Abattoir upgrades pump to handle paunch material

A NSW abattoir had installed the Gorman-Rupp Super T Series pump for handling its wastewater stream, which included paunch material. The pump is a self-priming trash pump and the pump (in varying sizes) is installed in many similar applications around the country and around the world. But in this particular application, the pump experienced two issues.

Because of the drought, cattle were eating closer to the ground, ingesting dirt, grit and gravel, giving the pump much more abrasive material to handle. And because the cattle were being hand-fed large volumes of undigested hay, it meant the pump had a huge increase in stringy materials to handle.

These circumstances caused an unusually high incidence of blockages and also premature wear of the impeller and wear plate. A solution was needed to enable the pumping of more solids, with fewer problems.

The team at Hydro Innovations (distributors of the Gorman-Rupp pump range) recommended that the plant install an ‘Eradicator’ upgrade kit with hardened wear plate and to upgrade the impeller to a hardened option.

The Eradicator system comes with an obstruction-free cover plate and a wear plate equipped with a number of notches and grooves as well as a patented ‘lacerating tooth’ that helps break up stringy materials and pass them through the pump without impacting performance or interrupting service.

The internal parts are hardened to 400 Brinell, helping them resist the abrasive action of the pumped media.

The results were an almost total eradication of all blockages. Additionally, the internal parts lasted much longer than when ‘standard’ materials were fitted.

Pumps with this system are available in sizes from 3″ (80 mm) through to 10″ (250 mm), with flows from just a few litres per second (L/s) up to 200 L/s, and with pressures to 90 m. Pumps can operate on suction lifts to 7.5 m and are safe and easy for operators to maintain.

One operator and two spanners are all it takes to perform maintenance and clear chokes and blockages on Gorman-Rupp above-ground pumps.

More information on these pumps may be obtained from info@hydroinnovations.com.au.

To view a video to see how these pumps work, visit https://bit.ly/2F7y1Nz.