Slurry Pumps Suiting The Need Of Continuous Pumping For Mining Industry

By Author: Jim Lee
Total Articles: 332
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In today’s world, pumping has became essential part and finds its application in industry as well as domestic household. Depending upon in which type of industry different types of pumps get used, different categories of pumps are there. One of them, slurry pumps are mainly used in mining industry and in other industries like Gold, Iron Ore, Silver, Water and Sewage, tobacco industries for pumping slurry. The different components of this pump is


1. Impeller

2. Casing

3. Shaft and Bearing assembly

4. Shaft sleeve

5. Drive type.


They can be classified into three types of pumps:-


6. Centrifugal pumps-These types of pumps are used for continuous pumping of high-density, highly abrasive slurries and needed no maintenance cost at all. Some of the features include inside lining made of different materials to provide chemical resistance, split casing, moulded impeller, bearing frames etc.


7. Lobe pumps- They are famous for ...
... saving a lot of money in maintenance as compared to traditional centrifugal pumps made of rubber lines. Their main characteristic features are run dry ability, forward and reverse flow helping in cleaning operation, requires less driving power, compact design, ideal for corrosive and abrasive fluid.


8. Peristaltic hose pumps- These types of slurry pumps are excellent for pumping mixture of slurrys with solid in excess 80% and high abrasive fluid. They have a smooth liquid passage and allow zero sedimentation as peristaltic action makes the fluid remain suspended.


peristaltic pumps are used for pumping variety of fluids like abrasive fluids, viscous liquids, slurries with very high solid content. Even in medical field, they get used in heart-lung machines to smoothen the circulation of blood during bypass surgery. Due to the peristaltic action, this pump does not allow sedimentation or reaction of fluids with pump material could not take place. Some of the features include-


a. Disaster proof connection

b. Low maintenance cost

c. Accurate dosing performance

d. Dry running

e. Effectively handling pump-slurries with solid content upto 80%

f. Low requirement of power etc


The advantages of this pump are-

1. it is easy to clear the inside surface of the pump

2. because of its sealed design, maintenance cost is very low

3. Design of the apparatus does not allow backflow.

Disadvantages of this pump is

a. inside flexible tubes degrades with time, hence needs periodic replacement and

b. They are unable to generate consistent flow of fluids.


air operated diaphragm pumps are positive displacement pump which is used in high temperatures, acidic vapors, caustic or acidic chemicals and can withstand hazardous substance and exposure to heat or cold, does not disrupt the efficiency. This can be used as a replacement to costly motor drivers. It uses the following components:-


1. Combination of rubber, Teflon diaphragm, thermoplastic and their reciprocating action

2. Check valves.

3. diaphragm

Their advantages are:-

a. Dry running-it can run dry without any damage

b. Air distribution system

c. Metallic/ non-metallic construction or body

d. Variable flow- adjusting the air supply, it can generate variable flow.

e. Low cost-maintenance cost is pretty low