Chementator: Diamond may be a pump’s best friend  

Advanced Diamond Technologies, Inc. (ADT; Romeoville, Ill.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/7371-533) has launched a new family of mechanical seals to improve efficiency, save energy and reduce costs in fluid-pumping systems. The patented UNCD (ultrananocrystalline diamond) Seals provide the benefits of a diamond at a cost comparable to silicon carbide face seals, according to ADT, which was formed in 2003 to commercialize the UNCD technology developed at Argonne National Laboratory (ANL; Argonne, Ill.). ADT is the exclusive licensee to ANL’s portfolio of patents for synthesizing and using UNCD. UNCD Seals save energy by reducing friction at the sealing interface; the coefficient of friction of UNCD faces running against SiC primaries is between 0.018 and 0.040, which is well below that of SiC running against SiC (>0.18) and SiC against resin-bonded carbon (0.08 – 0.1). The UNCD Seal also reduces the mean-time to replacement due to longer lasting faces. "In accelerated wear tests with extremely poor lubrication, we have seen negligible wear on the UNCD faces and reductions in the coefficient of friction of over 75%. In the same tests, SiC faces fail due to severe leakage, says Charles West, ADT vice president of engineering. ADT’s…