A platinum mine needed dosing systems for flocculants, anti-foaming agents and flushing water on critical seals. The operator had originally intended to use different types of pumps for these various applications; peristaltic pumps for the flocculants, progressing cavity pumps for the anti-foaming agents and centrifugal pumps for the seal water. Netzsch technicians were able to convince them that the characteristics of the progressing cavity pumps (accurate dosing, low pulsation and gentle conveying) made the progressing cavity pump ideal for all of the applications and therefore they could standardise on one supplier.
Netzsch offered a pump package which involved the use of a total of 18 NEMO® progressing cavity pumps in just two different sizes for all areas. With the seal water pump, the customer had the advantage being able to use a small and efficient pump to meet the flow and pressure requirements. The pressure does not present any challenge for either of the other two applications, but avoidance of pulsation is critical here. In contrast to the peristaltic pumps, the use of progressing cavity pumps would mean no additional expensive flow controller or pulsation dampener is needed, because the pump operates almost pulsation-free. At the same time, restricting use to just one conveying technology also enables the operator to make spare part management both simpler and cheaper.
The 18 pumps have been running without any faults and at the required dosing accuracy since March 2013. The customer is satisfied with both the acquisition and ongoing maintenance costs, which are much lower than assumed in their planning.
To see how Netzsch could service your company, visit the company’s website.