25 Nov Modern Industrial Pumps Manufacturer
From the Shadoof to the Modern Industrial Pumps Manufacturer
The need to transport drinking water from rivers and lakes to their primitive dwellings drove early humans to seek labour-saving solutions. At first, they fashioned carrying vessels from animal skins and wooden buckets. In Ancient Egypt and parts of the Middle East, a simple device known as a shadoof marked the first attempt to mechanise the process. Many moons later, a renowned Greek scientist developed the Archimedes Screw to become the world’s first industrial pump manufacturer.
Improved pumping techniques emerged long before the industrial revolution and the steam engine. Almost 1,500 years after the decline of Rome, a Frenchman resumed the quest to produce the precursor of the device known today as a gear pump. Some forty years on, a German engineer, named Pappenheim, improved on the earlier design to create a double, deep-toothed version that is still used today as a means to circulate lubricating oil in internal combustion engines. Soon after, another Frenchman developed a principle still favoured by today’s industrial pumps manufacturer. He used a straight-vaned impeller to generate the centrifugal force necessary to draw in water and discharge it.
Up until that point, pumping devices were manually-operated. However, in 1698, an English inventor, named Thomas Avery, became the first to leverage the power of steam for this purpose. As the vapour cooled, it created a partial vacuum, causing water to be drawn into his device. However, following the invention of the steam engine and, later, the advent of electrical power, the surge in demand for power-driven machinery also fuelled a need for industrial pumps manufacturers.
Furthermore, the subsequent proliferation of mining companies, chemical producers and the food and beverage industry created a need to transfer fluids other than water. In parallel, pumps and pipelines became a standard means for transferring gases, air, steam and even sludge and other semi-solid materials, posing new challenges for those tasked with developing the required pumping equipment. In practice, the developers have successfully met and exceeded users’ demands. Today, the range and capabilities of products from an industrial pumps manufacturer are beyond the wildest dreams of those who pioneered this crucial technology.
In this age of electric motors and internal combustion engines, manually-operated equipment is a rarity. However, powered devices are just one example of the many significant advances in this field. That said, one of the most notable was not the result of an innovative design concept. Instead, it arose from developments in materials science. First, stainless steel, and later, superalloys such as Hastelloy, enabled an industrial pumps manufacturer to replace bronze and cast iron components to meet the challenge of handling highly corrosive chemicals such as sulphuric acid. These new robust metals also limited the damage caused by abrasive pipeline contents such as coal slurries and sewage.
Nevertheless, water handling solutions remain essential, and none could be more vital than those employed in the world’s water treatment plants. In addition to the fundamental need for pumps to transfer water between the various stages of the purification process, they are necessary for an even more crucial application. Dosing or metering devices from industrial pumps manufacturers provide the means to add accurately-measured volumes of acid or alkali to adjust the water’s pH or safe but effective quantities of chlorine or hypochlorite to ensure the finished product remains sterile whilst en route to the consumer. These are also ideal for handling flammable liquids that can be ignited by a spark from a conventional motor.
Despite the numerous advances in their design, most of these devices retain one weakness. They must rely on seals to prevent contents from leaking at the point where the motor’s drive shaft enters the pump’s housing. Wear and tear on seals is inevitable and must be monitored to ensure timely replacement. A tight seal is especially crucial for submersible units as they face the added risk of liquid penetrating the motor.
Accordingly, industrial pumps manufacturers developed sealless centrifugal units that rely on electromagnet induction to rotate their impellers. These so-called mag-drive models are also invaluable for dealing with flammable liquids that a stray spark from a conventional motor could ignite.
Prochem is a leading supplier of top-branded pumping equipment, including products from Prominent, Ebara, Oberdorfer and Finish Thompson. The company is also an industrial pump manufacturer, offering a wide range of locally-produced equipment, such as the lightweight, silent-running and exceptionally versatile epoxy-resin models used to handle aggressive liquids.