Meet the Water Challenge NOW, by Grundfos
Today we are facing comprehensive water challenges.
Meet the Water Challenge NOW gives you an introduction to sustainable solutions that can be implemented today to help solve the challenges.
Iwaki Run Dry Pump - Non Metallic Magnetic Drive
Iwaki Teflon lined magnetic drive pump runs dry for 1 hour!
Water Cycle Animation - Grundfos Water Utility
The photo realistic 3D environment gives water utilities, consultants and engineers an overview of all applications in the entire water cycle process and allows navigation through these different application areas. Get useful information about Grundfos products and competencies, read case stories and follow links to valuable technical product specifications.
Roche Optimizes its Critical Solvent-Handling Operations with Almatec Pumps
Roche Diagnostics GmbH gets the reliability, efficiency and safe operation it needs when handling the oftentimes hazardous solvents in pharmaceutical production from a high-capacity, ATEX-certified Almatec E-Series Air-Operated Double-Diaphragm (AODD) Pumps. E-Series pumps are ideal for Roche’s operation because they feature solid-block construction with abrasion-resistant materials while utilizing stainless-steel ring technology that eliminates the need for mechanical seals.
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Printing Press 2 - IceTech Dry Ice Blasting
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Paper mill installs APEX hose pumps for abrasive pigment dosing
- APEX10 hose pump replaces PC model
- Stator and rotor wear now eliminated
- Excessive downtime and maintenance a thing of the past
Paper mill installs APEX hose pumps for abrasive pigment dosing
The Beetham, Cumbria plant of BillerudKorsnäs has replaced a progressive cavity (PC) pump with APEX10 hose pump technology from Watson-Marlow Pumps Group on an application dosing abrasive pigment in kraft paper manufacture. The move has solved the problem of stator and rotor wear on the PC pump that was leading to a drop in performance, downtime, and the need for regular maintenance.
Abrasive pigment
At Beetham, kraft paper is produced in quantities of circa 34,000 tonnes a year across three shifts using 140 employees. In an application involving the dosing of pigment into paper stock, the plant was experiencing difficulty with its PC pump.
“We put the pigment into the stock preparation end of the paper machine to introduce a colour shade to certain grades,” explains Engineering Manager Tony Halhead. “We dose very low, precise volumes as the shade is critical. However, the abrasive nature of the pigment was causing the stators and rotors in our 1” PC pump to wear, leading to a drop in performance.”
As a result, the engineering team at Beetham would have to speed up the three-phase inverter in the control box to maintain flow rates at the required levels, causing even faster wearing. However, if the drop in performance went unnoticed, it could lead to a variation in shade and to rejected paper. On a long production run this could be very expensive.
“We were experiencing dips in performance on a regular basis so we decided to address the situation, particularly when also considering the downtime and maintenance issues,” says Mr Halhead. “Other Watson-Marlow pumps were being used on site successfully so we thought they would be a natural first port of call.”
Uptime and continuity
Watson-Marlow recommended the use of an APEX10 hose pump. APEX pumps are engineered for maximum uptime and process continuity. Through design attributes such as heat dissipation, precision machined hose elements and optimised hose compression, APEX pumps reduce hose element fatigue compared to other hose pumps and when a hose replacement is required, this is a quick task which can be carried out in-situ by maintenance staff. The benefit for APEX users such BillerudKorsnäs is reduced maintenance intervals, leading to decreased cost of ownership. Operating and inventory costs are also less, as a single hose element is all that needs to be replaced.
BillerudKorsnäs installed two APEX10 models in February 2014, one duty and one standby. The pumps are fixed to a mobile skid and piped with valves to speed changeover. Offering a 14 rpm, 0.18kW motor suitable for VSD control, the flow rate is 25-30 litre/hr when using a green pigment, and 10-15 litre/hr for a blue pigment. The pumps are flooded suction (600mm head into pump via 2.5 metres of 1/2" flexi hose). Discharge is via 18 metres of 1/2" flexi hose inclusive of an 8.5 metre lift into the paper stock tank.
Reliable performance
“Since installation the APEX10 pumps have been running reliably in a 24/7 operation,” says Mr Halhead. “We are now considering the replacement of other PC pumps on site with APEX models.”
BillerudKorsnäs is a 4300-employee strong manufacturer of primary fibre-based packaging materials, working with over 1500 customers in over 100 countries. The company has eight production facilities, seven of which are in Scandinavia, and one in the UK, at Beetham. The specialty here is the manufacture of sterilised packaging paper for medical applications.
Packaging specialist swaps membrane pumps for Qdos metering pumps
Netherlands-based packaging solutions provider, Huhtamaki Molded Fiber Technology BV, is among the first users of the Qdos peristaltic metering pump from Watson-Marlow Pumps Group. Qdos 30 models have replaced magnetic membrane pumps and progressive cavity pumps on two applications at the company’s Franeker plant on Holland’s northernmost coastline. For Huhtamaki, Qdos delivers a number of benefits including improved handling of corrosive fluids in a counter-pressure application, constant flow to eliminate pulsing, low addition rate capability and ease of calibration. As a result, the company’s engineering team is now considering standardising on Qdos models moving forward.
The Huhtamaki Group, with origins in Finland, is today a €2 billion, 14,000-strong organisation with 61 manufacturing units worldwide, largely producing consumer and specialty packaging. The company has had a presence in the Netherlands since 1938 and one of the core businesses at its 200+ employee Franeker plant is three-dimensional moulded fibre packaging for food products such as eggs, stone fruit, apples, pears and tomatoes to name only a few.
In the right mould
The Franeker mill is a 24/7 operation housing 11 production lines and pump technology plays a vital role in the production of its moulded fibre board. Although an established customer of Watson-Marlow, the site’s Process Manager, Benno Koopmans, has longed for a solution to one particular problem.
“We have a 2 bar counter-pressure application that involves adding sodium hypochlorite [NaClO] to kill off bacteria in our cooling water flow – it is very important that we disinfect against the formation of algae, yeast and fungi,” he explains. “Until recently we were using magnetic membrane pumps for this task, however, due to the corrosive nature of sodium hypochlorite, leaks into the electrical circuit were commonplace, along with associated downtime and repairs. Like most in our industry we work to tight margins and there are significant costs associated with process downtime.”
The solution arrived in the form of Watson-Marlow’s new Qdos 30 metering pump, which was installed at Franeker in February 2012. Qdos 30 pumps boost process efficiency by providing accurate, linear and repeatable flow performance from 0.1 to 500 ml/min at 7 bar, even when metering difficult fluids. There are no seals or valves in the flow path to clog, leak or corrode, which means caustic, abrasive, viscous, shear-sensitive, and gaseous fluids can be safely and securely handled.
Precise solution
“We also liked the metering pump idea because of the addition rate, which offers low variation and high significancy,” says Mr Koopmans. “For instance, in dye stock applications where we add colour to egg packaging we need a low addition rate of 0.15-0.2%, but if the revs of the pumphead are too low it can jam and result in colour variation. If this happens it’s what we call a ‘show-stopper’, so any pump we use here must be reliable.”
Accuracy is so vital at Huhtamaki that Mr Koopmans says flow rate needs to be in the midst of the curve to prevent the pumphead running at very low speeds, which can lead to undesirable ‘pulsing’.
The Franeker plant is using flow meter control on its Qdos 30 pump, which measures the amount of cubic meters of cooling water per hour – so the process is based on flow rate-dependent addition of sodium hypochlorite. Incidentally, Huhtamaki was able to use the existing 4-20mA communications cable used by the previously-installed membrane pump, making the entire system plug and play.
Easy to calibrate
“We calibrate the Qdos pump regularly, a task that is performed quickly and easily by shift operators in the mill, and our data indicates we have witnessed no drop in flow rate since installation five months ago. The pump has been running for 2.5 years using the original pumphead without any problem,” explains Mr Koopmans. “This has given us confidence with metering pump technology and we have just installed our 20th Qdos 30.”
Many applications
The Qdos 30 is now being deployed on other applications across the plant. For example, a Qdos 30 has been chosen to replace a magnetic membrane pump which adds anti-scale to a heat exchanger. It is critical that this substance is ever-present in the system to prevent clogging. In addition, Mr Koopmans and his team have replaced a progressive cavity pump with a Qdos 30 on a polymer addition application.
“We are now having discussions to see if we might want to standardise on Qdos technology moving forward. With eleven production lines comprising up to five pumps each, there is significant scope for further installations.”