valin presented the customer with the final solution and confirmed that we would be able to meet their strict deadline. The recommended solution was approved by the project lead and his management team.

Valin’s account manager kept in constant contact with both the customer and the Eaton team to keep the project on track.

Customer Benefit

The main issue the mining company was having was with their cooling water supply lines, but debris was also getting through to their heat exchanger tubes which was causing a potential clogging issue.  Any failure with the cooling lines or heat exchangers can potentially cause major problems, the most damaging of which is plant downtime.  Valin’s solution helped mitigate these issues and helped prolong the life of the heat exchangers, saving the company valuable dollars.

Click here to learn more about Eaton's strainer offering.

 

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