VSP gaskets for tank containers

SEALED FOR QUALITY

GASKETS • INVESTING IN INNOVATIVE GASKET TECHNOLOGY CAN PROVIDE ENHANCED SAFETY FOR TANK CONTAINER OPERATORS AND SUBSTANTIAL LONG-TERM SAVINGS, VSP TECHNOLOGIES SAYS

GASKETS ARE ESSENTIAL in providing safety and reducing a loss in profits; their correct operation is of the utmost importance for chemical businesses. Investment in topof-the-range gaskets is essential to offset the costs of daily wear and tear and manage the extreme variations of use they are required to handle.

VSP Technologies has developed a broad range of gasket and flange solutions, most notably the PITA®, PITA® OPRA™ [one-piece reduced area] and PITA® DNA™ [DIN and ANSI] families. Having originally focused on North American markets, VSP has launched a global partnership with Klinger to expand internationally. VSP is looking to increase its standing in bulk transport, which has been a growth sector, and is working on providing solutions from the growing number of requests from industrial installations.

“PITA was developed for the chemical industry and industrial plants to address thermal cycling – the expansion and contraction through normal equipment usage,” explains Geoff Malgee, marketing coordinator at VSP Technologies. “The advantage of the PITA products is that they have a corrugated stainless steel insert that acts like a spring, fully incapsulated in an expanded PTFE [Teflon] face. As there is expansion, the steel insert acts like a spring, expanding out with the flange then, when contracting, the soft ePTFE facing will allow for the compression, completing the cycling.

“The product moved into the bulk transportation industry through rail, addressing the constant vibrations that tank cars undergo when travelling,” continues Malgee. “The same properties that address thermal cycling, we found, addressed these tank car problems far better than anything else on the market. We have found huge success with the PITA gasket in rail, which has naturally evolved into the bulk tank container industry.”

“The other key portion of this is that flanges on bulk transportation are not necessarily the strongest flanges,” adds Jeff Wilson, applications and product development engineer at VSP Technologies, pointing to DIN connections often being thinner than ANSI ones.

TESTED TO THE LIMITS “The PITA gasket does very well in lowstressed seal situations,” says Wilson. “For most gaskets it’s replacing, it can be as much as half the required gasket stress to seal, which can lead to higher operational tightness, which translates directly to lower emissions out of the gasket and out of the tank itself.”

The PITA DNA range of gaskets is designed to fit both ANSI and DIN flanges by utilising the benefits of VSP’s PITA and OPRA technologies. “The products are good for all chemical services, regardless of pH. The only exceptions would be molten alkali metals, elemental fluorine and aggressive trifluoride compounds. Other than those, they’re good for use across the board,” says Malgee.

Wilson adds: “These tanks can see variations from below freezing one day to +100°F (+37.7°C) the next, so there is a lot of thermal expansion in the connection alone. Having a gasket that will maintain that seal for the lifetime of that connection until it is opened up again is essential.”

VSP has developed an ISO catalogue to assist customers selecting items for use in equipment such as tank containers, and the RideTight® programme, an all-encompassing gasket management programme providing everything from training for maintenance personnel to laying out purchasing options. The programme was designed in response to the lack of understanding of best practices.

Between 2002 and 2018, users of VSP saved a combined $137,529,451.48 through the implementation of VSP’s better work practices and installation procedures, engineering support, quality equipment, onsite training and multi-unit manufacturing capacity, the company states. HCB vsptechnologies.com