Slaughterhouse project

In a pig slaughterhouse, pigs are dehaired after slaughter by spraying them with water at a temperature of approximately 60°C. This water, together with the hair and other solid particles, is collected in an underground sump and reused. The circulation pumps used to circulate this water had an average service life of just six months, resulting in high maintenance costs and unwanted downtime.

IB-Pompen analysed the problem and provided a solution that drastically increased the service life and significantly reduced maintenance costs.

About this project

The benefits for the customer:

One pump in operation for both dehairing systems (i.e. a redundant setup).
Energy savings of approx. 5 kW per production hour.
The vortex impeller operates without blockages.
Cantilever design: no seals, no bearings and no drive mechanism in the process medium.
Greater operational reliability; no ‘downtime’ thanks to the dual configuration.
Low maintenance costs (no motor, bearings or seals in the wet end).

Background & situation

Background
The existing circulation pumps were causing frequent downtime and high maintenance costs, which was adversely affecting the continuity of the production process.

Situation
During the dehairing process, pigs are sprayed with water at a temperature of approximately 60 °C. This water contains hair and other solids released during the process. The contaminated water is collected in an underground hair sump and subsequently reused in the process. As a result, the pumps must continuously pump a hot medium with a high level of contamination.

Problem & cause

Problem
The two existing submersible pumps had a very limited service life due to wear and tear, seal problems and motor failure. Because of the high medium temperature of around 60 °C, the motors were not cooled sufficiently, which regularly led to overheating and failure.

Average service life: approximately 6 months
Purchase price: approximately € 7,500 per pump
Regular downtime and high maintenance and replacement costs

Cause
1. Contamination by hair
Hair in the fluid wraps itself around the mechanical seal, causing damage to it. This allows water to enter the motor, resulting in a short circuit and failure.

2. Inadequate motor cooling
Submersible pumps are designed for fluid temperatures of up to approximately 40 °C. At a water temperature of 60 °C, motor cooling is inadequate, causing the motor to overheat and the pump to fail or burn out.

Our solution

To resolve the issues with the existing submersible pumps once and for all, it was decided to install two vertical cantilever pumps (1+1) from Salvatore Robuschi. Thanks to this configuration, the system remains fully operational even during maintenance or in the event of a fault.

The investment amounts to approximately € 9,000 per pump. The image opposite shows the situation once the new installation has been completed.

Expected payback period
The investment has an expected payback period of less than one year. This is based on the significant savings in maintenance costs, the longer service life of the system and the elimination of the need for frequent replacement of the original submersible pumps.

In addition, the expected service life of the cantilever pumps is at least 10 years per pump, resulting in significantly lower total cost of ownership.

In the customer’s own words

FROM:

“Those submersible pumps in the hair sump are a constant source of worry and a huge cost!”

TO:

“Now we’re running on one pump with one on standby, saving energy, and we don’t have to worry about whether the line will start up.”