Reducing Environmental Impact with Mag-Drive Centrifugal Pumps
Industries that use older types of standard ‘mechanically sealed’ pumps have encountered harmful leakages and mechanical seal problems that pose a risk to the environment, which has become a point of concern for the industries involved across the globe.
Environmental Impact of Pump Leaks
Mechanical seal failures in pumps cause sometimes dangerous and harmful chemicals and other pollutants to leak that can cause serious harm to humans, plant and equipment, the environment and can even contribute to the greenhouse effect. The greenhouse effect is a phenomenon characterised by the trapping of the sun’s warmth in the Earth’s lower atmosphere as a result of the atmosphere’s increasing transparency and susceptibility to the sun’s visible radiation.
When it comes to gland.packing sealed pumps, small leakage is necessary to prevent the gland packing and shaft from overheating. Small leakage can become hazardous, especially in industries working with harmful, toxic and radioactive substances that even the smallest leak can be extremely dangerous.
Sealless Mag-Drive Pumps
To address this concern, several countries have created and adopted new and stricter regulations to limit emissions. One method is using certain types of pumps that prevent leakage and produce zero emissions. This effort has led to the creation of ‘sealless pumps’ that eliminate the need for mechanical seals, which are replaced by more reliable static seals.
Magnetic drive pumps or mag-drive pumps are a type of sealless centrifugal pump that uses a drive magnet fitted to the motor and a driven magnet connected to the pump impeller. These magnets are separated by a casing that creates a static containment shell preventing the fluid from being able to come into contact with the motor and motorshaft. The static seal is more resistant to wear and tear to ensure safety even in situations that demand optimal yield and productivity.
Another advantage of sealless mag-drive pumps is that they require less maintenance. With their static seals, the use of sealless pumps translates to lower costs and better time-efficiency.
How Mag-Drive Pumps Work
Magnetic drive pumps make use of the power of magnets. The magnets are usually made of rare earth metals like samarium or neodymium, which are alloyed with more common metals. Popular combinations include a samarium and cobalt alloy and a neodymium, iron and boron alloy.
Compared to traditional magnets, these complex alloys have advantages needed in mag-drive centrifugal pumps. They present excellent temperature stability, which allows the magnetic torque to maintain its level even when the pump’s temperature increases. Another advantage is that they require a lower mass to maintain a specific torque, which is ideal for smaller and less complex pump systems.
The coupled magnets are attached to the opposite sides of the pump housing’s containment shell. One magnet is found on the other rotor while the other is in the inner rotor. Each rotor carries the same number of identical, matched and opposing magnets arranged in such a way that the poles are alternating around each rotor.
The magnetic coupling transmits the torque to the impeller without the need for a mechanical seal. Instead, the magnetic force field is created between the north and south pole magnets, which provides a no-slip synchronous torque coupling. The maximum torque produced in a mag-drive pump depends on the gap between the outer and inner magnets. The smaller the gap, the larger the torque transmitted.
Trusted Mag-Drive Pump Distributors in Australia
Toolkwip Pumps is a trusted and authorised distributor of magnetic drive centrifugal pumps from industry leading brands including Sethco, Totton and LaFonte. Our Sethco range, for example, includes a self-priming mag-drive option that is ideally suited to pumping from sumps or transfer of chemicals where a suction lift is required.
View our products today and get in touch with us for reliable pumping solutions.
