Materials Handling
It so happened that one of United Utilities sister sites was using a peristaltic pump from Watson-Marlow, and this was subsequently recommended to the process engineering team at Selby. As a result, a Bredel SPX50 high pressure peristaltic hose pump (50mm diameter) was installed and ever since there have been no abrasion issues causing downtime or repair (Fig. 2). Verder Pumps South Africa (VPSA) says that the use of its VF125 pump range has contributed to cost savings and increased productivity at platinum mines. This was seen at a precious-metal producer’s concentrator
upgrade project, near Rustenburg, where VPSA was required to upgrade the thickener transfer pumps for higher production capacity, says VPSA consultant Daan Louw. The upgrade was possible as the pumps are able to pump slurry with 1.7 specific gravity and at a flow rate of 60 m3
/h
over a distance of 690 m, with a height of 30 m. This was the most difficult application for a peristaltic pump that VPSA ever had to deal with, he says. The VF125 thickener pumps resulted in cost savings and
increased production capacity, explains Louw. Process engineering company DRA was appointed project
engineer on the project and approached VPSA to assist in the design of six thickener transfer pumps. “No other pump on the market is able to transfer the
Fig. 2. Since installation of a high pressure peristaltic hose pump there have been no abrasion issues causing downtime or repair.
pressure peristaltic hose pump from Watson-Marlow Pumps Group. Greencore Grocery, one of the UK’s leading
manufacturers of bottle/jar-packaged recipe products, producing a wide range of both branded and customer own- brand sauces, pickles, and soft drinks. The cleaning and change over process between different
products, produces a small quantity of liquid waste (food effluent). This can lead to significant fluctuations in pH levels, from 4 up to 12 in some instances. Until recently, pH levels at Selby were corrected using 32 per cent caustic soda (sodium hydroxide - NaOH) through the facility’s water treatment plant, which is owned and operated by United Utilities, the UK’s largest listed water company. With Greencore responsible for consumable costs, a cost-down exercise was commenced to seek an alternative to NaOH. “The Greencore Grocery facility at Selby is a high volume
plant where there can be between 10 and 26 ‘washouts’ a day depending on order schedules,” says Peter Wadsworth, craft technician at United Utilities. “In order to find a more cost effective method of correcting the pH in the processing machinery, we trialled a product called Mag Mex 1060 which is a magnesium hydroxide solution [Mg(OH)2
], to correct the
pH levels. Carrier water is used to dose the Mag Mex into the system
at Greencore Grocery, but to do this effectively a suitable pump is required. “To be honest we started off using fairly cheap and
cheerful dosing pumps, but this proved to be inefficient as we spent two days a week repairing them,” says Wadsworth. “Because magnesium hydroxide has low solubility in water it makes for a pretty abrasive fluid. We found the grit would attack the mechanical seals and drain plugs on the dosing pumps, thus requiring repair.”
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www.engineerlive.com
slurry without a second pump station, which would come at a significant cost to the mine and would probably take more time to process,” says DRA project engineer Thys de Beer. There are currently 24 VF125 pumps operating at
37 kWh at the platinum processing plant. The design for these pumps included installing pulsation
dampeners to help decrease the pressure build-up in the pipeline, says Louw. The build-up in the hoses is eliminated by using rubber
Verderflex hoses that are designed to increase life expectancy and production performance. The Verderflex hose pumps are designed to handle tough operating conditions; they reduce downtime, decrease maintenance costs and provide easy operation and reliable solutions in difficult pumping environments. Finally, a full range of peristaltic pump heads, pump
tubing, drives, and pump systems is on show in the new Masterflex pumps and tubing catalogue. This 48-page book displays a variety of fluid handling technologies and supplies - many that are guaranteed in stock and ready to ship. Product highlights include the full suite of durable, easy-
to-use Masterflex pumps. Masterflex C/L pumps combine low flow with a compact size that is ideal for benchtop or rack mount use. The versatile Masterflex L/S pumps offer high accuracy for precise flow control and dispensing - optimal for laboratory, process or field use. Masterflex I/P pumps operate with a more powerful motor and provide better protection from hazards such as dust and water. Masterflex B/T pumps handle viscous and shear-sensitive fluids at flow rates up to 37 litres/minute - the highest flows within the Masterflex line. In addition to pumps, tubing, and accessories, the
catalogue also includes valuable references such as links to online technical resources, including a technical library, a pump system configurator tool, a searchable tubing chemical compatibility database, and an applications solutions database. See
www.coleparmer.com/8029 for more. n
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