High pressure molten sulphur pump 1

When I type "molton sulphur pump" in Google the manufacturers Goulds, Peerless, Rheinhuette and Hayward Gordon appear on the first page (plus a few others). At least all of these four are what I would in general call a "top supplier".

We settled on Viking helical gear pumps for molten bitumen for operating temp 140-190degC - presume these will do for molten sulphur also. As fas as I know, Viking are the only people who make these pumps with integral electrical casing heating elements - very useful for startup ops. External heat tracing of the pump casing can be unreliable and could lead to hot spots. Watch out for slippery interface issues between pump supplier and seal supplier - we used double seals with plan 53B flushing. If you want VFD speed turndown below 40% of rated speed, you'll need an electric motor with an independently driven aux cooling fan to cool the main motor. Good luck.

Dear Kiana,

One simply cannot dream up any wild process condition and assume that a proven pump is sold that will suit your needs.

You will have to live with the pressures/flowrates of the existing product lines

PD Gear pumps, with no seals and loose clearances are commonly used to pump molten sulfur. Centrifugal "sump pumps" are also used. The pump casing and impeller must be flooded to ensure uniform temperatures and adequate suction pressures.

Bearing materials and warmup steam jackets must be considered. Heavy duty heat resistant motors must be used.



Please let us know if you ever find a molten sulfur pump for your extreme conditions ....

MJCronin
Sr. Process Engineer

For the viscosity of molten sulfur and other properties: