Self Priming Side Channel pump for Bilge Tank Emptying
Customer's Requirement for Bilge Tank Emptying
A customer in Scotland contacted us needing a solution for emptying the Bilge tank on a wave powered machine.
The pump needed to handle a suction lift of up to 4M, be lightweight, single phase powered, high flow and handle a range of fluids such as Seawater, and Oils.
Considerations for Selecting Bilge Tank Emptying Equipment
A bilge tank is typically situated in the lowest part of a ship, which collects any liquids which may spill on deck, overflow from tanks, leak from pipework or drip from joints.
These flow into the bilge tank which are then fed to an oily water separator for oil and sludge removal before being discharged overboard providing regulated environmental conditions are met.
Progressing Cavity pumps are usually specified for such applications as they have a very gentle pumping motion. This is important to prevent oil droplets within the water being damaged, improving the effectiveness of the oily water separator.
In Paper 18204 written by the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) the damage caused to oil droplets was compared across a range of pumping technologies with them being ranked 1 to 5 from least to the most damage.
The pumps which caused the least amount of damage to the droplets were ranked in preference being:
1) Progressing Cavity Pumps (PCP)
2) Lobe pumps
3) Sliding Vane
4) Centrifugal
5) Twin screw
image source: <https://www.onepetro.org/conference-paper/SPE-18204-MS>
You can read more in the paper https://www.onepetro.org/conference-paper/SPE-18204-MS
Our Selection of a Lightweight North Ridge SCP Self Priming Side Channel Pump
As this wave powered device did not contain an oily water separator and relied on a vessel visiting regularly to empty tanks. The customer wanted a variety of solutions, and a pump tailored to their requirements with several options across a range of pumping technologies.
Each technology was explored thoroughly, before a final decision agreed as to what was best suited for their application being made.
A side channel pump was selected for the application - the North Ridge SCP Self Priming Side Channel pump which can perform suction lifts up to 6M, and flows up to 100L/min. The pump was constructed in Bronze, with viton rubber gaskets making it suitable for both Sea Water and oils. Its close coupled lightweight design ensured easy portability that did not add excess unnecessary weight to the prototype device, unlike other models which require a gearbox and baseplate.
The unit was assembled and dispatched to the clients specification in under 3 Weeks.
