Metering pumps are designed to handle a wide range of different chemicals and fluids, including acids, bases, corrosives, and highly viscous liquids. The primary advantage of metering pumps is their ability to provide highly precise control over flow rate and capacity, typically within one-half of one percent (0.5%) accuracy.
Different types of metering pumps exist for ideal operation in different applications. The most common metering pumps are diaphragm metering pumps, which use vacuum pressure to create consistent suction and discharge. Rotary gear metering pumps use variable speed drives and rotating gears to reach desired flow rates.
Here are 5 of the most popular uses for the accurate and dependable metering pumps:
- Offshore Oil & Gas Production
Diaphragm metering pumps play a major role in offshore oil and gas production. They eliminate the effects of hydrates on the pump system, which can damage equipment and restrict flow. Metering pumps are used in offshore systems to deliver chemicals that provide flow assurance. These chemicals include monoethylene, methanol, glycol and other chemicals that inhibit corrosion. The chemicals are pumped directly to the wellhead to prevent the formation of hydrates, thus increasing recovery rates and minimizing the risk of the wellhead freezing in such low-temperature, high-pressure environments found on the ocean floor.
- Industrial Water Treatment
There are an incredible number of industrial water and wastewater treatment applications. Refineries, boiler-feeds, nuclear plants, and other operations depend on the accuracy and chemical corrosion-resistance of metering pumps. They are more reliable, easier to maintain, and require a relatively small footprint. Most important, however, are their consistent and controllable results, critical in any water treatment application.
- Municipal Water Treatment
Metering pumps are excellent for municipal water treatment. When you consider that just one percent of the world’s water supply can be used for drinking water, it’s important that municipal water treatment plants handle this precious resource with the best possible equipment. Metering pumps are used in municipal water treatment plants for a variety of vital uses:
• Fluoridation
• Disinfection
• Post Chlorination
• pH Adjustment
• Coagulation
• Flocculation
• Taste & Odor Control
- Manufacturing
Chemicals used in manufacturing plants lose their effectiveness when they can’t be properly metered and controlled. That’s why the world’s largest chemical manufacturers and other industrial manufacturers depend on metering pumps. Chemical catalysts must be injected at precise volumes, pressures, and temperatures. Mixing ratios have incredibly tight tolerances, and metering pumps offer a distinct advantage.
- CBD Oil Extraction
Cannabis is one of the fastest-growing industries of the last decade, specifically CBD (cannabid) oil extraction. Various solvents are used to extract oil from the cannabis plant, and metering pumps allow for accurate and consistent control over these solvents. Metering pumps are effective in just about every stage of the extraction and processing of CBD oil, including plant prep, extraction, filtration, winterization, sanitization, fractional distillation, purification, solvent recovery, and final oil transfer to and from storage.
These are just a few examples of metering pumps making a significant difference in challenging chemical processing applications. To learn if a metering pump is right for your operation (and which metering pump will be best for your specific application and output), contact Cortech DXP today. We can help you make the right metering pump decisions.