Monday 14 December 2015

Basics On Positive Displacement Sanitary Pump

By Marci Nielsen


Some of us will be thinking of going into the food manufacturing business and in view of this will need to be familiar with some of the industry terms and equipment used. In all likelihood, you may have come across the term positive displacement sanitary pump. This article will introduce you to what this piece of equipment is all about and why it is essential or used in some food manufacturing processes.

A pump is a machine or an implement that is installed to assist in the movement of slurries, food products and solutions that are in some form of needed processing. This is done in accordance with set criteria and standards of health and cleanliness which is set either by the company itself or an outside regulatory agency. In the United States, these regulatory agencies are the United States Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration.

Pumps in the food manufacturing arena consist of two types. The first being the centrifugal type, which uses centrifugal force to push fluids and liquids. The second type is the positive displacement type, which uses rotating lobes to create suction and move fluids and such through fixed chambers. Both are designed to eliminate bacterial growth while working.

PD, pumps, another name for these displacement pumps are not as widespread as centrifugal ones. They are however, fast gaining in popularity for special applications, which involve viscous liquids, or liquids that contain, some form of fragile solids. They are not capable of high flow rates as centrifuge mechanisms but they can produce much higher flow pressures.

PD pumps rely on rotating part to directly push liquids in an enclosed chamber until enough pressure has built up. When this is achieved then it is pushed on to a discharge system. This is much slower in velocity than a centrifuge mechanism and so much more desirable when dealing with liquids with some form of inert solid matter that is fragile in nature.

The industry currently has two general types of PD pumps being the rotary type and the reciprocating type. The former uses only moving parts and rotating parts to push liquid through, and this is good for liquids with solid in it. The latter makes use also of moving parts plus valves to create and check vacuum pressure. This is useful for applications that require the elimination of reverse flow in the production line.

A primary advantage of these kinds of mechanisms is that they provide constant flow, and thus are useful in select food manufacturing processes such as brewing or dairy production. This is because this kind of mechanism is much more efficient in moving thick liquids through manufacturing processes. Apart from breweries and dairy manufacturers, those making vegetable oils also make use of PD pumps, as well as those dealing with very thick liquid applications like molasses.

Thus this short article has provided a primer for you regarding this kind of pump that is widely used in the food manufacturing and processing sector. This article is in no means exhaustive but it is hoped that it has contained enough information to enlighten the uninitiated in the ways of pumps and pump process as used in food processing.




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