The Challenge
Due to the increasing number of repairs to a conventional rotary lobe pump, K Agro has been researching potentially cheaper alternatives for spare parts and maintenance.
Rotary pumps exposed to impurities such as small stones, sand or other fragments such as straw and plant residues suffer from premature wear of the lobe wear parts.
In the case of K Agro, the rotating lobes were already largely worn out after about 30 days of use, i.e. only 80 hours of actual use. After that, the rotor was worn out and the required pressure and flow rate were no longer achieved.
Pump wear was particularly intense due to the high dry matter content (14% solids) and fibre content of the pumped fluid. For example, large fragments of sugar beet residue caused abnormal wear and breakage.
Calculation of the Maintenance Cost of Lobe Pumps
in the K Agro Application
Our Danish friends have estimated the cost of each repair as follows:
Lobe pump costs – spare parts, in the order of 2,000 Euros.
Average duration of each intervention: 3 hours / week.
That is, approximately 145 hours per year.
Cost of production downtime estimated at 1,000 € / hour.
The Proposed Solution
Installation of two LSM-150 pumps, with 150 mm diameter pipe.
Strengths of the Solution
The design of the LSM peristaltic pump corresponds exactly to the needs of K Agro.
The challenges presented by the type of fluid loaded with K Agro are matched by the advantages presented by the LSM solution – a heavy duty peristaltic pump.
Maintenance is super simple, there are no moving parts in contact with the fluid, resulting in low operating costs and very little downtime and therefore very little loss of productivity.
LSM guarantees a stable and reliable pumping solution for production.
Maintenance of LSM pumps is possible without removing the pump from the pipework and without the need for special tools. The pump door allows easy access for hose replacement.
Find out how a peristaltic pump works…
Results – Peristaltic Pump vs Lobe Pump
K Agro achieved an increase in throughput with the LSM peristaltic pump, which is particularly energy-efficient, requires very little maintenance and servicing, and the cost of spare parts has been reduced by 2/3.
The return on investment in this application from just 7 months of operation is based solely on savings on spare parts – not even taking into account lost production and working hours.
Benefits of the LSM Pump
- LSM differs in that it has the advantage of a larger and very strong pump body. This results in a longer hose. The hose therefore has a longer service life, as it is subject to less rotation for a given flow rate and is therefore able to withstand wear for longer.
- This means that the LSM hose moves the same volume as competing pumps, but at a lower speed, resulting in a longer life for the gear motor and hose.
- Hose collapse is achieved by rollers mounted on bearings. Their adjustment gives the hose optimum compression, minimal friction, better lubrication and lower energy consumption than most peristaltic pumps on the market, whose hose compression is achieved by shoes.
SPS Pumps has a large number of installations in the bio-methanisation and biogas sector. Depending on the application, the LSM peristaltic pump has many advantages over the more popular progressive cavity pumps.
SPS Pumps, always striving for an optimal solution, helps each of its customers to make the most cost-effective choice according to the customer’s application.
SPS Pumps mainly offers Wangen Pumps progressive cavity pumps, but in all cases the customer’s application is the important point determining the technology to be applied.
Over K AGRO
K AGRO in Sindal, Denmark is a farm-based biogas plant producing natural gas and electricity. The main source is straw, maize, grass, sugar beet and other crops and manure. Every day, K AGRO adds 200 tonnes of solids and mixes it with 100 tonnes of manure. The plant has been modernised and expanded and production will be doubled by 2022!
18 March 2021
