Case Study | Breaking the Vicious Cycle of Rapid Screw Wear and Escalating TCO in a 600,000 ABS Plant

Background

A major petrochemical enterprise operates a large-scale, modern production facility with a design capacity of 600,000 tons per annum of ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene). Serving as the critical compounding section of this continuous production line, the project utilizes multiple high-end imported twin-screw extruder units spanning screw diameters from Ø58 mm to Ø177 mm (including specific sizes of 58, 70, 92, 133, and 177 mm).

The Challenge: Engineering Bottlenecks vs. Financial Strain

In high-throughput, continuous petrochemical manufacturing, the operational stability of compounding equipment directly dictates the entire production line's profitability. During daily operations, the client confronted a costly dilemma where technical wear and financial burdens aggravated each other:

• The Root Technical Cause — Severe Component Degradation under Harsh Conditions: In high-shear, heavy-duty ABS compounding, screw elements are subjected to a brutal combination of high torque, intense mechanical abrasion, and chemical corrosion. Premature element wear caused critical process parameters to drift, directly threatening production continuity and product quality consistency.

• The Financial Impact — The OEM Dependency Trap and Unpredictable TCO: To maintain stability, the client historically relied on premium overseas OEM spare parts. This absolute dependency imposed massive capital strain and inflated the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO). Furthermore, tied to international supply chains, unpredictable spare part lead times severely undermined the plant's operational flexibility.

• The Strategic Risk — High Stakes of Alternative Sourcing: While the client urgently sought high-quality localized alternatives to optimize costs, the technical risks were immense. On large-bore (e.g., Ø177 mm), high-output petrochemical lines, even a micron-level error in reverse engineering, intermeshing clearance, or metallurgy could trigger mechanical jamming or catastrophic unscheduled downtime.

The Solution: A Tailored Engineering Approach to Risk Mitigation

To address the client's strict mandates for extended service life, absolute process stability, and flawless OEM compatibility, the technical team at Nanjing Lesun Screw moved away from off-the-shelf component supply, delivering a comprehensive, application-specific solution:

• Application-Specific Metallurgy: Lesun formulated tailored special alloy compositions optimized for the precise mechanical loads and corrosive environments across various sizes and functional zones—including conveying, melting, kneading, shearing, and pressure-building elements. This targeted approach fundamentally enhanced chemical corrosion resistance while retaining exceptional wear-resistant characteristics.

• Micron-Level High-Precision Reverse Engineering: Lesun provided meticulous on-site precision mapping for the entire range of extruder models from 58 mm to 177 mm. Leveraging state-of-the-art manufacturing, every custom element was guaranteed to align perfectly with original OEM specifications, eliminating installation risks and mechanical instability at the root.

• Full-Line Turnkey Integration: Lesun implemented an end-to-end process encompassing initial on-site mapping, tailored fabrication, and post-delivery technical support. This "full-line integration" model guaranteed high process consistency and operational synergy across multiple twin-screw extrusion lines of different configurations.

The Results & Impact: Proven Reliability and Optimized Cost Structures

Today, the complete series of high-precision screw elements has been successfully delivered and commissioned, delivering premium performance that rivals overseas OEMs in active production:

• Flawless Integration & Immediate Process Stabilization: All customized components demonstrated outstanding performance during installation and commissioning, achieving seamless interoperability with the imported extruder barrels. Critical process parameters completely satisfied the target specifications on the first run.

• Drastic TCO Reduction: Field data indicates that the actual element consumption rate and wear/corrosion resistance significantly outperformed expectations. Maintenance intervals have been greatly extended, successfully driving down the client's total operating costs.

• Secure, Cost-Effective OEM-Alternative Sourcing: This partnership effectively eradicated the risks of unexpected downtime associated with overseas supply cycles. While securing the plant's 600,000 TPA core throughput target, this milestone decisively validates Nanjing Lesun's capability as a reliable factory alternative to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in petrochemical pelletizing systems.

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