A QDOS 60 PU peristaltic pump has completed three years of maintenance-free operation without any messy leaks of polymer in a trial at the City of Oak Ridge water treatment plant in Tennessee, United States.
In a trial that began in May 2020, the prototype Qdos 60 PU peristaltic pump with ReNu PU pump head is dosing polyaluminium chloride, a polymer used in water purification that enhances flocculation and coagulation of pollutants.
Plant manager at the water treatment plant in Tennessee, Mark Terry did not have to stop production for maintenance downtime or deal with a polymer leak—which are expensive and time-consuming to clean up – from the pump in over three years of using this particular pump.
“We’ve experienced no polymer leaks and, aside from occasional calibrations, the pump has maintained a very consistent and accurate feed rate of the coagulant,” Terry said.
The Qdos 60 ReNu PU pump head, designed for polymer dosing, has performed without replacement and provided efficient, safe, leak-free and reliable polymer metering.
“The Qdos 60 pump that is used to feed coagulant – a polyaluminium chloride polymer called DYPAC 5461—and the prototype pump head that we were given to try out from Watson-Marlow has been absolutely amazing,” said Terry.
“The pumps that we previously used to add coagulant into our facility’s raw water were quite old and, from time to time, were prone to clogging. We decided to use a Qdos 60 PU pump based upon the specifications provided for the pumps and, to this point, we have not been disappointed with the performance.
“The Qdos 60 and ReNu PU pumphead was installed and began feeding the coagulant on May 14, 2020. Other than when the facility has been shut down for a few hours due to temporary power outages, for example, the Qdos 60 pump and the prototype pump head have run almost non-stop for three years.”
Eliminates polymer leaks
The Qdos 60 PU offers precise and repeatable flows for many hard-to-handle fluids, including viscous fluids and aliphatic hydrocarbons, at linear flow rates of up to 60 L/h (15.8 GPH) and pressures of up to 5 bar (73 psi). The ReNu pump head is a single, safely contained component for rapid no-tools maintenance with no additional valves to fail, or vapour lock.
“The two most obvious benefits that the Qdos pump has provided to my water treatment plant is that we’ve basically experienced no polymer leaks and, aside from occasional calibrations, the pump has maintained a very consistent and accurate feed rate of the coagulant that we add to our raw water,” Terry said.
“Low maintenance and non-stop running of the Qdos pump at our facility is vitally important because our plant, aside from a few unplanned episodes, runs 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Based upon these realities the Qdos pump has been a great choice for the needed application.”
Benefits of the Qdos 60 PU include:
- Excellent compatibility for complex polymers including polyacrylamide (PAM) and other flocculants and coagulants used in wastewater treatment.
- The contained pump head design with integral leak detection reduces wastage and eliminates operator exposure to chemicals.
- Precision dosing of ±1%, even under varying conditions, minimises chemical expenditure.
- Low-shear, gentle peristaltic pumping protects polymer chains and consistency, maintaining product integrity.
- Handles corrosive chemicals
Oak Ridge water treatment plant is using seven Qdos peristaltic pumps (both 30 and 60 models) to feed chemicals such as 20% sodium permanganate, 12.5% sodium hypochlorite, fluorosilicic acid and a poly/orthophosphate corrosion inhibitor to the plant’s current coagulant.
“The Qdos 30 pump that is used to feed fluorosilicic acid at the water treatment plant has performed admirably considering the pressure it works against and because of the corrosive nature of the chemical,” Terry added.
