Slurry pump application areas and characteristics
Slurry pump is a centrifugal pump specially used for conveying slurry containing solid particles, abrasive or corrosive, and is widely used in mining, metallurgy, electricity, coal, chemical industry, building materials and other industries. The following is a detailed description of its core application areas and characteristics:
Hebei Ruibang Pump Industry Co., Ltd., China
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### **I. Main application areas**
1. **Mining industry**
– **Mineral processing**: used to convey slurry (such as iron ore, copper ore, gold ore, etc.), tailings and concentrates.
– **Mining operations**: handling high-concentration slurries containing crushed stone and mud in open-pit or underground mining.
– **Typical scenarios**: cyclone feeding, flotation process, tailings pond backfilling, etc.
2. **Power industry**
– **Thermal power plant**: conveying ash (fly ash, bottom slag) after coal combustion, desulfurized gypsum slurry.
– **Hydraulic ash removal system**: handling high-concentration ash-water mixtures, requiring wear-resistant design.
3. **Metallurgical industry**
– **Smelting process**: conveying high temperature or corrosive media such as metal smelting slag, electrolyte, red mud (alumina production).
– **Sintering plant**: treating sintering slurry and dust removal wastewater.
4. **Coal industry**
– **Coal washing plant**: conveying coal slurry water, heavy medium suspension (a mixture of magnetite powder and water).
– **Coal chemical industry**: treating gasification furnace slag slurry or coal tar slag.
5. **Chemical industry and environmental protection**
– **Chemical process**: conveying corrosive liquids containing crystalline particles (such as slurry in phosphate fertilizer production).
– **Wastewater treatment**: used for sludge dehydration, river dredging, industrial waste slag treatment, etc.
6. **Dredging engineering**
– **River/port dredging**: pumping mud, silt and underwater sediments, usually equipped with large slurry pump ships.
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### **Second, key features of slurry pumps**
1. **Wear-resistant and corrosion-resistant design**
– Flow-through parts (impeller, guard plate, pump housing) are made of high-chromium alloy, rubber lining or ceramic coating to resist particle erosion and chemical corrosion.
– For example: the impeller of AH type slurry pump can be made of Cr27 high-chromium material, and its service life is 3-5 times longer than that of ordinary materials.
2. **Adapt to high-concentration slurry**
– It can handle slurry with a solid content of more than 60%. Some models are designed with high head and low flow to meet special working conditions.
3. **Various structural forms**
– **Horizontal**: Commonly used in fixed installation scenarios (such as ore dressing plants).
– **Vertical (submersible pump)**: Suitable for pit slurry extraction to avoid leakage problems.
– **Submersible**: Used for deep wells or underwater operations.
4. **Supporting auxiliary system**
– Often used with cyclones, vibrating screens, filter presses and other equipment to form a complete solid-liquid separation or conveying system.
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### **III. Selection considerations**
1. **Medium characteristics**
– The particle size, hardness, concentration and pH value of solid particles directly affect the material selection of the pump.
2. **Operating parameters**
– The flow rate, head and inlet pressure must match to avoid cavitation or overload. For example: a multi-stage series slurry pump can be selected for high head conditions.
3. **Maintenance cost**
– The replacement cycle of wear-resistant parts and the sealing method (such as mechanical seal vs packing seal) affect the long-term operating costs.
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### **IV. Common problems and solutions**
– **Problem 1: Pump body wears too fast**
→ Solution: Use higher-grade wear-resistant materials or increase lining thickness; adjust the slurry flow rate to a reasonable range.
– **Problem 2: High vibration or noise**
→ Solution: Check the impeller balance and bearing status to ensure that the inlet pipeline is not blocked or cavitated.
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### **V. Development Trend**
– **Intelligent**: Install sensors to monitor wear and vibration to achieve predictive maintenance.
– **Energy-saving**: Optimize hydraulic model to improve efficiency (such as the application of variable frequency speed regulation technology).
– **Environmental adaptability**: Develop leak-free design to reduce environmental pollution.
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