Chemical Technology November-December 2016

PUMPS AND VALVES

A clear signal PumpMeter optimises fluid handling in the life sciences industry by Christoph P Pauly, KSB Aktiengesellschaft, Frankenthal, Germany Whether or not a pump is running in its optimum operating range is difficult to judge from the outside. Although vibrations or unusual noise levels are an indicator of irregularities, for a long time we did not know exactly what was happening inside a pump.

S ince KSB developed the PumpMeter for centrifugal pumps a few years ago, thousands of pumps have been optimised. This helpful tool is now also avail- able for pumps used in hygienically demanding processes. Despite all endeavours to optimise pump systems, we have found that in real life most pumps are operated far outside their optimum operating range, ie, nowhere near their best efficiency point. The consequences of operating a pump in the low-flow or overload range are grave: Not only does efficiency remain under the optimum, but the service life and reliability of wear components such as shaft seals and bearings are also reduced. Since the introduction of PumpMeter in 2010, pump users have been benefiting from a valuable tool. Pump- Meter provides information on the pump’s condition via a display so that users can immediately establish how their pump is operating. A typical pump curve illustrates in which range the pump is operating at a particular point

of time. This allows the pump user to see at a glance if the pump is operating in an efficient and cost-saving manner, or if its availability might be in jeopardy (Figure 1). Today, this product has been installed in around 30 000 systems around the world. Offering this product for pumps used in hygienically demanding applications such as the pharmaceutical or food industry was an option considered by KSB right from the start. “Adapting the sensors to meet hygienic standards posed special challenges from a design point of view,” says Daniel Wetter, Life Sciences Product Manager at KSB. “PumpMeter, a product originally designed for standard process conditions, incorporates the kind of un- covered threads and dead volumes that are a no-go for LSA applications as these spaces cannot be cleaned properly.” Focus on quality and energy costs In general, energy consumption was not always considered top priority in the pharmaceutical and food industries

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Chemical Technology • November/December 2016