UNIVERSITY OF MAIDUGURI FACULTY OF ENGINEERING MECHANICAL ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT

ME 503 HYDRO-PNEUMATIC ENGINEERING A GROUP PRESENTATION ON AIR-LIFT PUMP BY GROUP 4 03/3886 06/05/06/013 06/05/06/015 06/05/06/038 06/05/06/040 06/05/06/045 06/05/06/051 06/05/06/068 07/05/06/079

2010/2011 SESSION

INTRODUCTION Airlift pumping was invented by Carl Loscher at the end of the eighteenth century (Goit, 1982). Operation is based on the pumping effect achieved when air is injected into a liquid or a solid-liquid mixture. This type of pumping system has a low efficiency in comparison with other pumping methods. However, simplicity in construction and the absence of moving mechanical parts are two very important advantages that make it useful in certain applications, such as pumping corrosive liquids (sandy or salty waters) (Goit, 1982) and viscous liquids (e.g. hydrocarbons in the oil industry ) (Goit, 1982; Kato et al., 1975). Airlift pumping is also used in shaft and well drilling (Goit, 1982; Gibson, 1961) (the drillings being lifted by underground water), undersea mining (Goit, 1982; Mero, 1968), and in certain bioreactors and waste watertreatment installations, providing excellent aeration of the pumped fliud (Chisti, 1992; Tristam et al., 1992). The type of flow in the suction pipe is either one-phase (liquid) or two-phase (solid- liquid) while in the upriser pipe is either two-phase (air-liquid) or three-phase (airliquid-solid). The upriser can be of constant or varying diameter, increasing from injection to discharge point (tapered systems). The latter are much more efficient when pumping from large depths, because this ensures slug flow along the upriser. Otherwise, i.e., when a fixed diameter system is used, due to gas expansion, the flow changes to annular, this is characterized by poor pumping efficiency (Goit, 1982). APPLICATIONS These pumps, in spite of their poor efficiency, are commonly used in many areas where conventional pumps usage is difficult. These pumps are used in

Petroleum fields, Handling some hazardous liquids, Sewage plants, Deep sea mining, Recovery of archeological artifact and many more.

NOMENCLATURE Hs = height of static water level above the tip of the nozzle or static head H = height to which water is lifted above the tip of the nozzle. Hd = differential head or delivery head (m) Le= length of suction pipe Lu =length of lift section or an upriser pipe Ls= length of submergence P1= hydrostatic pressure inside the delivery pipe P2= hydrostatic pressure outside the delivery pipe Va = volume of free air needed per gallon of water C = constant that depends on Lu (see Table 1) P = required gas pressure (N/m2) sg = specific gravity of the fluid (dimensionless) Ph = power (kW) q = flow capacity (m3/s) = density of fluid (kg/m3) g = gravity (9.81 m/s2) PRINCIPLE OF OPERATION OF AN AIR LIFT PUMP An airlift pump is a simple device which uses compressed air for lifting water from wells. It consists of two pipes, called 1. Air pipe and 2. Delivery pipe The air pipe has a nozzle at one end, and the other end is connected to the air compressor. The nozzle of the air pipe is placed inside the bottom end of the delivery pipe. The delivery pipe is also called education pipe. As the compressed air is passed through the air pipe, it comes out the nozzle with a high velocity. The compressed air mixes with the water in the delivery pipe. The resulting mixture of air and water in the delivery pipe is lighter than the water outside the delivery pipe. Because of reduction of the density and hence specific weight of water, the hydrostatic pressure P1 at the bottom of the liquid column inside the delivery pipe is less

than the hydrostatic pressure P2 of the ordinary water outside the delivery pipe (Figure 1). This difference in pressure causes an upward force on the water column in the delivery pipe and the water starts flowing out of the delivery pipe. The flow continuous as long as the supply of compressed air in the air pipe is maintained. The efficiency of the air pump lift is usually between 25-50%. The discharge depends upon the density of air- water mixture in the delivery pipe and the ratio of heads Hd/Hs. The best result are achieved when this ratio is about 2 for Hd of 150m and about 0.5 for Hd of 15m.To obtain the required ratio, the well may have to be deepened to increase H. This will increase the cost. Although the efficiency of an air lift pump is quite low, it is ideally suited when compressed is easily available. Air lift pumps are especially useful to drain out water from mines. Sand particles, coal particles and suspended solids in the water do not cause any problem in air lift pump. This pump can also be used even in crooked or damaged wells. The pump is quite convenient for pumping out large quantity of water from smalldiameter deep wells. An air separator is sometimes placed at the discharge end of the delivery pipe to remove air from water. The reclaimed air is cooler than the atmospheric air and can be recompressed more cheaply than ordinary air. The air- lift pump is not suitable for raising water much above the ground level. SYSTEM DESCRIPTION A typical airlift pump involves a vertical pipe of length L divided into two parts (Figure 1). A suction pipe of length Le between the bottom end and the air injection port and an upriser pipe of length Lu between the air and discharge ports which is partially submerged by a length Ls.

Thus, (H-Hs) = Hd ...1 The results are optimum if the useful lift (H-Hs) is less than the height of static water (Hs) above the tip of the nozzle. Hence for best results, (H-Hs) < Hs....2 The ratio (Hs/H-Hs) generally varies from 4 to 1. Also, when Hs = 30m, then the ratio (Hs /H- Hs) is about 4. When Hs = 90m, then the ratio (Hs /H- Hs) is about 1. For Hs = 30m, Hs /H- Hs =4 So, 30/H-30 = 4 30 = 4H 120 4H = 150 H = 37.5 m.

For Hs = 90m, Hs /H- Hs = 1. So, 90/H-90 = 1. 90 = H 90. H = 180m. So, it is evident that when Hs increases, H also increases. SIZING OF AN AIR LIFT PUMP The flow rate through an air lift pump is proportional to the flow rate of the air powering it. The literature reports air lift pump flow rates of 1.310-3m3/s to 1.310-1m3/s and lifts to more than 210m. An empirical calculation attributed to the Ingersoll Rand Co. correlates the flow of air with that of water. Va = 0.8Lu/ (Clog10 {(Ls + 34)/34}.....3

Lu (m) 3-18 18.3-60.3 60.3-150 150.3-195 195.3-225

C 245 233 216 185 156

Table1. Constant for use in air lift pump sizing equation Another relevant variable is the relationship between Ls and Lu. Functional air lift designs exhibit a curious non-linear phenomenon. The ratio of submerged length to total length, Ls/Lu, runs about 0.6 when the lift is only around 6m., but decreases to about 0.4 when the lift is 150m. The last relevant variable is the air pressure needed to make the device operate. This depends, of course, on the specific gravity of the fluid. The depth that corresponds to one N/m2 is inversely proportional to the specific gravity. For water,

one N/m2 corresponds to 0.693m of depth. If one ignores the friction losses in the line, the applicable relationship is: P = (Ls sg/2.31).4 HYDRAULIC PUMP POWER The ideal hydraulic power to drive a pump depends on the mass flow rate, the liquid density and the differential height either it is the static lift from one height to an other, or the friction head loss component of the system - can be calculated as Ph = q g Hd / (3.6 106)5

HIGH EFFICIENCY DIFFUSER AIRLIFT PUMP Alab, LLC conducted experiments to determine if aeration and pumping efficiency could be improved by use of Alabs fine bubble diffuser to introduce the air. Alabs concept was that fine bubbles will improve oxygen transfer to water being pumped, compared to coarse bubbles from a hose because of the large increase in the bubble surface area. The mechanical power in was calculated to watts. The calculations do not take into account friction losses that may exist in piping to the airlift pump or electrical to mechanical losses to pump the air. The results are expressed as Mechanical Efficiency Percent. The energy reduction calculations are shown below; Mechanical power output Given:

CRITICAL FACTORS IN AIR LIFT PUMP Air lift pump operates by the injection of compressed air into the water inside of a discharge pipe, at a point below the water level in the well. The injection of the air results in a mixture of air bubbles and water, which being lighter in weight than water outside the discharge pipe, forces the air and water mixture up. TWO CRITICAL FACTORS IN AIR LIFT PUMPING 1. The submergence of the air line; and 2. The size of discharge line. Submergence always means the depth of air line below the pumping level, rather than the static water level in the well. Best performance occurs when approximately 60% of the airline is submerged. If the percent of submergence is too low, the system will not work. The piping assembly used for air lift pumping consists of a vertical discharge pipe and a smaller air pipe. See Figure 1. TYPES OF AIR LIFT PUMP: - There are two types of air lift pump namely, Horizontal type and Vertical type.

The horizontal nozzle is horizontal type while vertical nozzle is vertical type.

DVANTAGES These pumps do not require any electrical power from the power mains. Wondering how? There are systems installed in villages to irrigate agricultural fields. The system has a windmill which drives an air compressor. The compressed air from the air compressor is led into the pipe which has a nozzle in the deep wells. This system can also be modified by windmill driving a generator and power from this generator is used for compressing air and then used in these pumps.

ADVANTAGES: 1. No moving parts, 2. Less maintenance, 3. Simple & reliable, 4. No mechanical parts below ground level, 5. It can handle mud, sand, and gritty water too. 6. This pump can raise more water through a bore hole of given diameter than any other pump types. DISADVANTAGES: 1. Worst efficiency, 20 to 30% operating efficiency, when compared to expenditure of energy in compressing air. 2. Running cost of an air-lift pump is high in terms of energy expenditure terms. 3. Bore holes have to be drilled very deep in order to get enough static head. If not, the discharge will be less and probably no discharge. Boring is considerably a costly operation. REFERENCES 1. High efficiency diffuser 1996- 2008, Alab, LLC, Rush, NY USA 2. Pumping water by the air lift method, by Orin Kenzie, Alberta Agriculture, Lethbridge, Alberta. 3. Learn about air lift pump, by sriram balu (6,662 pts), Edited by Lamar Stonecypher Published on Aug 3, 2009. 4. S.C. Gupta, (2006 edition) Fluid mechanics and hydraulic machines Pg. 935- 936.