High-reliability peristaltic pump pays for itself through reduced maintenance and downtime

One of the UK's leading recyclers of IT and telecomms equipment is Engelhard, part of the BASF Group. Recovery of precious metals - such as gold, silver, platinum, palladium and rhodium from circuit boards and other electronic components, is assisted by the installation of a SPX hose pump which handles aggressive fluid from the scrubber. Savings in downtime and expensive spares for the pump previously used in this application have been considerable and the SPX pump has probably paid for itself already according to the maintenance supervisor at the site.

Part of the recovery process involves using a high-temperature scrubber to burn off the plastics that cannot be economically recycled. However, this results in fumes laden with hydrochloric acid, which have to be neutralised with a caustic liquid. The resulting liquor gradually becomes contaminated with mainly carbon particulates until it reaches the point where it has to be filtered and processed, ready to be reused. Twice a day, hundreds of gallons of this highly aggressive, hot (50-60°C), particulate-laden fluid have to be pumped from the scrubber to the filter bed in under one hour.

The peristaltic pump that was originally specified for this task soon proved to be troublesome, requiring monthly hose changes and, even then, hoses still occasionally burst due to high back-pressures caused by blockages. Crest Process Engineering, which helps Engelhard to maintain the plant, recommended upgrading to a Watson-Marlow Bredel SPX50 peristaltic pump, which is capable of delivering a maximum flow rate of 62 litres/minute (800 gallons/hour).

One year on, Gary Williams, the Maintenance Supervisor, is extremely pleased with the pump's performance, saying: "We have not even had to change the hose yet, let alone any other components. Compared with what we had before, it has been unbelievably reliable - totally maintenance-free. Considering that each pump failure was resulting in 12 to 15 hours of downtime, plus we have not had to spend any money on spare parts, the new SPX hose pump has probably paid for itself already."

Perhaps as importantly, the pump is no longer a headache for the maintenance department, enabling resources to be better deployed in keeping other parts of the plant in first-class condition. Given that the plant meets the requirements of ISO 14001 for its environmental management systems, maintaining the plant in good order is essential if potentially environmentally damaging incidents are to be avoided.