Historically, oil leakage to process (sour oil) was controlled with tight clearances that made the seals more susceptible to incidental contact with the shaft and permanent increases in clearances and leakage rates.

The Kaydon bushing oil seal (K-BOS) allows for tightly controlled leakage rates while maintaining a larger nominal clearance to the shaft. This is achieved by way of engineered pumping geometry in the bore of the process seal ring, which works with shaft rotation to generate a relative offset to seal oil pressure. This geometry is designed to provide optimal performance at normal operating speeds, while a short constant clearance section of the ring controls leakage rates during shutdown.

Gold-pated K-BOS for Corrosive Applications

Kaydon gold-plated bushing oil seals are ideal for hydrogen recycle and wet gas compressor applications where high concentrations of H2S or chlorides may form after rotor wash and attack traditional Babbitted bushings. Kaydon retrofits of gold-plated K-BOS seals have increased compressor run times from less than one year to 7+ years between seal overhauls.