Handling aggressive chemicals or hot water would be impossible without tailored high-performance materials. This is the only way to provide effective wear protection for pump bearings and gasket systems. Heiko Schulz of ESK Ceramics GmbH & Co. KG explains how components made of EKasic® silicon carbide (SiC) offer extreme reliability and environmental safety for almost any application - especially true of handling critical process fluids. © 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.