The Crucial Role of Hot Oil Transfer Pumps in Industrial Applications: Understanding Operations and Structures

Hot oil transfer pumps play a critical role in numerous industrial applications where the efficient movement of heat transfer fluids is essential. These pumps are specifically designed to handle high temperatures and ensure the safe and reliable circulation of hot oil within industrial systems.

In this article, we will explore the importance of selecting the proper structure for hot oil transfer pumps, delve into their operational principles, and highlight key considerations when choosing the right pump for specific industrial applications.

Why Do We Need Hot Oil Pump?

Hot oil transfer pumps are robust machines specifically engineered to withstand the challenges posed by transferring high-temperature fluids. They are primarily utilized in industries such as chemical processing, pharmaceuticals, plastics manufacturing, and food processing, where temperature control is crucial. These pumps effectively maintain the flow and temperature consistency of hot oil throughout a system, ensuring optimal performance and operational safety.

WRY type series hot oil pump is an ideal hot oil circulation pump, which is mainly used for conveying weak corrosive high-temperature liquid without solid particles. The advanced and mature technology of the heat-conducting oil pump, high efficiency, long-term stable operation in the hot state without leakage, no additional cooling system, safe and reliable use, facilitate its widely application in heat-carrying heating system, using temperature ≤ 350℃, and has entered the industrial fields of petroleum, chemical, rubber, plastic, pharmaceutical, textile, printing and dyeing, road building, food and so on.

Operational Principles of Hot Oil Transfer Pumps

Hot oil transfer pumps operate based on the principles of centrifugal force and positive displacement. Centrifugal pumps are commonly used due to their efficiency and ability to handle varying flow rates. Positive displacement pumps, on the other hand, are ideal for applications requiring precise flow control or high-pressure scenarios.

The use of natural heat dissipation structure, changes the traditional water cooling structure, resulting in a simple structure, small volume, low operating costs, good performance, and reliable use.

This series of hot oil pump uses a combination of packing seal and mechanical seal form, the packing seal uses high-temperature resistant packing, with good thermal state adaptability, while the mechanical seal uses high mechanical strength, and good wear resistance of hard alloy materials, to ensure the sealing performance in a high-temperature environment.

In addition, the use of third-generation polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE for short) as a lip seal has resulted in a quantum leap in sealing performance, which is 25 times more reliable than rubber-based seals and has excellent corrosion resistance.

Understanding these operational principles is vital in selecting the right type of hot oil transfer pump for specific industrial requirements.

How To Select the Proper Structure of Hot Oil Transfer Pump

A hot oil transfer pump’s structure is paramount in ensuring its reliability, longevity, and efficiency.

What conditions should be followed when selecting a high-temperature heat-conducting oil pump, and how can you choose the optimal to heat oil pump?

We shall not only consider the process flow, water supply, and drainage requirements, as well as the other five aspects, the amount of liquid delivery, the head of the device, the nature of the liquid, piping arrangements, and operating conditions. Key Considerations for Industrial Applications are:

1. Liquid properties: including the medium name, physical properties, chemical properties, and other properties of the liquid. Physical properties are temperature, density, viscosity, and solid particle diameter in the medium-friendly body content, which relates to the head of the system, effective cavitation margin strategy, and fit the pump paradigm. Chemical properties refer to the liquid medium of chemical erosion and toxicity, which is the basis for the choice of heat-conducting oil pump materials and the choice of which shaft seal type.
2. Temperature Resistance: Hot oil pumps must be constructed using materials capable of withstanding high temperatures without compromising their structural integrity. Components such as seals, bearings, and housing should be designed to resist thermal expansion and maintain performance even under extreme conditions.
3. Other elements of the operating conditions: such as the operating saturated vapor force of the liquid, the pressure on the suction side (absolute), the vessel pressure on the discharge side, the altitude, the ambient temperature, whether the operation is intermittent or continuous, and whether the location of the heat transfer oil pump is firm or removable.
4. System Compatibility: The structure of the pump should be compatible with the specific heat transfer fluid used in the industrial system. Different fluids have varying properties, such as viscosity and reactivity, which can impact the pump’s performance. Choosing a pump with materials compatible with the fluid is essential to prevent corrosion, degradation, or inefficiencies.
5. The head required for the installation system is another important performance data for pump selection, usually with a 5%-10% margin after the head is enlarged to select the model.
6. Efficiency: The design of the pump, including impeller size, volute shape, and motor power, affects its overall efficiency and flow rate capabilities. It is crucial to select a pump that can meet the desired flow requirements of the system while minimizing energy consumption.
7. Flow rate is one of the performance data of the selected heat-conducting oil pump, which directly relates to the production capacity and delivery capacity of the whole device. The operation process can be calculated in the pump normal, minimum, and maximum three kinds of flow. When choosing a pump, the maximum flow rate as the basis, the normal flow rate, in the absence of the maximum flow rate, usually can take 1.1 times the normal flow rate as the maximum.
8. The piping conditions of the installation system: the height of the liquid delivery, the distance of the liquid delivery, the direction of the liquid delivery, the lowest liquid level on the suction side, the highest liquid level on the discharge side, and other data and pipe specifications, length, material, pipe fittings specifications, quantity, etc, detailed these parameters in order to carry out the system head strategy and cavitation margin verification.
9. Maintenance and Serviceability: Considerations such as ease of maintenance, accessibility to critical components, and availability of spare parts should be evaluated when choosing a hot oil transfer pump. A well-designed pump structure should facilitate routine inspections, repairs, and replacements, minimizing downtime and associated costs.

Use And Maintenance Of Hot Oil Pumps

First of all, after the pump and pipeline are mounted, regardless of whether water pressure or air pressure is used, the import and export valves of the pump must be closed before test pressure is applied to prevent damage to the seals and cause oil leakage.

Preparation of start-up:

1. Clean up the site, unscrew the bearing housing screws, and add clean heat-conducting oil as lubricant. Use a 110KW or more large oil pump to fill the lubricating oil by a hole injection until another hole has oil overflow, in the process of filling with hand over the coupling, until the hole no longer have gas out can tighten the screw bolt.
2. Check that the motor steering is in the same direction as the pump rotation.
3. The coupling pump should turn flexibly when moved by hand.
4. The pump should be filled with the heat transfer oil delivered to drive out the air in the pump before starting, at which point the gate valve on the spit outlet pipe R should be closed.
5. The heat-conducting oil conveyed should be heated evenly before driving. Preheating is carried out continuously through the pump body using the heat-conducting oil being conveyed, and violent fluctuations in temperature should be avoided, and if there are any abnormalities, the pump should be stopped immediately for an inspection.
6. Preheating standard: the pump casing temperature should not be lower than the inlet oil temperature of 40℃, the preheating rate is 50℃/hour, the side screw on the pump bracket should be loosened by 0.3-0.5mm when driving preheating, and the screw should be tightened after preheating.
7. The base and bolts should be checked for looseness and normal sealing before starting the machine.

Maintenance:

1. The pump shaft is provided with a packing box at the front end, so the sealing performance is more reliable, while mechanical seals and oil sealing units are provided in the bearing housing, so a large amount of leakage is not possible, while a small amount of leakage can be discharged through the leakage pipe mouth to receive. A small amount of leakage is normal at the beginning of the operation and will be reduced or stopped after a certain period of time when the sealing surface is worn in.
2. The heat transferred from the conveyed medium to the pump cover and bearings is dissipated by the surfaces of the pump cover and bearing housing so that the temperature of the bearing housing is adapted to the temperature of the shaft sealing performance. Therefore the installation position of the pump is chosen in such a way that the heat from the pump cover and bearing seat can be easily diffused without any heat accumulation.
3. There are two ball bearings in the bearing housing, one on the impeller side of the pump is lubricated by the heat transfer oil, and the other on the coupling side is lubricated by high-temperature grease.
4. After 3,000 hours of operation, each ball bearing must be dismantled and cleaned with diesel fuel and then checked for damage to the contact surfaces; if damaged, the bearing must be replaced with a new one.
5. When installing the ball bearing on the impeller side, the side with the anti-dust cover should be installed towards the impeller and lubricated with heat-conducting oil before starting the machine.
6. By the coupling side of the ball bearing, with complex calcium-based high-temperature grease (ZFG-4), the bearing re-installation, there is a dust cover side of the same to face the impeller side of the installation, the installation is filled with grease, about 1/2 ball bearing and shell space.
7. After 48 hours of bearing operation, use a grease gun to fill the press-fit cup on the bearing cover with additional grease.
8. Regulating the flow with a gate valve on the input pipe is not allowed to avoid cavitation.
9. Pumps should not be operated continuously at less than 30% of the design flow rate and if they must be operated under this condition, a bypass pipe should be installed at the outlet and the flow rate should be at least the minimum value mentioned above.
10. Check frequently the looseness of the ground bolts, the consistency of the pump casing temperature with the inlet temperature, the fluctuation of the outlet pressure gauge and the vibration of the pump.
11. Pay attention to the operation of the pump for any noise, and deal with any abnormal conditions promptly.

Industrial Applications Of Hot Oil Transfer Pump

Hot oil transfer pumps are primarily used in industrial applications for the circulation and transfer of high-temperature oils and fluids. These pumps are designed to handle liquids at elevated temperatures, typically above 100-300 degrees Celsius. Here are some common application areas for hot oil transfer pumps:

1. Oil and gas industry: Hot oil transfer pumps are used in various processes within the oil and gas sector, such as transferring hot crude oil, heavy oil, or bitumen from one location to another. They are also employed in thermal oil systems for heating and cooling applications in refineries, petrochemical plants, and offshore platforms.
2. Chemical processing: Hot oil pumps play a crucial role in chemical processing plants, where they facilitate the movement of high-temperature fluids during manufacturing processes. They are utilized in applications such as heat exchangers, reactors, distillation units, and other equipment that require the circulation of hot liquids.
3. Plastics and rubber manufacturing: In industries involved in the production of plastics, synthetic fibers, and rubber, hot oil transfer pumps are used for maintaining and controlling temperatures during various stages of the manufacturing process. They ensure consistent heat distribution in extruders, molds, and other machinery.
4. Food processing: Hot oil pumps find application in food processing facilities for tasks that involve cooking, frying, or heating edible oils at elevated temperatures. These pumps help in the circulation of hot oil to maintain precise cooking temperatures and achieve uniform heat distribution in large-scale frying systems.
5. Power generation: Thermal power plants and cogeneration facilities employ hot oil transfer pumps to circulate and transfer heat transfer fluids, such as thermal oils, in their heat recovery systems. These pumps facilitate the transfer of thermal energy from one medium to another, contributing to efficient power generation.
6. Asphalt industry: Hot oil transfer pumps are widely used in the asphalt industry for heating and circulating bitumen or asphalt, which is necessary for producing asphalt mixtures used in road construction and maintenance. The pumps ensure consistent temperature control and prevent the solidification of the asphalt during transportation and storage.
7. Textile manufacturing: In textile processing, hot oil transfer pumps are utilized for heating and circulating heat transfer fluids in dyeing machines, stenters, and other equipment. They help maintain the required temperatures for the dyeing, drying, and finishing processes.

Conclusion:

Overall, this article is a comprehensive guide for anyone looking to understand hot oil transfer pumps and their importance in industrial applications, such as distillation, evaporation while thermal oil medium is used for heating transfer. For detail process requirements with hot oil transfer pump, please feel free to discuss with me in below form. Hope to assist you in finding the best solution for your equipments.