据油气产品10月31日消息称，毋庸置疑，原油是一种有价值的产品，或者更准确地说，是一种对全球所有人都非常宝贵的产品。未精炼的石油每天整天都从地下深处的储量中抽出，并通过桶来装载。

在需求和供应方面，全球燃料油供应量为9270万桶/天，而全球燃料油需求量为9818万桶/天。预计到2020年，需求将以1.8％的复合年均增长率（CAGR）增长。尽管所有的努力都投入到可再生能源和替代能源上，但对原油的依赖不会很快消失。

很明显，在原油开采方面，必须继续进行投资、创新和最佳运营。否则，供应就会放缓，原油价格就会因为这种不平衡而上涨。

帮助维持供应的一个关键部件是泵。原油不同于它被加工成的光滑的产品，它是由粘度不同的碳氢化合物组成的石油，以自然的形式含有石油、水和沙子。

因此，用于提取的泵必须耐用，并能承受粗糙的砂砾性石油。第一个挑战是确保这些昂贵的设备具有较长的使用寿命，因为只有这样才能实现真正的价值。

通常情况下，一个“清洁油”泵(即泵出的是更纯的原油)在两次大修之间可以使用10年。然而，由于含沙量大、原油污染严重，泵的寿命缩短至一年。

用于制造这些部件的材料是不同等级的金属，通常涂有耐磨喷剂。泵送时，压力范围从吸力时的2100kpa到排出时的15000kpa。这些压力，再加上粗糙的沙子表面，将很快侵蚀磨损环和轴承。反过来，泵的效率就会降低。

由镁稳定氧化锆(也称为MgPSZ)陶瓷制成的部件正迅速成为首选替代材料。

在市场上供应的各种等级的氧化锆陶瓷中，部分稳定的氧化镁等级最适合用于重型泵。

摩根先进材料公司的Nilcra二氧化锆就是这样一种镁稳定氧化锆，在高磨损率的应用中是一种耐用、简单的替代材料。通过使用这种氧化锆陶瓷，砂质原油泵的大修间隔时间可以从典型的1年延长到4 - 6年。

泵叶轮轴上的OEM耐磨环由420不锈钢270- 300BHH和420不锈钢350- 400BHH组成。这些耐磨环在砂井作业中使用了12-15个月，之后需要进行全面检修。

同时，将Nilcra氧化锆制成的耐磨环安装在叶轮轴的不同部分。结果表明，与喷涂不锈钢环相比，氧化镁稳定氧化锆环的磨损大大减少。结果，泵的寿命延长了大约四倍，大大减少了停机时间和维护成本，从而提高了产量。

曹海斌 摘译自 油气产品

原文如下：

Zirconia ceramics offer opportunities for savings in oil and gas operations

It goes without saying that crude oil is a valuable, or perhaps more accurately an invaluable product to all of us globally. The unrefined petroleum is pumped from reserves deep underground and by the barrel load, all day, every day.

In terms of demand and supply, the global fuel oil supply stands at 92.7 Mbpd (Million barrels per day), while the global fuel oil demand stands at 98.18 Mbpd. Demand is expected to increase, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 1.8 percent, until 2020. For all the efforts being put into renewable and alternative energy sources, the reliance on crude oil will not go away any time soon.

It is clear that investment, innovation and operational best practice must continue into the extraction of crude oil. Otherwise, supply slows down and the price per barrel of crude oil then increases due to the imbalance.

A key component that helps to keep supply up, are pumps. Unlike the slick and smooth products that it is turned into, crude oil is a petroleum composed of hydrocarbon deposits that ranges in viscosity, and contains oil, water and sand (often as the wells dry out increasingly) in its natural form.

Therefore, the pumps undertaking the extraction need to be durable and able to withstand the harsh, abrasive sandy oil. The first challenge is ensuring these costly pieces of equipment have a long lifespan, as only then can true value be achieved.

Typically, a ‘clean oil' pump - that is, a pump which is pumping purer crude oil - will last ten years between overhauls. However, with a sandy, dirtier crude oil, the pump life deteriorates to as little as one year.

The materials used to construct these parts are various grades of metal often coated with wear resistant sprays. When pumping, pressures range from 2,100kpa during suction up to 15,000kpa during discharge. These pressures, combined with the rough surfaces of the sand, will quickly erode wear rings and bearings. In turn, the pump becomes less effective and inefficient.

Parts made from magnesia stabilised zirconia (also known as MgPSZ) ceramic are fast becoming the preferred alternative.

Of the various grades of zirconia ceramic available on the market, it is the magnesia partially stabilised grade that is best suited to heavy duty pumps.

Morgan Advanced Materials' Nilcra Zirconia is one such grade of magnesia stabilised zirconia and is a robust and simple to use replacement material for applications where high wear rates occur. By using this type of zirconia ceramic, the time between overhauls for a sandy crude oil pump can increase from the typical one-year lifespan up to four to six years instead.

OEM wear rings fitted to the pump's impeller shaft were made from 420 stainless-steel 270-300 BHH and 420 stainless-steel 350-400 BHH. These wear rings lasted 12-15 months in a sandy well service, before requiring a total overhaul.

Meanwhile, wear rings made from Nilcra Zirconia were also fitted to a different section of the impeller shaft. Findings showed a huge decrease in the wear on the magnesia stabilised zirconia rings in comparison to the spray-coated stainless-steel rings. The life of the pump was extended by approximately four times as a result, with vastly reduced downtime and maintenance costs resulting in an increase to production.