Atex Vertical Inline Pump for Jet A1 Fuel

We always work closely with customers to achieve the most efficient and safest outcome for any projects we are involved with. Refuelling aircraft is an extremely dangerous process and typically entails the handling of highly flammable Jet A1 aviation fuel, also known as Avgas, Kerosene and JP-1A. All equipment located near this fuel and the aircraft must be Atex rated to ensure there are no risks of sparks that could ignite the fuel or surrounding vapours. 

Enquiry to Upgrade an Airport's Aircraft Refueling System

An engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) company based in Tunisia is handling the upgrade of various equipment at an airport. They undertake all works including mechanical, civil engineering, electrical and instrumentation. One of the processes requiring a major upgrade is the aircraft refuelling system, they were tasked with installing a new pump set along with various ancillaries to make the fuelling process more efficient and safer for everyone located on site. 

They contacted us needing our expertise for the design and manufacture of a refuelling process skid. They undertook the fabrication, installation and commissioning of the skid, storage tank, ancillaries, and controls while our team specified and supplied the aviation fuel pump. Their engineers advised that space is a major concern for them, the area where the pump system is installed is small and horizontal pumps capable of performing the required flow rate and pressure are too large for the space available. 

Our VXEN 80-200 Vertical Inline Centrifugal Pump with an IP65 Rated Motor 

Having plenty of experience with similar installations that have limited space such as engine rooms on board ships and power stations, we selected one of our VXEN 80-200 vertical inline centrifugal pumps. The motor is located above the pump while the inlet and outlet ports sit in line with each other, this makes the footprint significantly smaller, saving space and making maintenance a far easier process for engineers. This pump was fitted with an ABB Atex rated IP65 motor for complete protection and safety on site. As per the customer’s specific requirements, special ANSI class 150 RF flanges were installed to fit the existing pipework at the airport. 

Centrifugal pumps are ideal for fuel transfer applications such as this involving low viscosity and clean liquids such as petrol, kerosene, diesel, light oils, water, and glycol. They can be manufactured in a wide range of materials to suit various chemicals, including cast iron, bronze, stainless steel, and duplex stainless steel. The back-pull-out design of our compact ECO SNL series allows for the motor to be removed while the pump is still connected to the pipework, this saves engineers lots of time during maintenance. 

Test certification supplied: 

·         Atex certificate

·         Material EN 10204 Type 3.1 Certificate

·         Pump Performance Test Report acc. to ISO 9906:2012 Gr2B

See the below description of the centrifugal pump that was delivered: