The Benefits of Air Seals

There are certain applications that are much more challenging to seal than others, mainly equipment that handles slurries and coarser materials. When these products come into contact with traditional mechanical seals, they cause excessive wear and can even shift the seals out of alignment. 

Air seals are a specialized type of mechanical seal, designed to accommodate misalignment and effectively seal products under conditions where traditional methods aren’t as effective. They can be applied to both dry and wet applications, from powders and bulk solids to hydro-pulpers and slurry pumps.

A Quick Overview of Air Seals

Air seals are engineered with very specific clearances and paths to direct the flow of air and create a uniform pressure to generate a pneumatic seal. They’re also combined with a floating throttle that accommodates inherent misalignment that occurs when handling coarse materials and slurries.

Air seals have many other benefits as well. So long as there is consistent airflow to the seal, they require little to no maintenance and experience very little wear. This makes them a permanent sealing solution, and an adjustable one as well. If there is a change required in the system, the pressure within the seal can be adjusted accordingly. Because there’s so little wear, these seals often outlive the equipment they’re installed in. 

There are a couple of downsides to air seals. The system must be vented to ensure the equipment being sealed is not over-pressured, and the product being sealed has to be compatible with the medium being used, whether it’s air or gas. However, when installed correctly and with attributes in mind, air seals become an excellent sealant solution for many industries.

Air seals are a great upgrade for a wide range of applications, especially those handling powders, slurries, bulk solids, and other difficult-to-handle materials. Some of those industries include:

• Pulp & Paper 
• Food & Beverage Processing and Packaging
• Chemical Production
• Pharmaceutical

The SEPCO SAS Air Seal

For equipment where contact seals are too costly to operate and maintain, SEPCO developed the SEPCO SAS, an engineered pneumatic sealing system. Our seal is designed to be resilient to angular and parallel shaft movement, and it requires little maintenance after installation–saving you time and labor. 

 To learn more about this, and all of our sealing products, check out our website today! You can also find us at the 2023 International Powder & Bulk Solids Conference and Exhibition at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Chicago, IL on April 25-27. Members of SEPCO will be attending and would be happy to discuss the innovative solutions that we have available for you.