UK centrifuge manufacturer Thomas Broadbent & Sons Ltd, has secured more than £30M worth of PTA Decanter orders from Pure Terephthalic Acid producers in parts of South East Asia and the Far East.

More than 50 large-scale decanters, in various stages of construction, are currently being produced by the company for high profile chemical and textile manufacturers in China, India, Thailand and Taiwan, where continuous supplies of PTA are required for the production of Polyester fibres.
As global demand for polyester fibres escalates to record levels, the market for PTA, is increasing at a rate of 8percent per annum -- with many producers upgrading and expanding production facilities with more advanced and cost-effective process technologies.
"Many of our specialised PTA decanters are already well-proven throughout the PTA producing industries," says Broadbent's International Business Manager John Wright. "Our machines are amongst the largest in the industry and are highly compatible with high volume, high performance, PTA production processes. On a number of installations, our customers have found that the machine's ability to operate over long periods of continuous duty, with maintenance intervals stretching over a year or eighteen months, provides considerable cost-effective advantages. The mechanical seals, on Broadbent decanters, which are vital to reliability and high performance, have proved to last well over a year or more without attention or replacement. From experience with competitive machines, users have had to provide maintenance on a more frequent basis and replace seals every five to seven months."
Due to recent development work and the large capacity of Broadbent decanters, it is now possible for one decanter to continue processing up to 50tonnes/hour of dry PTA powder while maintaining normal high quality product. The operating capacity of Broadbent PTA decanters can also provide cost-savings on capital investment when, in some instances, it is possible to install only two decanters instead of the normal three, when using machines of competitive manufacture.

Thomas Boadbent is based in Huddersfield, UK. www.broadbent.co.uk