Submersible Pumps

The Contributions Of Submersible Pumps

Pumps are used for a variety of different functions that usually involve the transport of liquid or gas from one location to another. In certain industrial application submersible pumps are required in order to operate in environments where normal pumps would fail or be dangerous to operate. Submersible pumps are used in a number of different industries, including mining, the sinking of wells in the oil exploration industry, sewage transport and treatment, slurry pumping and water treatment, as well as a number of other industries where pumps are required to operate at maximum efficiency while submerged in liquids of one type or another. In order to function properly a submersible pump must be hermetically sealed to prevent water or air entering the body of the pump. These pumps are extremely effective and hard wearing due to the demanding environments within which they are used.

Many South Africans own submersible pumps but rarely give a thought to their quiet and highly efficient functioning. The submersible pumps found in the home are usually in the form of an aquarium pump which keeps water oxygenated. In keeping with the aquarium pump which usually has an external valve to control the amount of air flowing into the tank most submersible pumps have external controls which can be set to pump various volumes of liquid or gas.

The newer types of submersible pumps that are in use in oil pumping wells have been designed to separate oil and water, with the water being re-injected into the well, eliminating the need for it to be pumped to the surface. This separation of oil and water greatly increases the effectiveness of these highly specialised submersible pumps and reduces operating costs while increasing efficiency. The types of submersible pumps used in wells varies enormously, with more powerful units able to pump water or oil from depths of nearly four kilometres. These are highly specialised pieces of equipment and may cost many millions of dollars and they are significantly less efficient than other submersible pumps.

Without submersible pumps many of the services that we today take for granted such as the supply of running water to our homes and the treatment of waste water so that it can be reused would simply not be possible. Although submersible pumps are hidden from plain view they are nonetheless extremely important to many industries and can be found in great numbers in mining and other sub surface operations.

For more information on submersible pumps and their many industrial uses, as well as the various types of submersible pumps that are available, contact us.