John Crane Launches Type 8628VL Seal for Ethane Pipelines

10 Sep 2025 CW Team

John Crane has unveiled the Type 8628VL, a next-generation mechanical seal engineered to address sealing challenges in multiphase ethane and ethylene pipelines. Using spiral groove non-contacting technology, the seal ensures high reliability, operational efficiency, and environmental compliance under volatile pressure and temperature conditions.

Ethane pipelines face frequent phase shifts from liquid to vapour to supercritical, often compromising conventional seals. The Type 8628VL, with dual non-contacting seal faces in tandem configuration, delivers hydrodynamic lift, phase-change resilience, and zero-wear operation, as validated by peer-reviewed research in Lubricants (MDPI).

The seal has already been deployed by a leading ethane transmission company on the U.S. Gulf Coast, where it delivered consistent non-contacting performance across all phases, extremely low leakage, and zero failures during continuous operation. The operator reported improved uptime, lower refurbishment costs, and enhanced local service support.

Key benefits include nearly double the life of conventional wet seals with a mean time between repair (MTBR) of up to 48 months, reduced flush fluid requirements of only 2–3 GPM, minimal maintenance, and simplified sealing systems eliminating complex API Plan 54 or 53B arrangements.

Mike Eason, Chief Technology Officer at John Crane, said: “Unlike hybrid or contacting seals, the Type 8628VL delivers pure non-contacting operation, even during rapid phase transitions. It’s a significant step forward for the sector.”

He added: “We will continue to expand our portfolio with products that meet customer reliability and energy transition goals. The Type 8628VL is a testament to our commitment to innovate for greater efficiency and zero greenhouse gas emissions.”

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