Liquid Process Systems, Inc.

Liquid Process Systems, Inc. Industries served include manufactured/engineered wood, asphalt, die-casting, plastics, PET, adhesives, paints, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, supplements, me

For those of us who appreciate seeing actual numbers to support the appearance of thermal fluid being cleaned up by filt...
07/30/2020

For those of us who appreciate seeing actual numbers to support the appearance of thermal fluid being cleaned up by filtration, attached are the actual lab numbers from the before and after hot oil filtration comparison samples from the previous post. This result was achieved after less than 6 weeks of side stream filtration. The particle count has reduced substantially. Viscosity, TAN and Insolubles will continue to improve going forward.

A rush order for a thermal fluid filtration system shipped on Thursday, delivered on Friday, installed on Sunday -- resu...
07/26/2020

A rush order for a thermal fluid filtration system shipped on Thursday, delivered on Friday, installed on Sunday -- resulted in a PO for a second filter unit on Tuesday! That made our week.
We welcome photos from the field as it is beyond thrilling to see how quickly our hot oil filtration systems work to capture solids and that users need more filtration units for their multiple thermal fluid heater loops.
First photo shows the debris and solids captured in the filter elements. Carbon solids and hard metal fines will damage the process pumps in hot oil heating units. This photo gives unmistakable visual confirmation that quick system clean up with our hot oil filter systems will work to save process pumps, rotating parts, valves, injection molder heads, etc.
The second photo shows samples of thermal fluid before and after installing a thermal fluid filtration system from us on their thermal fluid heaters.
Fluid analysis is a helpful indicator to prove that fluid is in condition to benefit from filtration. We seldom have the opportunity to see the results comparing before and after installing one of our hot oil filtration units. Many thanks to our customers who take the time to send photos of their results after installing and using a filtration system from Liquid Process Systems. We are honored to be of service.

Though it is a good “problem” to have, our continuing backlog of orders for hot oil filtration systems has made it chall...
04/16/2019

Though it is a good “problem” to have, our continuing backlog of orders for hot oil filtration systems has made it challenging to post to social media on a regular basis. Following the August 2018 post with all the separate components, here is a photo of that completed custom duplex thermal fluid filtration system, assembled and painted. This unit required weld neck fl**ges with forged carbon steel weldolets on all openings. There are multiple connections available for instrumentation ports and purge options. It is now in service in the Midwest at a high profile and well known specialty chemical processing facility.

Here is a photo of another custom designed simplex hot oil filter housing completed late last year that is now in use at another specialty chemical facility in the southeastern USA.In addition to the special sockolet nozzles our customer required, we modified our standard design by putting the vent on the side of the housing instead of at the top and extended piping to allow for 3” thick insulation per our customer’s specifications. The design is extremely robust and rated for 300 psig at 750F. It features top of the line Velan forged carbon steel valves socket welded into place at all openings and Sch 160 siphon tubes with high temperature pressure gauges and diaphragm seals isolated from the process by globe valves, again as the customer specified
Zooming in on the welds in these photos, you can easily see the high quality work and attention to detail that is standard practice at our welding and fabrication shop. Our hot oil filtration equipment and replacement filter elements are Made in USA by people who take exceptional pride in their work.

Many of our high temperature hot oil filter housings feature custom options for end users who specify their preferred pr...
08/24/2018

Many of our high temperature hot oil filter housings feature custom options for end users who specify their preferred process connections of either fl**ged, socket welded or threaded types. Nozzles and fittings are attached to shells with our standard high quality groove or fillet welds.
Pictured here are nozzle component parts to one of the most unique side stream filtration systems that we have worked on to date. Our client has strict hot oil piping specifications that we must incorporate into our filtration equipment that will become part of their thermal fluid heating process loop.
Our highly skilled AWS Certified lead welder made these weldments.
Note the full pe*******on root on the inside of the piping components that attach piping and weldolets to the weld neck fl**ges. Also note the multiple cap passes on the outside that are required to fill up the bevel grooves to make the most sturdy and robust piping that will pass NDT hydrostatic testing at pressures above design specifications. More postings to come as we continue to manufacture the filter housings for this special client.

We all do it – waiting until something is broken to fix it. The same holds true with preventive maintenance (PM) at indu...
06/22/2018

We all do it – waiting until something is broken to fix it. The same holds true with preventive maintenance (PM) at industrial facilities. Maintenance personnel often express frustration about spending another weekend at the facility fixing their hot oil pumps or cleaning out the coked up process lines or expansion tanks because build-ups of carbon solids have affected heat transfer efficiency and the operators cannot maintain temperatures required for their manufacturing processes.
Liquid Process Systems has been promoting PM and supplying our side stream thermal fluid filtration systems for over 26 years now and I estimate that about 50% of the calls we receive are for filtration systems to complement new process heating equipment. That means the other 50% of our inquiries come when there are problems at the plant, it is shut down or in urgent need of a filtration system. The current percentage is an improvement because when we started making our equipment, all of it went to problem applications.
Hot oil heaters are usually supplied with large perforated mesh in line (full flow) strainers that might capture particles in the 200 mesh (74 micron) size range. Thermal fluid analysis testing has shown us that coking and sludge particles are much less than 50 micron in size. Perforated basket strainers will not catch those very fine particles so the solids continue to multiply, collect and affect process heat transfer efficiency and velocity of fluid flow. It still comes as pleasant surprise to a number of maintenance personnel that we provide side stream hot oil filtration systems designed to operate continually, while their process is running, working to capture the very fine solids down to 10 and 5 micron and remove them from the fluid permanently. Filtration extends the useful life of the thermal fluid, prevents carbon solids from building up in low points and reduces wear on moving parts.
Here is a photo of Liquid Process Systems thermal fluid filtration skid package that will become part of a new hot oil heating process loop. This company chose the preventative maintenance option.

The attached photo illustrates another example of how we customize to meet each end-user’s specifications. This client s...
04/20/2018

The attached photo illustrates another example of how we customize to meet each end-user’s specifications. This client specified a high quality and popular name brand hot oil pump and we complied with their requirements. As shown on the attached photo of the stand-alone thermal fluid filtration system, the Dean pump required piping changes that modified our standard skid package. This client also needed a separate Nema 4X NFD dedicated to the pump motor and mounted separately from the main thermal fluid filtration control panel box. It is one more example of how our skid mounted heat transfer fluid filtration systems are modified to be suitable for service in many process heating industries including manufactured wood, asphalt and aggregates, pharmaceutical, oil, gas and petrochemical, food processing, plastics and die casting. Our welders, fabricators and CAD operators welcome these unique equipment customizing challenges because it gives them opportunities to hone problem solving skills and always learn something new. Made with pride in USA!

The “custom” thermal fluid filtration equipment trend continues into 2018. Just a few weeks ago, we shipped two 5-gpm fi...
02/16/2018

The “custom” thermal fluid filtration equipment trend continues into 2018. Just a few weeks ago, we shipped two 5-gpm filtration systems with 2” bypass piping to a chemical manufacturer. Users of hot oil systems require filter vessel design in accordance with ASME Section VIII, Division 1 for highest quality welds and specific materials of construction. The bypass line is needed when side stream filtration is installed in “series” on the same pressure line.

With this piping configuration, the bypass line can accommodate the full flow of the main line when the filter element is clogged so that the hot oil heater does not need to be shut down. A small percentage of the flow from the main will be continually filtered by throttling back on the bypass valve and forcing some of the flow from the main line across the filter housing. When the filter element is clogged, the filter housing can be isolated from the process while the main flow continues through the bypass line where full flow can be manually controlled with the throttle valve that is a permanent part of the bypass line. The hot oil heating system can operate continually whether the filter element is clean or clogged or being changed.

Photo shows the low flow filter housing with higher flow bypass line. We call this our Vector with Bypass Series. It ships complete with isolation valves, throttle valve, drain and vent valves as well as pressure gauges to monitor differential pressure to indicate when filter element is clogged and needs to be replaced. Process connections are built to suit end user’s preference of either NPT, Socket Weld or Flanged.

Welcoming this New Year comes with reflecting on the past year and we can say with certainty that 2017 was the year of c...
01/16/2018

Welcoming this New Year comes with reflecting on the past year and we can say with certainty that 2017 was the year of custom equipment. Projects for filtering hot oil that came our way during last year were truly unique in both size and design challenges.

A previous blog featured a very large duplex thermal fluid filtration system with over-sized bypass line. That project was one to beat simply due to size of the manifolds with incredible amounts of pipe welding and overall footprint of the system. Then an order for another duplex system with more custom detail requirements came though. This unit is destined for rental service by a large fuel and lubricants supplier.

Next came a request to provide a small hot oil filtration system for an important research and development project for the petroleum industry. Here is a photo of the low flow filtration system rated for very high pressure and temperature with SRV, gauges and valves and not much room for more options.

The larger filtration systems all include davit assembly and hand wheel, however this past year included a custom request for adding a davit arm and hand wheel to a very small diameter filter housing. That unit proved so popular that we can continue to offer it as a viable option.

Designing and building these side stream heat transfer fluid systems is rewarding in and of itself. The best part about providing industrial equipment is the positive feedback from end users who report that the systems are performing fluid clean ups better than they expected and that the hot oil filtration systems are doing exactly what they are supposed to do: remove carbon solids and extend the useful life of the thermal fluids.

We continue to stock replacement filter elements and pump seal repair kits for the convenience of our clients and we always look forward to helping existing and new hot oil filtration users in 2018.

Another great example of our custom hot oil filtration equipment capabilities. A new client wanted a davit arm assembly ...
08/11/2017

Another great example of our custom hot oil filtration equipment capabilities. A new client wanted a davit arm assembly on a small diameter thermal fluid filter vessel. It was a challenge that we had not encountered before. Frankly, there is not much room to spare on the top closure fl**ge for the vent valve and the hand wheel. Rising to the challenge, our men worked with AutoCAD to design a very small davit arm complete with hand wheel that fits nicely within the available small space. Understandably, they are very proud of how well it turned out. I am delighted with their work on this project and looking forward to hearing from the client. The photos show how it ranks quite high in the “cute” category!

Necessity leads to a new invention to pressure test valves:From time to time, we have had socket weld valves fail pressu...
07/27/2017

Necessity leads to a new invention to pressure test valves:

From time to time, we have had socket weld valves fail pressure tests after welding in place on our thermal fluid filtration equipment. There was not a good way to test these valves prior to welding in place and if they failed hydrostatic testing, we had to cut them off and replace with a new valve.
Our employees are very creative and enjoy solving problems that result in time and cost savings for our company. Kevin Jones thought of an idea for a tabletop mounted leak-testing device that would allow us to pressurize socket weld valves and test for leaks with soapy water solution before they are welded onto the filtration equipment.
Here is a photo of the unit that we will use to pre-test all valves before use. The pressure regulator allows air test ranges from 5 to 50 psi. Valve diameters can be up to 2 inch. Update: It works with fl**ged valves, too!

Update September 20, 2017: THIS DEVICE IS NOW "PATENT PENDING." CONGRATULATIONS, KEVIN!

Address

1025 Technology Drive, Indian Trail
Indian Trail, NC
28079

Opening Hours

Monday 8am - 5pm
Tuesday 8am - 5pm
Wednesday 8am - 5pm
Thursday 8am - 5pm
Friday 8am - 5pm

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Liquid Process Systems, Inc. posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Featured

Share

Category