Blog
Industrial Vacuum Pumps: What They Are, How They Work and Their Practical Applications
The pumps are available with different capacities and flow rates. The pumps can be manufactured in different sizes, depending on the application.
Industrial vacuum pumps are used to pump fluids in various industries. The pumps are usually used in chemical or pharmaceutical industries as they provide a clean environment for the workers who use it. These pumps also help in producing high-quality products with low maintenance cost.
The industrial vacuum pumps have a number of benefits over other types of pumps:
- They have longer service life than other types of pumps. This is because they are made from high quality materials and components that do not require frequent replacement.
- They have higher power density for pumping more volume per unit power consumption compared to other types of pumps.
- The industrial vacuum pumps can operate at very high pressures without any damage to them or their components due to the pressure involved in their operation which makes them suitable for use in corrosive environments such as underwater applications or high temperature environments like nuclear plants etc., etc
Industrial vacuum pumps are used in a wide range of industries, including food processing, chemical processing, pharmaceuticals, and manufacturing. They are essential for creating and maintaining a controlled environment for various processes, and their reliability and performance are crucial to the success of these processes.
The Workings of Industrial Vacuum Pumps
Industrial vacuum pumps work by using a motor to drive an impeller or rotor, which creates a suction force that pulls air or gas into the pump through an inlet port.
The impeller or rotor is usually enclosed in a housing or casing, which is designed to maintain a specific pressure differential and prevent the air or gas from escaping back into the system. As the impeller spins, the gas or air is forced into a series of vanes or blades, which compress and move the gas or air towards the outlet port.
There are several types of industrial vacuum pumps, including rotary vane pumps, liquid ring pumps, and diaphragm pumps. Each type of pump works slightly differently, but they all rely on the same basic principle of creating a vacuum by removing air or gas from a system.
Rotary vane pumps use a rotating rotor with vanes that slide in and out of slots in the rotor. As the rotor turns, the vanes trap air or gas and move it towards the outlet port.
Liquid ring pumps use a ring of liquid, typically water, to create a seal around the impeller. As the impeller rotates, the liquid forms a ring around the vanes, trapping air or gas and compressing it towards the outlet port.
Diaphragm pumps use a flexible diaphragm to move air or gas through the pump. As the diaphragm moves back and forth, it creates a vacuum on one side and a pressure on the other, moving the air or gas through the pump.
Overall, industrial vacuum pumps play an important role in many industries, including manufacturing, chemical processing, and food processing, among others. They allow for the creation of a controlled vacuum environment, which can be used for a variety of applications, such as drying, degassing, and packaging.
Types of Industrial Vacuum Pumps
Dry Screw Vacuum Pump
Dry screw vacuum pump, is the the pumping equipment that use a pair of screws, to perform synchronous high-speed reverse rotation in the pump casing to generate suction and exhaust, with advantage of low power consumption, energy saving, maintenance-free, etc.
Roots Vacuum Pump
Roots vacuum pump (also called mechanical vacuum booster), As the main pumping equipment to obtain medium and high vacuum, is a positive-displacement vacuum pump and an oil-free dry vacuum pump.
Liquid Ring Vacuum Pump
Liquid ring vacuum pump’s rotor is installed eccentrically in the pump, and its rotation forces the working fluid to form an equal-thickness rotating liquid ring along the inner wall of the pump, the liquid ring and the rotor impeller together form a variable volume positive displacement vacuum pump.
Applications of Industrial Vacuum pumps
Food Industry
Food processing is an integral part of the food industry. It involves the processing of raw materials, such as fruits, vegetables, meat and fish to prepare them for human consumption. Food processing involves a number of operations such as washing, grading, packaging and transportation. The main objective of food processing is to make the final product safe to eat with minimal damage to the quality and freshness attributes.
Vacuum pumps are used in various food industries like dairy products, frozen foods, canned foods and bakery products etc. They are used to remove air from containers during storage or transportation process. Vacuum pumps are also used to remove air bubbles from liquid before packaging. These pumps are mostly used in small scale industries where space is limited or not available for high volume vacuum pumps.
Vacuum Cooling
Freeze drying
Vacuum packaging
Pneumatic conveying
Electrical Industry
Vacuum degassing of alloys used in semiconductor processing: these have a very high boiling point (up to 600°C), which makes them unsuitable for air evaporation methods; this is where vacuum pumps come into play by removing air bubbles so that they can be removed at temperatures below 100°C.
Vacuum degassing of alloys used in die casting machines: another application where vacuum pumps are now used more frequently than ever before due to their ability to remove all types of impurity from castings as well as from raw materials such as sand and ceramic powders.
They are used to remove air from a system, which can be done in order to prevent contamination of equipment or to reduce the risk of explosion and leakage. Vacuum pumps are also used as an energy source for industrial applications, such as when they are used as a back-up power generator.
Vacuum pumps are used to remove gases from various environments such as factories, pilot plants or laboratories. They can also be used to dry certain materials or to degas substances that require special treatment before they reach their destination, such as varnishes or resins that need to be dried before they can be cured or impregnated with other substances.
Lithium battery slurry mixing
Lithium battery drying
Lithium battery electrolyte filling, degassing and battery sealing
Photovoltaic crystal growth (monocrystalline silicon, polycrystalline silicon)
Toy Industry
Plasticizers: plasticizers are added to the raw material to improve its quality. They are also used to make it flow smoothly for injection moulding machines. However, when there is no sufficient vacuum pressure, these additives will not be able to do their job properly and the resulting product will have many defects due to poor flowability of plastics & resins.
Expansion of resin beads: Vacuum is also important for the expansion of resin beads during injection molding. Since the pressure is lower than atmospheric pressure, there is no risk of bursting or breaking down of the resin bead when it is placed under high temperature and pressure conditions.
Vacuum pump for drying: The drying of plastic materials is a process that requires appropriate vacuum levels to remove all the moisture from the material so that it can be pressed into shape and dried at lower temperatures.
Vacuum pump for injection molding: Vacuum pumps are used for the injection molding of plastic parts that require high accuracy and precision during the whole process.
Cleaning and degreasing: if you’re in the toy industry and need to clean your tools and equipment, you should consider using a vacuum pump. Vacuum pumps are capable of removing dirt from any surface and even from hard-to-reach places, such as between moving parts or inside small holes where no other tool can reach it.
Pressure control: vacuum pumps are used to control pressure in many different applications. For example, pressure can be controlled during the production of powder coating systems or when applying laminated films on plastic products such as toys or packaging materials.
Mechanical Industry
Vacuum metallurgy: this method uses high temperatures for depositing metals on heat-resistant substrates. It is used for depositing titanium alloys on engine parts and cast iron components, for instance.
Cleaning: for example, when it is necessary to clean the inside of a bearing or other component, it is possible to get rid of dirt and dust by heating up small quantities of gas in a vacuum chamber. It is then possible to blow out this vapour into large volumes of air which are then sucked up again by an industrial vacuum pump. This method can also be used for cleaning off atoms from surfaces by means of ionizing radiation or laser beams. In addition, it is possible to make use of this method with liquid substances such as oil or water by using it as a solvent for these substances: thus also cleaning liquids can be carried out using industrial vacuum pumps driven by high-pressure steam engines (for example by means of a centrifugal water jet).
Vacuum casting: in this technique a powder is heated in a vacuum chamber and then cast into ingots. The process is also called “vacuum melting”. It can be used for producing metals of any purity grade from scrap.
Vacuum infusion: this technique uses very high pressure (generally more than 1 atm) to increase the density of a melt and hence reduce its viscosity. The process is usually only used when a high purity must be obtained. In this case the melt enters the extruder through an orifice at high pressure where it may be further processed by other techniques such as two-roll mills or pelletizers, or even directly fed into furnaces where it can be melted down into ingots or billets as required by casting technology or extrusion technology respectively.
Chemical Industry
Degassing and distilling: vacuum pumps enable the evacuation of air which has leaked into the material, while wastewater needs to be treated for environmental reasons. For this, the most efficient method is distilling in a vacuum.
Desiccation and lyophilisation: the process employed to remove water through desiccation in a vacuum at very low temperatures. As well as in the chemical industry, these processes are typical of the pharmaceutical and food industries.
Concentration and filtering: chemistry includes several processes of synthesis and concentration which require the use of vacuum technology. This is also necessary for filtering using high capacity suction pumps which increase pressure and therefore accelerate filtering.
Processing of pharmaceuticals: it allows precise handling of product dosage forms by improving their consistency and mechanical stability during processing, storage and transportation from point A to point B, ranging from milligrammes per dose to grams per kilogramme or more (depending on specific needs).
Separation: separation of components with different boiling points occurs naturally or through the use of pumps that force liquids on one side or another by means of suction or pressure (vacuum). This can be used to separate substances with different boiling points, such as oil from water, or even liquids with different densities such as light gases from heavy gases.
Distillation
Solvent Recovery
Drying
Degassing
Molecular Distillation
Pneumatic Conveying
Metallurgical Industry
Sintering: for this application, a good solution is a screw pump equipped with internal refrigeration and with a cantilever bearings design. With this equipment the accumulation of deposits is reduced thanks to moderate internal temperatures. The sintering of cutting edges serves as an example.
Desgassing: vacuum degassing systems increase the density of metals. This way, the appearance of porous zones and hard spots is avoided which is important in ensuring that the machining process is optimal.
Thermal treatments: vacuum technology is a fundamental part of the thermal treatment of metals, since it prevents adverse reactions between the elements of the metal to be treated and the environmental conditions. This ensures that the superficial properties of the material are optimized.
Anti-friction treatment: some metallic materials are susceptible to wear due to friction caused by contact with other components or simply by normal operation; this problem can be eliminated or substantially reduced by applying vacuum treatment through an anti-friction device (applying high pressure on them).
Thermal treatments: vacuum technology is a fundamental part of the thermal treatment of metals, since it prevents adverse reactions between the elements of the metal to be treated and the environmental conditions.
Optical Industry
The vacuum pumps, which are widely used in the optical industry, are also used in other industries such as metallurgy, electronics and pharmaceuticals, as well as for medical applications.
For example, the entire process of ceramics production is carried out under vacuum pressure; this allows the processing equipment to be located at a distance from the ceramic raw material. This significantly reduces costs and increases production efficiency.
Paper Industry
Paper sizing: in order to produce high quality papers, it is necessary to ensure that they are not over-sized or under-sized. To achieve this, there are specialized pumps with precise versions that allow precise control over paper sizes and thicknesses (for example: A4).
Varnishing: when applying varnishes or lacquers for products such as boxes or other packaging material, it is necessary to avoid contamination by air and dust particles which can have an adverse effect on their properties and even cause them to crack during transportation or storage in warehouses or shops.
Plastic Industry
Plasticization: this process includes vaporization of liquid plastic into gas so that it can be used as a raw material for new products such as films and sheets; this also includes spraying processes for coating polymers on products such as carbon fiber composites or stainless steel surfaces (e.g., automobiles).
Extrusion of film: this process allows extrusion through a die or mold into flat sheets that can be used directly after they are formed (for example on packaging).
Injection molding: injection molding is an industrial technique through which thermoplastic materials are uniformly distributed throughout a die cavity where they solidify on contact with hot runner fluid (usually water).
PBAT
PGA
ABS
PS
PC
Degassing
Textile Industry
Drying and degassing: during the manufacture of textiles, dirt and dust are produced which are extracted and eliminated through vacuum technology. Vacuum pumps are also fundamental for the draining and drying of textile products such as dyed rugs and carpets.
Removal of moisture from raw materials: during the production of textiles, water is present in different amounts depending on the product mix. This water can be removed with the help of a vacuum pump to allow for better control over the quality of finished products.
Extraction of gasses: when working with raw materials such as cotton or wool, gasses can be produced which can affect the final quality of finished products. To eliminate these gasses before they reach their final destination, it is necessary to use vacuum pumps in order to extract them from the material at source before they have had time to affect its quality.
Cleaning: vacuum pumps are used in cleaning processes because they make it possible to eliminate dust particles that do not allow the fiber to be properly processed due to their size or shape. This is particularly important in the case of wool, silk and other natural materials which cannot be removed using other means.
Filtration: vacuum pumps can also be used to remove impurities from liquids (for example oil), by filtering them through large filters or small pores of different sizes. In this way, these substances can be recovered without having to resort to mechanical action or chemical agents that could damage the product being cleaned.
Deodorization: industrial vacuum pumps are also used for deodorization purposes in order to eliminate unpleasant odors from liquids that have not been treated with any kind of chemical agent or detergent before being processed; the toxins contained in these liquids can then be eliminated through filtration techniques such as those described above or by allowing them to evaporate naturally or being removed via vacuum pumps.
Contact Our Support Team