Mining operations wreak havoc on pumps. Few industries face more complex or more demanding processes than mining. Hazardous locations, rough terrains, and chemically corrosive environments; High volumes of liquid and thick slurry amid tough extraction and drainage situations; And catastrophic results when your pumps stop working. These include periods of downtime when 24/7 continuous production is required, environmental violations, and even personnel safety concerns.
Industrial Flow Solutions understands the challenges you face. And, our applications engineers have in-depth knowledge of mining applications and will customize the right submersible pump solution for you. Industrial Flow Solutions offers a full line of heavy-duty, innovative BJM Pumps and Stancor submersible pumps that can handle anything the mining industry throws at them.
From dewatering pumps that keep your mines dry to slurry pumps that pass gritty fluids, competitor pumps are often ill-equipped to handle the problems that arise in the extreme circumstances of mining.
Improperly designed pumps can’t manage high concentrations of solids and slurry causing expensive clogging. Pumps constructed with inferior metals lead to rapid corrosion. Pumps with inadequate components can overheat, resulting in complete failure.
Industrial Flow Solutions offers quality BJM Pumps and Stancor submersible pumps that are made to be durable, dependable, and long-lasting. Our high-capacity, heavy-duty slurry pumps prevent clogs and reduce downtime. Our corrosion-resistant stainless steel pumps are built to withstand the most volatile liquids to produce more reliable, lower maintenance pumps. Our MSHA-approved explosion proof pumps mitigate safety risks in coal and gassy mines. And our new high-head dewatering pumps are the only to offer an optional hard metal agitator to pump at higher heads for the most challenging mining applications.
Every component of BJM and Stancor’s pumps – from impellers and agitators to sensors and power cords – is of the highest quality and optimum design to ensure continuous, proper functioning in harsh environments.
BJM and Stancor submersible pumps are the most durable, reliable, and longest lasting pumps on the market, keeping your operations running smoothly and your downtime minimal, for maximum performance and lower total cost of ownership.
Covanta Energy is one of North America’s largest owners and operators of waste-to-energy plants and other renewable power facilities. Their 60+ facilities produce electricity for about one million homes. The Covanta Dade energy plant in Florida processes 4,200 tons of municipal solid waste and biomass fuel daily. The plant burns that waste to produce electricity, boiling water to turn turbines that generate 77 megawatts of power. During the boiler blowout procedure, 185°F water is pumped from the system to minimize buildup of scale and corrosion.
PROBLEM
Extremely hot water caused pump failure
Sand and grit corroded pump parts
High head option required
The plant had struggled with standard dewatering pumps failing due to heat and abrasive materials, in addition to the extremely hot water. The plant upgraded to high temperature dewatering pumps better equipped to handle high temperature water. However, after six months of operation performance began to degrade. Closer examination revealed that the impellers and casings were severely corroded due to windblown sand and abrasive grit in the open sumps. Covanta engineers needed a new pump solution that could stand up to 185°F water, was resistant to corrosion and abrasive sand and grit, and a pump that was available with the high head option needed for the application.
The plant struggled with multiple pumps because of hot liquids and abrasive materials
Solution
Engineers settled on a dual solution: covering the open sumps to minimize grit and sand intrusion; and replacing the dewatering pumps with heavy-duty abrasion-resistant, high temperature slurry pumps. Covanta installed Industrial Flow Solutions™ BJM® Fahrenheit® KBHF series pumps.
The Fahrenheit pumps can withstand liquids up to 200°F, and the heavy-duty KBHF series pumps feature hardened, abrasion resistant chrome iron components. A built-in agitator ensures sand and grit do not settle at the bottom of the sumps, and are instead processed out. This high head version achieves up to 170’ head, ideal for Covanta Dade’s application.
Covanta Dade purchased their first KBHF pump in 2008. After a successful test, they purchased a second one, and then two more in 2009, and finally two more in 2010. With the exception of a few minor seal failures, which were mitigated with a monitoring system on the control panel, all six KBHF Fahrenheit pumps have been running smoothly 24/7 since installation.
Replacing standard dewatering pumps with KBHF pumps resulted in smooth operations 24/7
FEATURES
Fahrenheit® high temperature wastewater slurry pump
High temperature up to
200°F (93°C)
Abrasive-resistant chrome iron components
Heads to 170’
APPLICATIONS
Power Generation & Utilities
Construction/Rental
Industrial
Mining & Minerals
Oil & Gas
Results
Withstands liquid temperatures up to 200°F
Abrasion and corrosion resistant with high chrome parts
Americans discard an estimated 34 million tons of plastic each year, creating the need for more plastic recycling facilities in the United States. In September 2016, a brand new bottle recycling center opened in North Carolina to process about 75 million pounds of reusable plastic bottles. Prior to construction, the recycling company consulted with Tencarva Machinery to discuss rotating equipment that would be needed throughout the facility.
UNDERSTANDING THE APPLICATIONS
This new recycling facility is designed to receive large bales of compressed PET bottles—bales approximately 6 cubic feet in size. These bales are dismantled, and the bottles are sorted and shredded into much smaller plastic pieces prior to being sent through a series of processes. Because PET (polyethylene terephthalate) is semi-porous and typically absorbs food and beverage molecules, the shredded plastic must be finely chopped into “flakes” and thoroughly washed and dried. The cleaned, processed plastic is then bagged and distributed to other companies who use recycled plastics to manufacture consumer packaging, plastic banding, and a range of other goods.
The design engineers specifying the pumping systems worked with Derrick Heard at Tencarva, explaining that there would essentially be two sumps—a primary and a secondary pit—used for the rigorous cleaning process. During the initial grinding and cleaning, wash down water, plastic pieces, dirt, soap, scum, and residue would all be collected in the primary wash down sump. This material would then be pumped through clarifiers and screens to separate the plastic from the wash down wastewater. While the plastic would be sent through for drying, the wash down wastewater would be sent to the secondary pit. The pumps in the secondary sump would be responsible for reliably transporting the wash down wastewater to the on-site wastewater treatment plant. The wastewater would be treated on-site, with the facility technicians making sure all plastic and sludge had been removed prior to sending the wastewater downstream to the municipal sewer system.
PICKING OUT THE RIGHT PUMPS
After speaking with the design engineers, it was clear to Heard that there were some key requirements that needed to be considered in order to select the right pumps for these specific sump applications:
The pumps needed to withstand high temperatures. The temperature of the wash down water was estimated to reach temperatures between 131 and 140 degrees Fahrenheit (55 and 60 degrees Celsius), which is too hot for standard submersible pump motors. Submersible pumps typically rely on the fluid being pumped to cool the motor; which is why most submersible pumps cannot withstand pumping liquids at temperatures higher than 104 degrees Fahrenheit. Temperatures higher than 104 degrees Fahrenheit (40 degrees Celsius) typically cause standard submersible motors to fail.
The pumps had to be corrosion-resistant. The wash down water would include cleaning chemicals that would cause the oatmeal-like slurry to be 2 percent caustic. For this reason, it was important to select a durable pump with the right metallurgy to minimize abrasion / corrosion.
The pumps must shred the plastic pieces. The plastic solids entering the primary sump needed to be shredded into even smaller pieces so they could be transported to the next stage of the process. This severe application required a shredder pump.
Heard immediately thought of BJM Pumps, explaining, “I knew BJM had a Fahrenheit Series—not just a submersible that could handle high temperatures, but one that could shred too. The combination is unique in the industry—and prior to BJM Pumps—there really wasn’t a high temperature option that could do all these things.”
Federal standards protect groundwater by requiring some landfills to use plastic liners to collect and treat leachate. Leachate, which is the resulting liquid that drains or “leaches” through a landfill after it rains, varies widely in composition, depending on the age of the landfill and the type of waste there. When a new wastewater treatment facility was being built next to an existing landfill, the specifying engineers had to consider how leachate entering their pumping processes might affect the safety of plant personnel and pumping equipment.
Image 1. Leachate from a landfill near a new wastewater facility may have affected the safety of the personnel and pumping equipment. (Images courtesy of BJM Pumps)
While the specifying engineers at the consulting design firm were reviewing the requirements of one 15-foot deep sump inside the wastewater treatment plant, they determined that the process required:
Pumps with explosion-proof motors—This indoor sump was classified as a potentially hazardous area because of the gases that could result from the combination of fluids entering it. Explosion-proof zones are defined in areas where flammable gas has the potential to be ignited by the arc of an electrical device.
Pumps that can handle acidic fluid—The sump would be collecting unscreened building wash-down water, membrane bioreactor (MBR) permeate, cooling tower blowdown and dewatering press filtrate. In addition to creating a potentially explosive atmosphere, this combination of wastewater could create an acidic solution with low pH levels, which can corrode standard cast iron submersible pumps.
Pumps capable of passing rigid solids about a half-inch in size and spherical in shape—The leachate entering the wastewater sump was estimated to contain up to 10,000 milligrams per liter (mg/L) of solid materials.
Pumps sized to produce 600 gallons per minute (gpm) at 78 feet of total dynamic head (TDH)—After the specs were fully defined, the consulting design firm chose to work with a company that supplies a range of rotating process equipment to industrial and municipal operations throughout the southeastern United States. The engineers reviewed the pump specs and recommended an explosion-proof pump.
Image 2. Leachate is liquid that drains from a landfill after it rains.
The explosion-proof submersible shredder pumps were recommended because they are engineered with necessary features, such as:
The pump has an explosion-proof motor approved for use in Class I, Division 1, Groups C & D hazardous locations. This approval certifies that the submersible pump motor is spark-free, has no source of sparking inside the motor that can cause ignition and, in the case where ignitable gases might enter the inside of the motor housing, the design of the pump motor has the capacity to extinguish the flame from that ignition before the flame can exit the vessel. The vessel can contain the pressure generated by an internal explosion, thereby keeping plant personnel safe.
The pump is manufactured from corrosion-resistant stainless steel. The pump end components are made of 316 stainless steel, including all wear and wet parts: impeller, wear plate, seal chamber and pump volute. The elastomers, such as O-rings, lip seals and gaskets, are made of a chemically resistant flouroelastomer (FKM). The motor is treated with an epoxy coating that holds up in aggressive chemical environments. With the right metallurgy and durable construction, this submersible shredder pump would be ideal for pumping this particular process waste.
The pump is engineered to shred solids and has been proven to cut and pass solids up to 3.5 inches in size. Specifically designed for industrial shredding applications, the pump uses an impeller to cut against a spiral-shaped diffuserplate and continuously rip apart solids with 360-degree shredding action.
The pump has a three-seal motor protection. The motor is protected with an oil-lubricated double seal design where the double mechanical seals are comprised of a lower seal made of silicon carbide/silicon carbide and upper seal faces made of carbon/ceramic. An additional lip seal is installed above the impeller to help prevent abrasives from entering into the seal chamber. Seal leakage detectors are installed in the seal chamber and offers early warning should water enter the chamber. The pump has an air-filled motor with winding protection and National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) Class F motor insulation, allowing the motor temperature to rise to 221 F before an automatic switch turns the pump motor off if the temperature and/or amp draw raises too high. When the motor cools, the switch is designed to automatically reset and the pump will once again begin operating. Since the fluid temperatures were estimated to range between 50 F and 90 F, this would be a nonissue for the pumps.
With the assurances provided by the consulting firm, the owners of the new wastewater treatment facility approved the purchase of the submersible shredder pumps.
In April 2017, two explosion-proof submersible shredder pumps were installed in the indoor sump. The pump company provided the guide rail system that enabled the installation team to easily install both pumps, which are run off level control.
The submersible shredder pumps are set up to run in an alternating lead-lag configuration, to prolong pump life and to accommodate possible higher inflows into the sump.
Managing safety is a necessity for many industries. The implementation of explosion-proof zones on the job site has created a need for explosion-proof pumping equipment and consulting engineers who must know what proven technology is available to the market.
Jonathan Herlong is a sales engineer at Tencarva Machinery. For more information, visit tencarva.com. Steve Mosley is a regional manager at BJM Pumps. For more information, visit www.bjmpumps.com.
BJM SKX Series 316 Cast Stainless Steel Pumps with Shredder Action Impellers #tencarva most commonly used for a variety of municipal, industrial and agricultural applications including: sewage sumps, industrial sumps, sump pits, agricultural, animal waste and for corrosive environments that have solid wastes that may need to be shredded or cut. The pump was designed for pumping liquids that typically corrode cast iron pumps. They do not have suction or NPSH limitations of self-priming pumps.
The SKX -pumps have non-clog impellers designed for high volume and lift performance. It can take a 2-liter bottle and draw it in and shred it to pieces in a matter of seconds!
Engineers settled on a dual solution: covering the open sumps to minimize grit and sand intrusion; and replacing the dewatering pumps with heavy-duty abrasion-resistant, high temperature slurry pumps. Covanta installed Industrial Flow Solutions™ BJM® Fahrenheit® KBHF series pumps.
