Transferring extremely aggressive chemicals presents tough challenges for pumps, where despite the risks, a safe, reliable and accurate pumping performance is essential. A good example of where such a pumping performance has been achieved is with Liquiflo magnetically coupled gear pumps supplied by Michael Smith Engineers. The application is at a leading UK manufacturer of industrial chemicals including surfactants and personal care products. The pumps were installed in 1996 and are still in service today, more than 20 years later.
The requirement was for 3 pumps to batch transfer a range of acidic and chloride based chemicals on a daily basis, operating up to 5 days a week. The nature of the application means that transfer rates are variable but in the region of 700 kg/hr at around 3.5 bar differential pressure. Due to the extremely aggressive nature of the chemicals being handled, the pumps selected were manufactured in Hastelloy C276. Also, because of the low viscosity of the product a Hastelloy drive gear with Ryton idler was specified to eliminate galling of the gears through lack of lubrication. The shafts were also Hastelloy running in Teflon bushings.
Continue to full article: Long-life Liquiflo pumps last the distance