Pumps to shift oily water

Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team Sep 4, 2003

Hidrostal has recently been awarded contracts to supply screw centrifugal pumps to global players in the petroleum and aviation industries.

Hidrostal has recently been awarded contracts to supply screw centrifugal pumps to global players in the petroleum and aviation industries: namely Saudi Aramco and the London Heathrow Terminal 5 project, respectively.

Although these industries would appear to be diverse, the applications for the Hidrostal pumps are not dissimilar, and the major reason that Hidrostal pump technology was selected is the same in each case.

Saudi Aramco is the world's largest oil producer.

The company is currently engaged in a major project to upgrade their oldest refinery at Ras Tanury on Saudi's East Coast.

Ras Tanura Refinery's Industrial Waste Water Treatment Plant has placed an order with Hidrostal (UK) for three horizontal screw centrifugal 400mm end suction pumps of stainless-steel construction.

The equipment will be employed for pumping waste water containing oil.

Each pump will be driven by a 90kW eight-pole motor and is designed to handle 454 litre/s of waste water containing oil at a differential head of 12.9m.

The pumps are due for despatch in October 2003.

London Heathrow is one of the world's busiest airports, and further major expansion is under way with the Terminal 5 project.

Black and Veatch Consulting is the company appointed by the BAA to design and manage waste water collection at Terminal 5.

Black and Veatch selected Hidrostal to supply three 90kW immersible screw centrifugal pumps, combined with the flow matching Hidrostal Prerostal system.

The pumps will transfer surface water runoff containing traces of oil, aviation fuel and de-icer fluid from the runway and car park at the new terminal to a downstream separator.

The addition of the Hidrostal Prerotation system (a unique and simple flow matching and skimming system that utilises only static components installed in the sump) will ensure that the sump is kept clean and free from any floating debris.

The effective management of contaminated waste water is a particularly high profile requirement; it became one of the key environmental issues at the Terminal 5 public inquiry.

This part of the project is due for completion in October 2003.

Terminal 5 is expected to be ready for service in 2007.

In both cases, the key requirement is to pump water containing contaminants while avoiding the formation of emulsions.

Hidrostal was selected primarily because of the deep low shear characteristic of the unique and patented Hidrostal screw centrifugal impeller design.

This technology enables Hidrostal to pump liquids containing other substances with the minimum amount of agitation and hence minimal emulsification.

As a result, the problems of pumping difficult substances such as oil and aviation fuel are resolved, downstream separation is made easier, and the environmental impact of volatile toxic mixtures is kept to a minimum.