MATERIALS HANDLING
PROGRESS in PROCESS PUMPS
Merja Pärssinen introduces a range of wear-resistant process pumps for minerals and metals applications
I
n the minerals and metals processing industry, ideal application conditions where a pump is operating at its best effi ciency point (BEP) and the system is stable very seldom occur. Wear and corrosion are
bound to a shortened lifetime of the pump in demanding applications. A deep understanding of the application, corrosive and abrasive characteristics of the fl uid, fl ow demands and the process itself are key to meeting a customer’s requirements. Corrosion and wear rates are not calculable, which is why pumps should be tailor-made for diffi cult liquids that are corrosive or both corrosive and abrasive at the same time. Innovations are needed for the development of effi cient pumps with low operation and maintenance costs. T e worldwide industrial energy consumption is expected to increase by 42% between 2007 and 2035, or at an average of 1.3% per year. Pumping systems account for more than 20% of the world’s electrical energy demand, and in certain industrial plant operations they can be responsible for 25% to 90% of the energy usage. Consequently, the minerals and metals processing industry continues to make large-scale investments that contribute to energy effi ciency. T e task is rewarding, because with only a small reduction in energy consumption, big savings can be achieved in terms of money. T e investment has a rather low risk, because cost savings will occur whenever the plant is running. T e Ahlstar WPP wear-resistant pump design is not a heavy-duty slurry design. Its process pump hydraulics allow high-level effi ciencies. T e diff erence to a standard process pump is that the fl ow patterns of wear-resistant pumps are specially designed to prevent abrasion in the hydraulic
parts. When targeting an energy-effi cient pump solution, size, speed, type of drive, pumping system layout as well as seal and auxiliary equipment alongside the optimal pump type must all be considered. T e best effi ciency and further energy savings can be achieved by driving the wear-resistant pump with a variable speed drive (VSD) and
a maximum diameter impeller. T is allows the rotational speed of the pump to be adjusted to achieve the desired head and fl ow for the process application. T e effi ciency improvement compared to a constant speed driven pump can be up to 10%. A VSD can also be added to existing pumps, and once installed it can accommodate changing system demands, including potential future expansion plans without changing the pump. In addition to energy savings, this method
Ahlstar WPP design wear-resistant pump
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