Professional Documents
Culture Documents
AODD Pumps in
Chemical Processes
Advancements in efficiency and the ability to handle a wide array of chemicals combine to make
the air-operated double-diaphragm (AODD) pump a useful choice for chemical processors
T
Edison Brito and he circumstances
Rob Jack surrounding the de-
PSG, A Dover velopment of the
Company air-operated double-
diaphragm (AODD) pumping
IN BRIEF principle six decades ago
involved a ruptured water
THE AIR IN THERE
pipe, a flooded workshop
THROUGH THICK AND and an exclamation that the
THIN idea could make a million
DISCUSSING dollars. In the ensuing 60-
DIAPHRAGMS plus years, those words have
proven to be prophetic, as
CHEMICALLY SPEAKING the AODD pump technology
that was said to be con-
ceived out of necessity, born
in the arms of innovation, and
inspired by sheer will and de-
termination has become a
frequent choice for opera-
tors in heavy-duty industries
that require the pumping of
water, slurries or any finely
divided substance, such
as cement.
AODD pumps (Figure 1)
can obtain dry self-prime,
run dry, maintain suction
lift up to 30 ft, withstand
deadhead pumping condi-
tions, operate while com-
pletely submerged and
pass solids of up to 3 in. in
diameter. However, in many
ways since their invention, FIGURE 1. AODD pumps can handle a wide variety of materials, including very vis-
cous media, and can also pass large solids
AODD pumps have be-
come pigeonholed by many pump users, the unit can now be considered a true
who see them as only usable in utilitar- process pump and has gained accep-
ian, auxiliary or basic liquid-handling and tance as such in the diverse sectors of the
transfer applications. chemical process industries (CPI), includ-
In reality, thanks to a series of notewor- ing paints and coatings, ceramics, ad-
thy refinements that have economized hesives and sealants, foods, beverages,
the AODD pumps method of operation, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics.
74 CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHEMENGONLINE.COM SEPTEMBER 2016
air usage while still maintaining its
operational characteristics.
While air loss has been a constant
concern within the operational win-
dow of AODD pumps, the earliest air
distribution systems were designed
first and foremost to battle another
operational irregularity in the AODD
pumps performance: stalling and
icing. It was only once those perfor-
mance inhibitors were conquered
that designers turned their attention
to developing ways to more efficiently
govern the pumps air consumption.
One of the first air-distribution sys-
tems designed to promote energy
efficiency featured a dial that could
FIGURE 2. The hourglass-shaped air spool (right) within some air-distribution systems decreases overall be used to tune the pumps operat-
air consumption and enables the handling of corrosive or hazardous materials ing speed by restricting the amount
of air that was allowed to enter the
The air in there and added to its bottom-line cost pump. Its a fact of AODD pump life
Despite the fact that AODD pumps of operation. that a slower-running pump is more
have proven their effectiveness in Because of that, AODD pump efficient. For example, a dial-in air dis-
utilitarian liquid-transfer applica- manufacturers must find meth- tribution system running at full throttle
tions, there has always been one ods to decrease or eliminate the air may consume 50 std. ft3/min of air in
annoying glitch in their operation: loss at the end of the pump stroke. order to pump 100 gal/min of fluid.
at the end of every pump stroke, a This led to a series of advance- Using the dial, the incoming com-
small, but still significant, amount ments in the technology behind air pressed air can be dialed back to a
of air was wasted. This kept the distribution systems that have en- 35-std. ft3/min rate, where the pump
pump from operating most efficiently abled the AODD pump to optimize will transfer the liquid at a flowrate of
80 gal/min. This is a 20% reduction
Pressure profile of standard AODD pump equipment in flowrate, accompanied by a 30%
reduction in air consumption, which
Over-filling makes the pump more efficient.
While the dial-in air-distribution
system represented an undoubted
advance in AODD pump operation,
Pressure
STATE-OF-THE-ART
MIXING TECHNOLOGY
Technologically optimized
for your application
Cost effective
mixing technology
Available in 4 weeks
the compressor continued to push ances to control slip, which makes
compressed air into the air chamber, them unable to adequately adjust to
but that air was not doing any actual viscosity changes.
work and was lost to the atmosphere When working with a centrifugal
upon exhaust. pump, the fluid viscosity is a design
The function of the air-control spool factor for the pump equipment and
is to decrease the amount of air that its selection for a specific application.
is allowed into the pump at the end of Impeller dimensions and styles are
the stroke, which drastically reduces specifically tailored to be compatible
the amount of wasted energy that with thick or thin fluids. The specificity
had traditionally been force fed into with regard to fluid dynamics makes
the pump, as shown in the charts moving a pump from one application
in Figure 3. This allows the AODD to another less feasible. When work-
pump that is equipped with this type ing with an AODD pump, however,
of air-distribution system (Figure 4) to the viscosity need not be a factor
experience up to 60% savings in air for operation. This is a major bene-
consumption, while delivering more fit of the AODD pump in this realm:
yield per std. ft3/min than AODD its ability to handle multiple or dif-
pump models that feature legacy ferent viscosities without regard for
air-distribution systems. equipment setup.
For example, gear pumps may
Through thick and thin be a suitable choice for very thick
The favorable reputation of AODD oil or viscous liquids, but they are
pumps is built on the technologys poor choices for thinner liquids like
versatility, or ability to handle a wide ethanol or water. The AODD pump,
range of liquids with varying charac- on the other hand, operates consis-
teristics. One of the most important tently whether the fluid is thick, thin,
fluid properties to consider is viscos- particulate-free or laden with particu-
ity, or the thickness of the liquid that is late matter; its design allows it to pull
Your fast lane to
being transferred. A pumps true best in the liquid, no matter its composi-
advanced mixing technology:
operational efficiency is only achieved tion, and drive it downstream. AODD
if the lowest possible volume of air is pump manufacturers do publish vis-
consumed while delivering the high- cosity correction tables, but these are Phone: +1 201 825 4684
est possible flowrate, no matter the simply helpful in predicting pump per- Ext.: 222
viscosity. Specifically, in the opera- formance given specific system dis-
tion of AODD pumps, slip is almost charge and air inlet pressures and a usa@ekato.com
eliminated, regardless of the viscosity known viscosity. In reality, the design
of the fluid, as it is controlled by the of the AODD pump does not need
ball check valves in the pump. Other to change for liquids that have highly www.ekato.com
technologies, such as gear, screw viscous or very thin consistencies.
and lobe pumps, have fixed toler- Pump flow paths are another area
Circle 12 on p. 98 or go to adlinks.chemengonline.com/61499-12
Discussing diaphragms
Theres no question that the improve-
ments in overall AODD pump opera-
tion and air-distribution system ca-
pabilities have been significant over
the years, and the same can be said
for diaphragm materials and design.
As AODD pumps have begun to be
used in more process-type applica-
tions, the advances in diaphragm
performance have kept pace. Cor-
rect diaphragm material selection is
critical to ensure safe AODD pump
operation. The six primary factors
to consider when choosing a dia-
phragm are as follows:
Chemical compatibility
Temperature range
Abrasion resistance
Flex life
Performance
Cost
To help meet these diverse opera-
tional criteria, the number of effective
diaphragm materials has also grown
and now consists of three basic sub-
sets: synthetic rubbers, such as Neo-
prene, Buna-N, ethylene propylene
diene monomer (EPDM) and Viton;
thermoplastic elastomers (TPEs), such
as polyurethane, Santoprene, Hytrel
and Geolast; and polytetrafluoroeth-
ylene (PTFE or Teflon). Manufacturers
have experts on hand to help pump
users select the best diaphragm ma-
terial and design for their applications.
Circle 20 on p. 98 or go to adlinks.chemengonline.com/61499-20
78 CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHEMENGONLINE.COM SEPTEMBER 2016
which means that all product- phragms; this material has the lowest
entrapment areas and leak compression set of any elastomer in
points between the piston use and performs well in sealing the
and diaphragm have been diaphragm at the inner/outer piston
eliminated, resulting in a reduc- interface and the outside diameter
tion in the chance that prod- bead.
uct contamination or leaks
will occur. Chemically speaking
Integral-piston diaphragms So, what does all of this mean for
are also easily cleanable and the CPI? Chemical manufacture fea-
there is no interaction between tures some of the most intricate and
the diaphragm and the outer complex industrial processes in the
piston plate that can lead to world. The complexity of chemical
abrasive diaphragm failure. For manufacture is highlighted by the
the chemical facility operator, vast number of unit operations that
downtime and pump mainte- must be completed during the overall
nance are typically more ex- manufacturing process.
pensive than the spare parts re- One of the most critical of these unit
quired to keep the AODD pump operations is the transfer of liquids
operating. This allows the pump along the production chain. Because
to run twice as long before re- of the importance of the myriad trans-
quiring maintenance and will ferring operations within the entire
translate directly to a healthier chemical-manufacturing process
bottom line. raw materials to storage tanks, raw
FIGURE 5. AODD pumps flow paths can be optimized to
further reduce air consumption
In general, standard AODD materials to blending tanks, finished
pump builds that feature PTFE products into fixed-weight containers
Advances have also been made diaphragms have a Neoprene and so on facility operators must
in diaphragm design that help make backup for reduced-stroke configu- identify the best pumping technology
the AODD pump more hygienic in rations and a Santoprene backup for the job, one that possesses the
its operation, which allows its use in in full-stroke configurations. Santo- versatility to perform reliably and ef-
contamination-sensitive manufactur- prene is actually an excellent backup ficiently at any number of points in the
ing applications like food and bev- choice for both reduced- and full- production hierarchy.
erage, pharmaceutical and personal stroke diaphragm configurations It had almost become an auto-
care. Integral-piston diaphragm de- since it has excellent chemical-re- matic choice among chemical manu-
signs place the shaft-connecting sistance properties and long flex life. facturers that centrifugal pumps were
plates within the diaphragm itself, Another option is Hytrel backup dia- the best technology for transfer op-
ITALVACUUM Srl
Via Stroppiana, 3 - 10071 Borgaro T.se (Turin), Italy
Tel: + 39 011 470 46 51
marketing@italvacuum.com
Your vacuum drying specialist www.italvacuum.com
Circle 21 on p. 98 or go to adlinks.chemengonline.com/61499-21
THINI
LONG TERM
Prepare for Tomorrow
With so many variables it can be extremely challenging
to manage capacity to meet current demand while preparing
for uncertain futures. To get there, process equipment has
to be managed effectively; but complexities associated with
procurement and disposition can vex even the most adept
managers.Tomorrows success starts today with immediate
access to cost-efficient technologies and Federal Equipment
Company is ready to help optimize operations now to
prepare for a more certain tomorrow.