Flammable Product Pumping Unit with Cyclonic Separator
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current pumping techniques for flammable products that can form explosive atmospheres are hazardous due to high risks of explosion and toxic gas emission, and they either promote boiling, desorption of gases, or are limited in pumping rate and complete emptying of tanks.
Innovation Solution
A pumping unit and method that utilize a cyclonic separator to separate flammable products into liquid/pasty and gaseous phases, with a short vacuum suction circuit and a discharge pressure circuit, reducing exposure to vacuum and air admission, and a gas rejection circuit to confine dangerous zones, allowing for safe and efficient pumping.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If vacuum pumping is used to pump flammable products, then the pump can be installed at great distances from the product and contact with the product is avoided, but the pumping operation promotes boiling of volatile products, desorption of gases, increases explosion risks and emission of harmful gases
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the pumping operation into two separate circuits: a vacuum suction circuit that handles only gas/vapor removal, and a liquid product transfer circuit that handles the flammable liquid. This segmentation prevents the vacuum pump from directly handling liquid flammable products while still enabling effective pumping, thereby reducing gas desorption and explosion risks.
Solution Approach 2:
A cyclone separator acts as an intermediary device between the vacuum pump and the liquid product. It separates liquid droplets from gas/vapor, allowing the vacuum pump to handle only the gas phase while the liquid phase is transferred through a separate pump system, thus avoiding the harmful effects of vacuum on volatile products.
2Productivity
If aeraulic pumping is used to pump flammable products, then the pump can be installed at very great distances and liquid products containing solid foreign bodies can be pumped, but very large volumes of gas are rejected into the atmosphere increasing pollutant emission and explosion risk
Solution Approach 1:
The system separates gas handling and liquid product transfer into distinct circuits. The vacuum pump handles only gas/vapor separation in the cyclone, while a separate pump transfers the liquid product. This eliminates the need to reject large volumes of gas into the atmosphere while maintaining the ability to pump at great distances and handle products with solid foreign bodies.
3Object-generated harmful factors
If transfer pumping with volumetric pump is used to pump flammable products, then pollutant releases are limited and highly volatile products can be pumped, but pumping rates are limited and tanks cannot be completely emptied
Solution Approach 1:
The system combines the advantages of vacuum pumping (pollutant reduction, volatility handling) with the advantages of positive pressure pumping (high pumping rate, complete emptying capability). The vacuum circuit handles gas separation while the pressurized liquid circuit ensures complete tank emptying and maintains high productivity, eliminating the limitations of using either method alone.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution significantly reduces the dangerousness of pumping operations by limiting gas desorption, explosion risks, and pollutant release, while maintaining high pumping rates and ensuring complete tank emptying.
Implementation Method 1
a separator for said products into a liquid/pasty phase and a gaseous phase, comprising a cyclonic tank
Implementation Method 2
means for placing under vacuum said cyclonic tank of said separator products adapted to ensure the suction of the products from said pumping zone towards said separator
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a unit for pumping flammable products capable of forming an explosive atmosphere from a pumping zone (73) to a storage chamber (11), characterized in that it comprises: a separator (20) for separating said products into a liquid/pasty phase and a gas phase, a positive displacement pump (30) for returning non-gaseous products to said storage chamber (11), means for placing the separator under vacuum, and a circuit for discharging the gases produced by said unit to at least one demarcated discharge zone (14a). The invention also relates to a corresponding pumping process.