In chemical production systems, the core components of pumps and valves operate in extreme service environments for long periods, enduring the combined effects of chemical corrosion, mechanical stress, and thermal load. As key components for fluid transmission and control, their failure not only disrupts the production process but also may cause major safety accidents such as medium leakage. Glass fiber reinforced polyphenylene sulfide (PPS-GF20) composites, with their excellent comprehensive performance, are gradually becoming an important solution to material challenges in this field.

Severe Challenges of Chemical Working Conditions to Pump and Valve Materials

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During chemical production, the service environment of pump and valve components is characterized by significant corrosion, high temperature, and abrasion. In terms of chemical media, strong acidic solutions such as sulfuric acid and hydrochloric acid have strong corrosive effects on metal materials, while strong alkalis like sodium hydroxide easily cause degradation of traditional polymer materials; in terms of thermal environment, the temperature of some process media can exceed 200°C, which is beyond the service temperature range of most engineering materials; in terms of mechanical wear, solid particles carried in fluids cause continuous erosion and wear on component surfaces.​

Engineering practice shows that the service life of traditional stainless steel impellers in hydrochloric acid media is usually less than 3 months, and their surfaces will form penetrating holes due to pitting corrosion; ordinary plastic valve seats are prone to thermal expansion and deformation under high-temperature conditions, significantly increasing the probability of seal failure. Such material failure problems not only greatly increase the whole-life cycle cost of equipment but also pose potential threats to chemical production safety.

Analysis of Performance Advantages of PPS-GF20 Composites​

By introducing glass fiber reinforcement into the polyphenylene sulfide matrix, PPS-GF20 composites achieve synergistic optimization of material properties, effectively addressing the multiple challenges of chemical working conditions.

1. Excellent Chemical Stability

The PPS matrix itself has prominent chemical inertness, and glass fiber reinforcement further improves its corrosion resistance. Experimental data shows that in the full pH range of 0-14 (acidic to alkaline environments), the corrosion rate of PPS-GF20 is only 1/10 that of stainless steel materials, exhibiting good tolerance to strong oxidizing media such as nitric acid and organic solvents like chloroform. After a fertilizer enterprise replaced metal impellers with PPS-GF20 impellers, the service life of components extended from 3 months to 18 months in the transportation of 30% hydrochloric acid medium, reducing maintenance costs by 80%; application cases in the chlor-alkali industry indicate that the service life of PPS-GF20 valve balls in brine transportation systems can reach more than 2 years, with the sealing surface maintaining good integrity.

                               Impeller printed by MD-400D with PPS-GF20 

2. Outstanding Mechanical Properties

The reinforcing effect of glass fibers endows PPS-GF20 with mechanical properties suitable for most chemical pump and valve scenarios. This material has a tensile strength of up to 65MPa, a Rockwell hardness ranging from 90 to 100, and a low friction coefficient of 0.05-0.1, coupled with good fatigue resistance and wear resistance. It can still meet the service requirements in 1.6MPa fluid systems: in the application of solid-containing wastewater transfer pumps, the wear loss of its impellers is reduced by more than 50% compared with stainless steel materials, and the service life is doubled; after 10,000 opening and closing cycles, the valve sealing pairs can still maintain excellent sealing performance. Under 300°C high-temperature steam working conditions, PPS-GF20 valve seat components exhibit good dimensional stability without obvious deformation or structural damage.

                              Valve seat printed by MD-1000D with PPS-GF20

3. Good Heat Resistance

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PPS-GF20 materials have excellent thermal stability, with a continuous service temperature of up to 220°C and short-term tolerance to 260°C. Moreover, they can retain more than 90% of their mechanical properties in high-temperature environments. After a petrochemical enterprise replaced polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) valve cores with PPS-GF20 valve cores in a 200°C heat-conducting oil transportation system, it successfully solved the valve jamming problem caused by high-temperature deformation, reducing equipment failure rate from 5 times per month to 1 time per year, which significantly improved the reliability of the production system.

Engineering Application Value of PPS-GF20​

From the perspective of whole-life cycle cost analysis, although PPS-GF20 materials have a relatively high initial purchase cost, their long service life and low-maintenance characteristics significantly reduce the comprehensive usage cost. In addition, this material possesses excellent molding and processing performance, and can accurately manufacture components with complex geometric shapes through processes such as injection molding. Its dimensional accuracy is controlled within ±0.02mm, which effectively reduces post-processing procedures. Moreover, its low-density property (approximately 1/4 that of stainless steel) helps reduce the moment of inertia of equipment, enabling energy consumption optimization.​

In summary, relying on its outstanding performance in corrosion resistance, mechanical properties, and thermal stability, PPS-GF20 composites provide an effective solution for enhancing the performance of chemical pump and valve components. In the chemical industry that pursues intrinsic safety and production efficiency, the widespread application of this material will drive the continuous improvement of equipment technology.