MechChem Africa October 2017

⎪ Hydraulic and pneumatic systems ⎪

The tough construction and proven operating principle of AWS, AWD & AWL liquid ring vacuum pumps from Atlas Copco make them suitable for use in the most demanding of environments. T he simple and sturdy design of Atlas Copco’s liquid ring vacuum pumps makes them ideal for the reliable delivery of vacuum in humid, dusty Conserving energy with plug-and play vacuum solutions

liquid is cooled via a high efficiency heat ex- changer before being returned to the pump chamber. This configuration works with a closed liquid cycle and is recommended be- causeitphysicallyseparatesthecoolingwater circuit from possible process contaminates. The two-stage AWD pumps provide constantly high performance at operating pressures below 200 mbar (absolute). Two synchronised pump chambers work in series to achieve high performance and improved efficiency on continuous process duties such as drying, degassing exhausting and solvent recovery. For larger installations, belt or gear- box transmission high capacity AWL pumps can often be the most appropriate selection. In almost every production environment, the demand for vacuumfluctuates. Demand pro- files are affected by numerous variants such as process changes, the time of day, week or even month. Atlas Copco’s ground-breaking VSD+ variable speed drive technology pres- ents an unrivalled energy-efficient solution for fluctuating vacuumdemand applications. While a traditional fixed speed vacuum pump is either on or off, a VSD pump au- tomatically adjusts its motor and element speed to the demand. As the VSD pump only runs at the required speed, significant cuts in energy consumption are achieved. TheVSD+ technology also eliminates peak current penalties during start-up experienced with stop-start machines. The inlet control valve, whichprovidesmodulating vacuumcontrol in GHS VSD+ halves energy consumption

Dramatic reductions in life cycle costs and significant increases in productivity define the Atlas Copco GHS VSD+ vacuum pump series. conjunction with the VSD, further minimises energy consumption. Understanding how important low oper- ating expenses and sustainable productivity are for customers and end-users, during the development of the GHS VSD+ series, Atlas Copco, took every single factor into consid- eration todeterminewhere extra efficiencies and increased life could be gained. “The built- in efficiencies of theGHSVSD+ series deliver sustainable productivity while the optimum and efficient performance of the vacuum pumps do not compromise worker safety and comfort or the environment,” says Atlas Copco’s Willem Brits, the representative for Vacuum Technique in South and southern Africa. The GHS VSD+ range is equipped with Atlas Copco’s state-of-the art Elektronikon® monitoring system. Themotor speedandhigh efficiency frequency inverter are controlled by the integrated Elektronikon Graphic con- troller,whilecomplementingtheElektronikon is SmartLink, a flexible user-friendly solution for data monitoring. The easy to use and simple to maintain GHSVSD+ series is based on thewell-known and durable plug-and-play design principles of AtlasCopco compressors, which ensure an

and dirty environments typically found in industrial processes across a wide spectrum of industries including food and beverage, dairy, mineral processing, chemicals and pet- rochemicals, oil, steel, and plastics, as well as paper and pulp. Liquid ring pumps are equipped with a fixed blade impeller located eccentrically within a cylindrical casing. As the impeller rotates, liquid (usuallywater) is thrownout by centrifugal force to form a liquid ring around the circumference of the casing, sealing the tips of the impeller and creating separate enclosed gas chambers between each blade. Because of the eccentric position of the im- peller, these chambers vary in volume as the shaft rotates, having the effect of drawing in and compressing process gas. The AWS and AWD vacuum pump series are offered in three pre-engineeredmodular configurations designed for once-through, partial recirculation or total recovery of the servicewater. Striving tomake thecustomer’s life easy, Atlas Copco offers all three con- figurations as pre-fabricated plug-and-play modules, including pump, motor and water recirculation system mounted on a compact skid. Customers receive a complete solution, which can be easily installed and commis- sioned with theminimum amount of work. In most cases all wet-end system components are manufactured from stainless steel. The module with the simplest design is the once-through pump, which consists of a pump with electric motor, drive system and skid. It is ideal for installations with an adequate supply of site water avail- able which can then

easy and fast installation that saves on time and space. q

Atlas Copco liquid ring vacuum pumps offer resource- conserving plug & play solutions.

be continuously drained fromthe

pump for re- use. The pump- ing systemadds nocontaminates to the servicewa- ter other than those coming from the process.

With total recovery, liquid savings of up to 95% are possible. The recovered

October 2017 • MechChem Africa ¦ 17