Podcast- Efficiency Starts with Reliability

Hydro’s Bob Jennings and Ken Babusiak joined Empowering Pumps’ Charli Matthews for an entertaining and informative podcast about pumps, steel, and the future of reliability-driven operations.

With decades of experience under their belts, Bob and Ken share how the tools, talent, and tech of the industry have evolved—and what that means for staying competitive in today’s fast-paced landscape. From strategies to retain young talent to the real value of learning and adaptation, this convo is loaded with wisdom.

You can listen to the podcast below or browse all of Empowering Pumps podcasts here.


You can also watch the taping of the podcast here:


Want to expand your knowledge? Explore Empowering Pumps and Equipment or read our case studies focused on Hydro’s work in the steel industry.

Empowering Pumps Sustainability Summit

Hydro was proud to participate in this year’s Empowering Pumps virtual Sustainability Summit. This year’s summit explored the vital intersection of environmental responsibility and industrial innovation in the pump and equipment industry.

The summit featured prominent voices including Hydro’s Dr. Gary Dyson, who champions innovative pump design and modification. Gary was joined by Tomas Dobrovolskis of Hidrostal North America, recognized for groundbreaking sustainable equipment solutions and Todd Bush of Decarbonfuse, a leader in industrial decarbonization strategies.

The discussion, led by Empowering Pumps & Equipment President, Vince Marino, shared perspectives on a more sustainable future in industrial operations, highlighting how companies are transforming their approaches to sustainability through cutting-edge product design, sophisticated manufacturing processes, and purposeful operational improvements.

You can watch this year’s summit here:

Learn more about Empowering Pumps and Equipment here.

Read more about Hydro’s commitment to sustainability and how we help end users achieve energy savings through Hydro Energy Edge.

Enhancing Performance Through Flow Reduction

Operating a pump off its design point has many drawbacks. Inefficiency and wasting energy across a throttled valve bothrequire more horsepower than an optimized system. Running away from the best efficiency point increases risk of degradation, which may cause recurring premature component failures due to higher radial loads, hydraulic instability, and other influences. These factors negatively affect reliability while simultaneously driving up the cost of equipment operation and maintenance. For this reason, opportunities to optimize a pump are extremely beneficial and have a very short payback period.

The benefits of modifying pump performance to better match system demand were demonstrated in a recent project undertaken at a Gulf Coast refinery. The refinery had a single-stage, double suction (BB2) pump where the required output had been greatly reduced from the original design. The mechanical seals were repeatedly failing, which resulted in frequent maintenance and seal replacements. The refinery partnered with Hydro, Inc to perform a field evaluation of the pump and develop a design upgrade to increase reliability and efficiency.

Read the full case study in World Pumps’ January/February digital edition to learn what steps were taken to effectively reduce flow for this “bad actor”, returning the asset to reliable operation and significantly reducing the cost to operate the equipment.

Do you have an initiative to save energy and reduce the lifecycle costs of your equipment? Hydro’s Energy Edge is a comprehensive program where we work hand-in-hand with end users to understand opportunities for asset optimization and develop plans to execute on chosen solutions.

Podcast: Picture Pump Efficiency in Terms of Trees and Cars

When it comes to pumping systems, efficiency must be viewed in terms of measurable savings taken as a whole-system approach. Organizational buy-in and leadership support are crucial.

Tune in to Dr. Gary Dyson’s recent conversation with editor Traci Purdum on the Chemical Processing Distilled podcast where he helps us understand how best to achieve efficiency and how pump users can update their thinking when approaching the subject.

Read Chemical Processing’s Industry Perspective or listen to the podcast.

 

Pump System Optimization Guide

By some industry estimates, the average pump in an industrial production facility is operating at less than 40% efficiency, and 85% of pumps are not optimized to their system. This subpar performance translates to real money lost in the form of higher energy costs and premature wear and tear on overstressed valves. This excess stress on system components can lead to shorter mean time between repairs, higher maintenance costs and more unplanned downtime.

To learn expert insights on optimizing your pump system for maximum efficiency and cost-effectiveness, download the Pump System Optimization ebook that Hydro co-sponsored with Plant Services magazine.