Mechanical Seals Reduce Polluting Emissions

Mechanical seals and fluid control systems are an important element in controlling emissions from industrial processes. These seals produce a direct environmental benefit by decreasing the risk of leakage and by improving energy and water efficiency at customers' premises.

John Crane mechanical seals are designed to reduce and in some cases eliminate emissions of hazardous substances into the environment from chemical plants and oil and gas pipelines. The Type 48 single seal is designed to satisfy USA Federal, State and local emission requirements for VOCs. For more demanding emissions requirements, the Type 2800 series zero emission gas seals are supplied to major customers such as Total Fina and Lyondell in Holland. Type 8600 double seals are also fitted to main oil line pump services for customers such as BP, Shell and Chevron.

Extending Product Life Through Repair and Overhaul

Many of our businesses provide repair facilities that can prolong the life of customers’ products. Service centres are a key feature of our mechanical seals business and through repairs to our avionics instruments and systems, we help to maintain airline safety.

Turbine Air Starter Exchange Programme

Smiths Aerospace Mechanical Systems – TDI in Dayton, Ohio has had a product exchange programme for turbine air starters in place for several years. Customers return their old turbine air starter when it has completed its useful life and exchange it for a rebuilt product, saving the customer money and re-using some components from their traded product.

Avionics with Reduced Environmental Impacts

Weight, space and fuel consumption are at a premium in supplying avionic systems. Our upgraded power distribution system for the Boeing 777 airliner - Electrical Load Management System (ELMS2) - includes additional energy and fuel saving features and offers a weight saving compared with the original.

We also encourage our customers to use Liquid Crystal Displays rather than Cathode Ray Tubes (CRTs) as these typically use 30 per cent less energy, are 50 per cent lighter and have longer life expectancy. Liquid Crystal Displays are being supplied to rotary wing platforms such as Lynx and EH 101 and fixed wing aircraft such as business jets and the JSF/F35.

Safer Working Conditions for Healthcare Professionals

In the United States, the Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act 2001 made it compulsory to protect clinicians and nurses from needle injuries. Healthcare workers use our range of needle protection devices, including Needle-Pro®, which uses a simple one-handed closure technique, to protect against injury.

Cozmo™ Improves Quality of Life for Diabetes Sufferers

Type 1 insulin dependent diabetics use Smiths Medical’s Cozmo pump to personalize their treatment, adjusting their dosage of insulin to avoid the need for multiple injections during the day.

SmartFlow Seal Saves Water

In Finland, John Crane Safematic’s SmartFlow water seal device has been developed for the pulp and paper industry. SmartFlow reduces the water required to cool and lubricate a seal by as much as 90 per cent, leading to water savings of 1500m3 a year per seal in tests. A typical pulp and paper mill has many mechanical seals and the potential for total water savings per site may be as great as half a million cubic metres of water each year.