Pump selection question

[RobWard]

Hi.
We have a quantity of solid chemical that we need to melt and pump into some machines for processing.
Ideally we'd like to put the solid material into a vessel, heat the vessel in an oven, and then pump it into the machines.
The liquid would be at 150 deg C. It has a similar viscosity to water and isn't aggresive.
The liquid would need pumping to a height of about 3 meters, at a speed of around 5 litres per minute (this isn't critical).
I had thought of getting a suds pump for a machine tool, mounting it in the vessel,extending the shaft out of the top, and having a removable air motor (or electric motor) outside the vessel, but the question is:
am I missing a very obvious better way of doing this?
(Cost is very important, as ever!)

Many thanks for any advice or pointers on where to go looking.

"I love deadlines. I love the whooshing noise they make as they go past." Douglas Adams

 

[BigInch]

Does this material have a name?

Assuming this is a batch process, how much volume will you want to pump in a batch, or ... is it a continuous process?

Will there be a possibility that the material solidifies inside the pump?

**********************
"Pumping accounts for 20% of the world’s energy used by electric motors and 25% to 50% of the total electrical energy usage in certain industrial facilities." - DOE statistic (Note: Make that 99.99% for pipeline companies)

http://virtualpipeline.spaces.live.com/

 

[RobWard]

Sorry, yes it is a batch process. We'll pump about 70 litres at a time (once per week probably).
The material will definitely set up in the pump (which is why an air motor would be good)but will melt when reheated.
The chemical is methylene bis chloroaniline (Mboca for short) which is carcinogenic and generally bad for your health.

The original design for a device to do this (self contained unit with heated jacket and gear pump powered by electric motor) was vetoed on cost grounds, so I'm having to look at other ways of doing it.

Oh, and it's a one-off for in house use only.



"I love deadlines. I love the whooshing noise they make as they go past." Douglas Adams

 

[BigInch]

Hummm. That type of pump is pretty much what I was thinking about too. Trouble with posting this in a pump forum is most everyone will be thinking the same thing.

**********************
"Pumping accounts for 20% of the world’s energy used by electric motors and 25% to 50% of the total electrical energy usage in certain industrial facilities." - DOE statistic (Note: Make that 99.99% for pipeline companies)

http://virtualpipeline.spaces.live.com/

 

[RobWard]

Thanks for your replies, BigInch.

The gear pump or the suds pump?
(And if it's the suds pump is there another name for "suds pump" that I should maybe do a search for? i.e. vertical impeller pump?)

It's handy to get some feedback as I could be missing something very very obvious. (It's not unheard of....!)

I'd rather not go down the route proposed by the MD: lift the tank on a forklift and let gravity do the work.
70 litres of 150 deg C mboca above peoples heads just doesn't seem right. Too many opportunities for "a visit from the f**k-up fairy".
(Maybe I should suggest we syphon it out. He can suck on the pipe to get the flow going.....)

"I love deadlines. I love the whooshing noise they make as they go past." Douglas Adams

 

[BigInch]

gear pump.

Uh... Actually I've got no idea what a suds pump means.
Google seems to think they are only used in dish washers. Heh heh. Well, Idono either.

Maybe someone else does.
<waiting patiently>


**********************
"Pumping accounts for 20% of the world’s energy used by electric motors and 25% to 50% of the total electrical energy usage in certain industrial facilities." - DOE statistic (Note: Make that 99.99% for pipeline companies)

http://virtualpipeline.spaces.live.com/

 

[Artisi]

A suds pump from my earlier life was a small vertical pump attached to the lathes, milling machines, grinders etc which pumped the coolant upto the cutting face.

If it's carcinogenic when cost should be well down the list as one of the considerations, pleased I'm not working in your establisment with the boss having an attitude like that.

 

[GaTechTheron]

I would say a gear pump would be your best bet. I do not understand why a gearpump would be out of budget. 5 liters per minute is a very small pump.....

To save on cost, try a c-faced set up, but make sure you check your pumps minimum viscosity as I'm sure you would be flirting with it.

 

[RobWard]

Thank you for your replies people.
Yes the suds pump that I was talking about is a coolant pump.
I had more results looking for suds pump than coolant pump so I thought it must be the common name for them.

Using gravity in principle is great. Simple, and unlikely to go wrong, but it's the use of a forklift in a confined space and it only takes someone to open or even knock the valve before the dispensing hose is attached and then there's one hell of a problem.

If we're pumping, it's relatively easy to stop a pump.
I'll look at a gear pump. I have a few kicking around that I could probably get working ok.

Thanks again for your replies.

"I love deadlines. I love the whooshing noise they make as they go past." Douglas Adams

 

[Compositepro]

I'm guessing that your material is in steel drums. The ideal ssolution would be a heated follower plate pump that melts and pumps the material. These can be gear pump type or air driven piston pump. These are very costly and maybe what you already looked at. The simplest and least expensive solution is to melt the material in the drum using an oven or drum warmer and use air pressure to transfer the material. Three meters head is a low pressure that a drum can safely contain. The main difficulty in designing your system is keeping every thing warm so the material doesn't freeze.