This rapid rise has been fueled by a number of factors, including major growth in the industries of end users, such as power generation, food and beverage, and chemical and petrochemicals. Other reasons include the modernization of the water and wastewater industries, the use of these pumps in hydraulic fracturing, and the sustained rise of urbanization and industrialization in the developing world.

In addition to increasing demand, there is also a growing awareness and understanding of the advantages of multi screw pump technology. Indeed, these technologies have benefited from significant improvements, including new designs and the ability to machine within tighter tolerances. Specialized products have also become available with varying levels of performance for a range of specific applications.

The advantages of multi screw pumps

Multi screw pumps provide a wide range of advantages across their various applications. First, these pumps are distinguished by their energy and operating efficiency, leading to significant reductions in energy cost and cost of maintenance. Specifically, Netzsch NOTOS multi screw pumps lead to 23.3% more efficiency when compared to other pumps on the market.

These pumps can also handle a wide range of media, including incompressible and highly-viscous products. This includes product that is abrasive, aggressive, corrosive, shear-sensitive, solids laden, low or high viscosity, and lubricating or non-lubricating.

High pressure and leak free, the performance of multi screw pumps is consistently high level. They handle the conveyed product gently and smoothly, also reducing the noise of the process. Because they are entirely made of metal, multi screw pumps can also tolerate high temperatures, easily withstanding temperatures above 572° Fahrenheit / 300° Celsius.

Multi screw pumps are also hygienic by design, making them ideal for applications in near-sterile environments, such as in the food, beverage, pharmaceutical, and cosmetics industries. These pumps are quite easy to clean because they are made of stainless steel and are rigorously polished, such that a pumped product cannot stick to the surfaces. This hygienic design allows for effective cleaning-in-place (CIP) and sterilization-in-place (SIP) processes.

Zone entrainment of explosive gases is ruled out as a result. Potential applications range from the chemical, biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries to industrial applications such as vacuum furnaces or heat treatment.

As a result of the expansion of the series, pumping speeds range from 280 to 8,100 m³/h. Depending on the application, there is a choice between equipment category 2G or 3G. All pumps are suitable for temperature class T3. Installation is possible without flame arresters. This means that, effectively, the full pumping speed of the pump is available.

The pumps are suitable for universal use due to their variable differential pressure and flexible rotational speed. All pumps can be used at ambient temperatures ranging from -20 °C to + 40 °C.

In view of their magnetic coupling, OktaLine pumps are hermetically sealed and achieve extremely low leak rates of 10^-6 Pa m³/s. The magnetic coupling eliminates the need for shaft seals, which are inherently weak points if it comes to pressure surges and are high-maintenance. OktaLine ATEX pumps are pressure surge resistant up to 1600 kPa. Due to their magnetic coupling, there is no risk of zone entrainment. The integrated temperature sensor protects against thermal overload and monitors the gas temperature in the outlet area.

Compared to pumps with shaft seals, the OktaLine’s magnetic coupling achieves up to 20 % lower operating costs and considerably reduced maintenance costs. OktaLine Roots pumps can also be operated without a bypass, since ATEX protection is guaranteed even with passive rotation (windmilling). The use of ATEX IEC motors means that replacement on site is quick and easy.

The Stabilizer is the first engineered gas well cap that allows liquid level readings without removing the wellhead. Easy access for liquid level reading is faster, safer, and results in less system disruption. There is no air introduction or gas release, no need to shut down the well for level measurements, and no need to rebalance the wellfield afterwards.

The cap’s innovative support ring design takes pressure off the flexible coupling and the flex hose and, along with watertight threads, reduces the potential for leaks at the wellhead. The caps are moulded in QED’s distinctive yellow that is designed to help identify and protect the entire well from damage and ensures users are receiving genuine QED well caps.

The Stabilizer LFG well caps are designed to work with 6-inch and 8-inch diameter wells with 2-inch or 3-inch gas wellheads. An economy model is available for 6-inch gas-only wells. All well caps feature direct access ports compatible with several existing landfill products, including the QED Easy Level™ for monitoring and measuring liquid levels and a portable water level meter that provides light and sound indication when a probe touches water. Available pump fitting kits allow conversion of gas recovery caps to dual extraction wells.

Heavy oil deposits are extremely viscous and require the injection of high pressure, high temperature steam to improve fluidity and allow the oil to be pumped to the surface. In order to boost extraction on this project, the customer needed to increase water temperatures from 90° C to 140° C. However, there were concerns that the existing pump may not be able to deliver this requirement. Nozzle loads were a particular concern. They turned to Celeros Flow Technology brand ClydeUnion Pumps, their preferred supplier of some 20 years, for assistance.

Mather & Platt is one of several heritage pump brands for which Celeros Flow Technology offers full lifecycle support1. Their aftermarket engineering team undertook a thorough examination of the quadragenarian Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD) boiler feed water pump used in the heavy oil extraction process. The investigation revealed that the pump had suffered a number of seal failures over time that had damaged the stuffing box and affected operational efficiency. There had also been no maintenance interventions for decades – but the pump had never actually failed.

Says Mike Golds, Global Upgrade and Rerate Programme Manager for ClydeUnion Pumps: “It is testament to the quality of the original pump that it had continued to operate in such harsh conditions and with no regular maintenance over such a long period of time. More importantly, it gave us confidence that a thorough overhaul could achieve the desired improvement in performance, saving the customer the cost and lost production time that can be associated with sourcing and installing a new unit.”

Celeros Flow Technology overhauled the SAGD pump and performed a mechanical seal upgrade and Plan 23 seal flush to optimize pump performance. In addition, finite element analysis was undertaken to confirm that the nozzle loads would withstand the desired temperature increase. As a result, the pump is now capable of delivering steam at the higher temperatures required. The seal upgrades ensure it meets the latest specifications.

Concludes Mike Golds: “We are really pleased with the outcome of the SAGD pump upgrade. It has not only achieved the desired production increase for the customer, but also provided a more sustainable and cost-effective solution than total pump replacement. Using modern engineering and analysis, we have been able to give the existing pump a new lease of life and ensure it will continue to perform well for many more years.”

Northern Lights is developing infrastructure to transport CO₂ from industrial emitters in Norway and other European countries by ship to a receiving terminal in western Norway for intermediate storage, before being transported by pipeline for permanent storage in a geological reservoir 2,600 m under the seabed.

The two CO₂ carriers are being built at Dalian Shipbuilding (DSIC) in China and are expected to be operational in 2024. Both vessels will have a capacity of 7,500 m³ of liquid CO₂. Svanehøj will deliver two 15 m deepwell cargo pumps of for each ship. In this project, Svanehøj’s multigas technology will be shown to its full potential, as the customer wants the pumps to also be used to handling LPG natural gas. Over the years, Svanehøj has supplied cargo pump systems to more than 1,100 LPG tankers around the world.

“We have won the order through our long-standing partner, TGE Marine, which designs and delivers complete cargo handling systems for the CO₂ carriers,” said Thomas Uhrenholt Nielsen, sales director, Cargo Gas at Svanehøj. “TGE has chosen our deepwell cargo gas pumps, which they are very familiar with from numerous LPG tankers.”

Svanehøj has been supplying cargo pump systems for CO₂ carriers since the late 1990s.

“Thanks to our experience from the relatively few CO₂ ships built so far, we are part of the dialogue on several of the upcoming CCS (carbon capture & Storage) projects. CCS is a focus area in our business strategy, and the order from TGE for Northern Lights is therefore of great strategic importance. This could be a big market for us within the next few years,” addedsaid Uhrenholt Nielsen.

Svanehøj started 2022 with a new “Powering a better future” strategy and a target of doubling its turnover to DKK1 billion (approximately US$143 million) by the end of 2026. The strategy is primarily focused on supporting the transition to climate-neutral shipping, but also on investing in new business areas, including CCS.

“Although we have been shareholders of PG Flow Solutions (PG) through EnFlow since 2014, it feels like the company is coming home,” says Mads Gjerdrum, the new chairman of PG. “We are facing major market opportunities within the maritime industries and the energy sector. New ownership means increased investments in these industries, while at the same time maintaining the position we have built up in aquaculture and land-based industries. We will also continue the excellent cooperation we have with our former sister company Cflow Fish Handling AS.”

In 2014, private equity company Norvestor become the majority shareholder of PG. Since then, PG has conducted a successful transition through significant cost reductions and by developing and delivering a number of products and systems to the aquaculture and fisheries industries as well as land-based industry. Historically, the majority of PG Flow Solutions’ revenues have come from offshore energy and maritime industries.

“It is fully understandable that PG wants to capitalise on the growth opportunities in the energy and maritime industries, which a large part of the company’s history is founded upon. However, this direction is not a natural part of our strategy, and we are therefore pleased that we can divest the company to the Gjerdrum family,” says Stig Bjørkedal, departing chairman of PG and CEO of Cflow.

PG’s core offering will continue to be proprietary pump solutions and liquid handling systems.

The Gjerdrum family will inject new capital into PG. This will strengthen the company’s foundation for further development of its product offering for the aquaculture, fisheries, energy and land-based industries, but also finance even stronger growth efforts both in Norway and internationally.

Roy Rødningen continues as managing director of PG, while Mads Gjerdrum becomes the new chairman.

PG will remain at the company’s headquarters in Sande, Vestfold, Norway. The facility was built in 2013 and includes a complete workshop with steel fabrication and production, assembly, automation, modern and extensive test facilities, and offices.

With their unique design, these pumps are robust and can withstand frequent pump downs. Highly valuable materials render the pumps more resistant to light corrosive gases. ACP 90 is ideal when pumping large amount of condensable gases like in drying applications, high humidity environments or large insulating volume pumping.

As Jean-Philippe Briton, Product Manager at Pfeiffer Vacuum, explains, “We are particularly proud of the built-in intelligence that allows for high pumping speed at high pressure, which is important when pumping large volumes. With a very low power consumption of 2 kw at atmospheric pressure the ACP 90 is also an energy efficient solution for this type of use.