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Pumping acids safely in chemical industry applications

Acids play an important role in many of the world’s most important and indispensable industries. The chemical industry, for instance, uses acids in countless processes to produce or analyze chemicals. Acids are also used in a wide array of products from cleaning agents to substances that help make food last longer. They are also used in industrial applications to finish surfaces or in car washes to remove stubborn dirt.

Within industrial applications, the most commonly used acids include hydrochloric, sulfuric, nitric and hydrofluoric. What all of these acids have in common is that they all have unique, specific handling requirements, with many of them hazardous or dangerous when transferring the acids.

This means that they must be handled safely lest a spill occur that could cause damage property, the environment or the people tasked with producing, transporting and utilizing them.

 



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Find the ideal acid pump for your chemical processing

The aggressiveness of acids towards other materials is a key challenge for manufacturers and their production equipment. The pump is the central tool in handling acids. It is literally the heart of the production operation, which is why great importance should be attached to the selection of a proper and suitable pump.

Almatec®, a leading manufacturer of air-operated double diaphragm (AODD) pumps, has been developing and producing pump technologies that have been specifically designed for use with aggressive liquids since 1984. The construction of Almatec AODD acid proof pumps takes a number of important operational variables into account:

Material compatibility
When configurating pump materials, Almatec application engineers help determine exactly which fluids are to be pumped in which application. The goal is to select a durable and economical acid pump solution that offers the highest level of performance and safety. Almatec pump housings are always made of polyethylene (PE), which has good chemical resistance, and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), which is virtually corrosion-resistant.
This makes it possible to pump almost any acid with an Almatec AODD pump. 

Tightness
The pump must ensure reliable tightness to minimize the risk of uncontrolled acid leakage. Almatec's solid, CNC-manufactured pump housings offer maximum safety and tightness. Significantly lower manufacturing tolerances also ensure greater running stability, in contrast to competitive injection-molded AODD pump models that can typically have a shorter service life.
The choice of the self-sealing NPT thread and the elimination of two of the usual four pitch levels in AODD pumps further increases the pump's leak-tightness capability. 

How an Almatec acid proof pump works


E25 Pulsation Dampener

Pumping acid: Advantages of the Air-Operated Diaphragm Pumps

Due to their design, air-operated double diaphragm pumps have many other advantages that make them a popular technology in the acid processing industry:

  • They are dry self-priming, even over geodetic heights, and can therefore be installed above tanks from which the pumped medium will be extracted
  • They are technically tight according to German TA-Luft regulation
  • By using electrically conductive materials, AODD pumps can be designed to conform to ATEX requirements for use in explosive atmospheres
  • AODD pumps are dry-running and overpressure-safe, which means a reduction in the need for monitoring electronics in many processes
    • Dry-run capability allows the use of AODD pumps in many processes (e.g., skimmers) where slurping operation is required. Many electrically driven pumps would run too hot and be damaged in such a process.
    • Overpressure safety is provided by the fact that a normal AODD pump cannot generate more pressure than the operating pressure that is provided. This means that you do not need to use monitoring equipment that may be susceptible to faults, which can help minimize the risk of components (e.g., piping) being damaged.
    • Can be operated against closed valves

Acid-Resistant AODD Pump Range

The Almatec AODD Pump product range for acids includes numerous pumps that can adequately handle acids. Below you will find a small pre-selection of our range. Almatec is always happy to support you via a free consultation that can help the user select a suitable pump for each and every individual application.