How to protect dry screw vacuum pumps from corrosion?

Vacuum plays a vital role in several industrial processes, including pharmaceutical and chemical processes. Whether in inertization, vacuum conveying, distilling, or drying, vacuum is generally used to make the procedure work smoothly, fastly, and safely. However, there are various types of vacuum technologies. These include:

• Liquid ring vacuum pumps and steam ejectors are the types of pumps used for decades to generate vacuum and work as robust workhorses.
• Rotary vane vacuum pumps are also used to generate vacuum, but they have one advantage: these pumps have recirculating oil lubrication that smoothens the industrial vacuum systems process.  

While liquid ring vacuum pumps don’t have recirculating oil lubrication thus, they require operating fluid to reach the process gas during the procedure.

 

 

 

Working principle of dry screw vacuum pump

Dry vacuum pumps consist of two screw rotors that rotate in clockwise and anticlockwise directions. While the pumped medium is sandwiched between the screw chambers and the cylinder. So it gets compressed and later transferred to the outlet for further procedure. However, during this procedure, a gap remains in between the screw rotors, and they never come in contact with the cylinder. Further, cooling can be done through water or air cooling.

How to protect the vacuum system?

Typically, vacuum pumps deal with several risk factors depending on the process gas. Thus, it’s crucial to use process gas which can minimize such risks. Further, to protect the dry vacuum pump, you must also focus on the various components that can be fixed on the pressure side or inlet. So it can quickly transfer the pressure gas without even damaging the pump.

It’s called a vacuum system, and to safely operate this vacuum system; it’s crucial to protect it from deposits and corrosion. It can happen due to polymerization or crystallization.

Protection against corrosion 

• Firstly, it’s crucial to prevent the entering of corrosive materials inside of the vacuum pump. It can be achieved by using gas scrubbers or upstream condensers.
• Secondly, use a specific operating temperature to keep the streaming process in the gas phase.
• Thirdly, it’s better to use compatible materials to boost the vacuum pump performance and prevent corrosion.  

In short, the dry screw vacuum pump can help perform the industrial vacuum systems process without the help of operating fluid. So it can compress the pressure gas to transfer to the outlet quickly. But for this, it’s better to use corrosive-resistant materials.

Application of Vacuum in the Edible Oil Industry

 The vacuum allows the food processing that could not have been done in normal atmospheric conditions. Moreover, the vacuum has huge benefits on the processing of food items that are sensitive to heat and oxygen like edible oil. The vacuum that can be used in the food industry varies in the range of 1-600 mbar.

The vacuum which is applied in the edible oil industry apart from deodorization is also used for transport, processing, filling, and packaging of the edible oil. The vacuum system is also used in cleaning operations and the creation of appropriate hygienic conditions that are needed in an oil refinery.

Deodorisation of oil by the use of the vacuum system

While processing edible oil and fats, deodorization is essential to remove the undesirable compounds present in the oil such as free fatty acids and volatiles. These compounds need to be removed because they can deteriorate the taste of the final product. Not only the taste, the stability, odour, and colour of the final product might also get compromised if the vacuum system for edible oil deodorization is not there in the refinery.

Before the deodorization process, the refined oil is de-aerated under the vacuum and that is because the vacuum is necessary to keep the quality of the edible oil intact by the prevention of oxidation. The removal of the non-condensable gases is also done through the process of vacuum because the vacuum if not removed they often bubble on the surface of the oil which would then bring down the heat transfer rates.

After the removal of the gases, the oil is then transferred into the deodorization column after heating it well. After that steam is passed through the oil to remove the oil from any odour. As a precaution, so that the fatty acids and the volatiles are not carried into the final product, the stripped-off products are recovered in a condenser. This process is known as fractional distillation.

Vacuum pumps are of utmost importance for the final product of high-quality refined edible oil. Therefore, while investing the refineries must get in touch with the best vacuum pump manufacturers in India and have the best vacuum systems installed in the refineries.

Dry Screw Vacuum Pump and Its Advantages

 Dry screw vacuum pumps are the latest edition to the industry. These work on the principle of no lubricants i.e. no water, no oil, which makes the dry screw pumps ecologically sound. Dry screw pumps consist of two screws rotating in opposite directions and the gas moves in the screw's axis. They are designed in different configurations to meet different needs. They can be often used in combination with a variety of pumps to work for any specific requirement.

Principle of operation

The dry screw vacuum pumps are worked under a pump casing which consists of two screw rotors with no friction between them, supported by bearings. It sucks the air in and pumps the medium between the cylinder and screw chambers and then transfers it to the gas exhaust. These pumps are very stable and produce less noise and required no lubricating oil for application. These pumps have a wide range of applications in different industries like steel plants, agrochemical industries, and many more.

Advantages of dry screw vacuum pumps

Following are some of the advantages for dry screw vacuum pump-

It has a very high pumping capacity.
Friction-free operation in different chambers.
It does not require the consumption of fuel, and results in zero leakage.
The operation and maintenance cost is low.
Highly efficient for various operations.
The pumps have anti-corrosion coating, which makes them highly durable
Environment-friendly because of no water, no oil principle.
No contamination of medium as it is directly discharged from the pump body.
It has dust resistance properties.

Application

Dry screw pumps have various applications in industrial vacuum systems. It is used for the distillation of chemicals, biodiesel, oil, polymer industries, oil refining industries. It has wide usage even in the food industry for packaging, drying, and processing, these pumps are used because of their no contamination of medium quality. It has application in steel plants due to its dust resistance property and high durability.

Dry screw pumps are mainly used with equipment like reactor distillation, multi-phase transportation of liquid, gas, or solid, oil-water separating devices, wastewater treatment system, column distillation, fractional distillation, etc.

These are some of the advantages and applications of dry screw vacuum pumps, which is using widely in the pumping industry as a latest and advanced technology to fulfill the specific needs.

Dry Vacuum Pump vs. Oil Seal Vacuum Pump

A wide variety of Industrial Vacuum Systems are available for different industries and various applications. Traditional Oil sealed pumps have made a permanent home in most of the Industries since long. But the latest technology has come up with dry vacuum systems that adds benefits in operation and maintenance charges.

Here is a clear comparison in oil sealed pump and dry vacuum pump to understand it's pros and cons in depth.

Dry Vacuum Pump

The name itself suggests that it does not use any oil or fluid to operate. Dry Vacuum pumps have good operations from atmosphere pressure to base pressure. But the point is, it does not work the same smoothly as wet pumps.

Dry pumps give clear and pollution free contamination and keeps the product chemical / oil free. The biggest advantage of dry vacuum pumps is oil free operation. Second advantage is, it can be fitted with any vacuum Booster pump to achieve high vacuum ranges.

But dry pumps have lower capacity as compared to oil sealed pumps. Oil changes are very frequent and maintenance costs are lower but in case of overhauls for bearing changes, it needs special tools and knowledge for the same.

Oil Sealed Pumps

Oil Sealed Pumps require oil and other fluid to operate. Industrial Vacuum Systems that are oil Sealed are durable when maintained properly. Oil Sealed Pumps are widely used in engineering fields. The working and mechanism of oil pumps are much simpler and easy to understand. It operates well for atmosphere to base and can be fixed well to external boosters in order to increase capacity and vacuum ranges.

On the other hand, managing waste toxic oil frequently can be a problem. And it is very important to handle and discharge the toxic materials very carefully. After a long run, it may be difficult to find spare parts in case of any repair issue.

Service and maintenance is difficult in the long run. But well, there are some parts and materials to repair and give a short term life to pumps.

Both the Industrial Vacuum Systems have their own benefits and drawbacks. So which type of pump to select depends upon your existing problem of your systems.

The Basic Operation Of Roots Vacuum Pump

The vacuum is generally used in many applications of the industrial manufacturing process. These include drying, bottling, and degassing. Further, an industrial vacuum pump can be used to improve, create, and maintain a vacuum during the process.

However, for the wider application of these industrial vacuum systems, they are distinguished according to their usage. But the basic operation of any type of vacuum pump is the same: remove gas molecules from the vacuum chamber.

Depending on their intensity and usage, these vacuum systems have been defined for higher vacuum applications and lower vacuum applications.

What is a root vacuum pump?

The roots vacuum pump, or simply known as the roots pump, is a rotary variable displacement pump. However, the only difference in the rotary and roots pump is the roots pump has no internal contraction during the process. Further, according to its application, it can be divided into a wet-type Roots pump or dry-type Roots pump.

Principle of roots vacuum pump

The root vacuum pump’s basic principle uses two synchronously counter-rotating rotors that rotate without contacting in the housing. Further, the rotors have an eight-figure configuration. That is separated by each other through a narrow gap. Further, their operating system varies from single and multistage roots pump.

In the case of a multistage roots pump, the dry-vacuum pump is used in ultra-high, high, medium, and low vacuum systems. So that they can produce dry conditions. However, in a multistage roots pump, no more pump is required.

But, a single-stage roots pump is most commonly used in the booster pump. In order to improve the pressure required in the pumping system. It further requires several fore-pumps to operate effectively.

Further, roots vacuum pumps are most suitable where the atmosphere is clean and dry. Moreover, they are generally used in the manufacturing of solar panels and semiconductors. It is also used in further industrial applications, including coating.

In short, the root pump works effectively when the surrounding is clean and dry. It means it normally requires a dry atmosphere for its working. Further, depending upon its pressure intensity, the root pumps can be used accordingly.