How To Pump Solids

How to pump solids using a vacuum loading solids pump from Solidsvac requires a basic appreciation of the material involved & energy required. Having an understanding of the material you wish to convey, will prove a significant benefit to your operation. It will save you energy, improve performance and throughput, eliminate angst, and in the end, save you money.

You don’t require an analysis, but you do need to know an approximate weight per litre along with its nature. How fluidic is it, is it like oil or sticky and waxy, is it gritty, perhaps it contains a lot of sand. It may be heavy with a high lumpy solids content, or it may contain fibrous material. Once you have a handle on what you’re going to move, you next need to know an approximate volume. The volume may be several thousand cubic metres such as a tailings dam or STP digester. Alternatively, it could be a constant rate volume, such as of 20 cubic metres per hour when drilling, or a continuous sump transfer.

Now you have a hand on the what, you now need to grasp the how. For this you need to know from where to where, the vertical, the horizontal, and the distance involved. You also need a handle on the delivery, is it going to a skip or tank. Is it going to onto a moving conveyor, into a bulk bag or perhaps a secondary process. The convey line is also important, as straight as possible is preferable and if there’s a vertical involved, do it first. Worth being aware of here is a 90-degree bend is equivalent to 6 metres of straight hose. Also, every 100mm of 100mm hose will contain around 1.5 kg at a weight of 2 Sg.

Note: Solidsvac doesn’t recommend the use of lay-flat hose as the continuous opening action by the solids at velocity will strip them out. Self-supporting material handling hose or pipe is ideal for delivery, and there are a variety of suitable suction hoses available.

The final requirement is the rate at which the material needs to be moved. A no brainer if it’s an on-going process, the rates a given. It may be driven by an operational access window or indeed a budget. With the above information you can select or we’re happy to advise on a Solidsvac model to complete the task.