Lobe Pumps

Lobe pump is a specialized pump line in industries related to hygiene and safety. What are their characteristics? How does it work? The answer in this article!

Lobe Pump

Pumps are widely used in industries such as pulp and paper, chemicals, food and beverage pumps, pharmaceutical pumps, and biotechnology. Users often encounter them in these industries because they offer excellent cleaning qualities, high efficiency and reliability, corrosion resistance, and cleaning and disinfecting in situ (CIP) properties. /SIP).

The vane pump has a lobe impeller, users can choose from a variety of lobes for the impeller from the single lobe to two-lobe, three-lobe, and more. The feature of the impeller pump is that the pump lobes are fitted very closely together, but when the pump is operating, the impellers do not collide and do not contact each other. The unit has a large pump chamber, allowing the pump to handle a wide range of solids without damage. The impeller pump is also capable of handling slurries, pastes, and liquids with high viscosity and viscosity.

Features of lobe pump

The lobe pump can self-priming, this is a feature that helps to increase the life of the machine. In addition, the pump can reverse the flow and run dry in a relatively considerable time. The highlight of the pump is that the flow rate is independent of changes in pressure during the pumping process. As a result, the pump output quality is constant and is extremely suitable for applications where the fluid must remain pure during transport.

Lobe pumps have a wide variety of designs and configurations, depending on features such as the industrial design of the application or safety and hygiene standards. Specific and highly specific hygiene standards, the pump will be constructed with additional materials and components to suit. Examples are 3-A, EHEDG, and USDA standards…

The principle of operation of the lobe pump

The vane pump works similarly to an external gear pump, that is to let the liquid flow around inside the pump casing. However, the difference is that the impeller parts of the lobe pump do not come into contact with each other. The reason was that the contact of the wing lobes was limited by the timing gear unit located in the gearbox. In addition, bearings that support the pump shaft are also located in the gearbox, and since the rings are not in contact with the pumped liquid, the pressure generated is limited by bearing position and shaft deflection.

• As the lobe blades move out of alignment, they now create an enlarged volumetric chamber at the pump inlet position. Fluid begins to flow into the cavity and is trapped by the lobes as they rotate.
• The liquid now moves around inside the pump casing, passing through the gaps between the impeller and the pump casing – liquid does not pass between the impellers.
• Finally, the lobe blades will push the liquid out of the discharge port by pressure

Lobe pumps are commonly used in food and pharmaceutical pumping applications because of their ability to handle solids without altering or damaging the general fluid flow, or the product being pumped. The pump can also handle solid particles with larger particle sizes than other volumetric pumps. Due to the characteristic that the lobe blades do not contact each other when rotating and the distance between the pump casing and the impeller is not as close as other volumetric pumps. This design has poor loading characteristics like other designs and low suction capacity. With highly viscous fluids, the pump must be slowed down to achieve the required level of performance. Typically reduced from less than or equal to 25% of rated speed for high viscosity fluids.

Structure of the lobe pump

In general, it is easy to see that the lobe pump has a structure including parts such as:

External parts:

• Pump head, pump housing – Usually, pump head and pump housing are made of 316 or 316L stainless steel
• Gearbox – Made of cast iron, stainless steel

Inner parts:

• Impeller, pump shaft – Made of stainless steel, stainless steel 316 or 316L

Shaft seal:

• Gaskets, single seals, double seals, industrial standard seals

Advantages and disadvantages of lobe pumps

Lobe pumps, lobe pumps are widely used in pharmaceutical, cosmetic and food production. However, let’s analyze together, what advantages and disadvantages do they have to note when choosing to use lobe pumps for production systems!

Advantages of pump lobe

Some of the outstanding advantages of the starfruit vane pump that we can easily see are as follows:

• Extremely suitable for liquids with medium solid particles
• During operation, there is no contact between metal parts
• Advanced CIP/SIP Capabilities
• The pump can run dry for a long time (with lubrication for seals)
• The discharge gate does not generate a clock

Disadvantages of lobe pump

As a specialized pump line, but the vane pump (lobe pump) still has some disadvantages such as:

• One drawback of this device is the fact that a timing gear is required located in the gearbox. The timing gears prevent the lobes from coming into contact with each other, which is a great feature of this design. However, gears are an additional piece of equipment that needs maintenance and replacement from time to time.
• Lobe pumps are not very effective when handling low viscosity liquids. The lack of performance in this situation is due to the greater distance between the lobes compared to other positive displacement pump models. Low-viscosity liquid passes between the lobes and is not effectively pushed
• Two seals are required
• Reduced head with thin liquid

Application of lobe pump

Lobe pumps are commonly used for industrial applications. They appear in many industries, but especially in typical industries such as:

• Chemicals – cosmetic chemicals
• Polymer
• Producing stationery paper
• Paints and dyes
• Rubber and adhesives
• Pharmaceutical Pump
• Food Pumping Applications

But the most common is still in food pumping applications. Because they meet food safety standards and they are easy to disassemble for cleaning.

Where to buy lobe pump?

The lobe pump is a device that can achieve high efficiency, good machine life, as well as compact design, easy to install for many application environments. The device is often the preferred choice for viscous fluids once the right parameters are met. In addition, the pump is easy to clean and is not constructed of plastic or rubber parts that can degrade from prolonged exposure to the liquid. The solution is suitable for food pumping applications, pharmaceutical pumps.

Thai Khuong Pumps currently provides OMAC branded vane pumps, originating from Italy, EU, G7 quality assurance.

If you still have not chosen for yourself a suitable pump product, or have any questions, need advice or need to provide technical information, product prices. Contact us now.

Thai Khuong Pumps is always ready to listen and support you.