It is crucial that companies realise the importance of using the correct type of chemical dosing pump for specific appli- cations, says pump specialist company Ecochem Pumps MD Ed Lemke.

He adds that, although there is a market for both smaller, low-cost utility dosing pumps as well as larger industrial pumps, wrongful application remains a challenge throughout the local industry.

“Many companies use utility dosing pumps in industrial applications, as they are unaware of better options, as well as to save costs,” Lemke notes.

However, despite the initial purchase and installation costs of utility dosing pumps being significantly less than those of industrial dosing pumps, the long-term costs associated with operating utility dosing pumps are higher.

Utility dosing pumps, to a large extent, comprise plastic components and are designed with an inherently shorter product life, as apposed to industrial pumps. This is due to utility pumps being manufactured specifically for lighter- duty applications, such as air- and water-cooling and purification systems that do not run constantly.

Lemke says, if applied in an industrial setting, utility dosing pumps are exposed to heavier workloads that exceed their design capacity, necessitating constant repair.

“The regular replacement and constant repair of utility pumps in industrial applications translate into major costs in labour and downtime,” he adds.

Although industrial dosing pumps also require scheduled maintenance, Ecochem prescribes using industrial dosing pumps in industrial plants and processes, as these are designed specifically for this purpose.

“Needless to say, industrial pumps can better withstand and handle the pressure of industrial applications and require fewer repairs,” Lemke says.

Further, industrial measuring pumps are more accurate in terms of chemical measured dosing, compared with their utility counterparts, resulting in significant savings on chemicals.

Ecochem Pumps technical sales manager Corné Kleyn tells Engineering News that industrial dosing pumps are regulated by the internationally accepted American Petroleum Institute 675 standards, which specify that such pumps must maintain a constant accuracy of about 0.5%.

However, he says there are currently no international regulatory standards to which utility dosing pumps have to adhere.

“The result is that poor-quality products enter the market, which is a challenge that has to be tackled by the international dosing pumps industry,” he adds.

Generally, the accuracy of utility dosing pumps ranges between 3% and 6%, which is significantly less accurate than industrial pumps and can result in redundant chemical discharge.

Slow Change
Kleyn says, although South Africa tends to be slow in accepting change, it is evident that awareness of the benefits of correct application of dosing pumps is slowly growing.

“We have proved to our clients that it is worth their while to invest in industrial dosing pumps for their industrial require- ments. “Companies that have converted have reported significant success in terms of cutting back on their chemical consump- tion and maintenance.”

“A major platinum mine has placed a multimillion-rand order with us for industrial dosing pumps, including full turnkey application,” Lemke notes.

Kleyn says the fact that dosing pumps form a mere 0.5% of the global pumps market has contributed to slow transformation.

“As this is such a small segment, industry role-players tend to not pay too much attention to challenges and to finding solutions to these. “This is worrying, as dosing pumps play a central part in production and processing systems within the water treatment, food and beverage, fuel and mining industries,” he says.

Lemke adds the problem is amplified by some local dosing pump suppliers, who sell utility pumps for industrial applications to increase their sales. “This gives dosing pumps, across all sizes and types, a bad reputation.”

Solution
Lemke suggests that end-users must become more informed about their dosing pump options so that they are able to advise plant designers on pump selection.

“If a company is constructing a plant that will operate for five years or more, it should rather consider installing industrial pumps,” he says.

New Products
Earlier this year, Ecochem Pumps extended its Milton Roy dosing pumps range to include the Poweroyal industrial dosing pump, as well as the Roytronic utility metering pump.

Built on request, the Poweroyal is a high-pressure, high-volume pump that is available in fixed stroke and variable fre- quency settings and is suited for heavy industrial applications, such as high-flow boiler feed, as well as oil and gas applica- tions. It has a maximum discharge capa- city of 50 m3/h and up to 614 bar discharge pressure.

Further, the Roytronic pumps are suit- able for applications of up to 17.2 bar with a capacity of about 12 ℓ/h. Both manual adjustment and frequency variation options are available.

“Pumps are becoming increasingly smaller and compact but have retained their power and output. This not only allows for manufacturing savings in terms of metal use and casting but also improves convenience and user-friendliness,” Lemke concludes.

To subscribe to Engineering News's print magazine email subscriptions@creamermedia.co.za or buy now.