Manufacturer Reports No Leakage In 10 Years Perfluoroelastomer Seals

Phil Black - PII Editor 13/11/2015

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Dramatic increases in instrument performance and reliability have been achieved where original PTFE gasket seals have been replaced with Kalrez® custom gaskets from the DuPont™ Performance Polymers range of products, available in the UK from Dichtomatik Ltd.

A Finnish manufacturer of process refractometers was utilising process media at temperatures ranging from -20° to +220°C and pressures from 0.7 bar to 25 bar. These aggressive operating conditions resulted with the PTFE seals needing to be regularly replaced on a 6-12 months operating cycle. However, after the seals were replaced by Kalrez® custom gaskets, there was no experience of fluid leakage over a 10 year period, even though the sealing products were subject to permanent in-line fluids immersion during this period.

Because of inherent inelasticity, the original PTFE gaskets were also unable to withstand the dynamic temperature fluctuations of many food, pulp and paper production together with chemical manufacturing processes.

The DuPont™ Kalrez® perfluoroelastomer parts have a well proven history of superior performance in a wide range of demanding sealing applications. They are thermally stable up to 327°C, and are resistant to more than 1800 chemicals while retaining high elasticity and long term sealing performance.

The delicate digital detector circuits and fibre optics located within the sensor head of the refractometer are protected by twin gaskets which are now more positively sealed from aggressive process media attack. The elasticity, heat resistance and outstanding chemical properties of the Kalrez® gaskets have also substantially reduced the frequency of costly repairs of the refractometer products, resulting in overall savings for both the manufacturer and end-user customers who benefit from vastly reduced disruptive interruptions to their manufacturing and production processes.

Since the introduction of Kalrez® perfluoroelastomer parts over 25 years ago, their superiority of performance has been established in an ever widening variety of difficult and demanding sealing applications.