The terms 'flushing' and 'quench' often seem to be confused or misused when discussing seal support schemes for >slurry pumps. As the concepts of a mechanical seal cartridge and a filled seal cartridge are slightly different, I will discuss them separately and in turn.

It is critical to determine the right slurry pump size and power requirements for your application. Depending on the abrasive nature of the slurry, it is important to select a pump size that will allow it to run at a slow enough speed to extend the life of the slurry pump. The ideal RPM to run a slurry pump is between 900 and 1200 RPM. Once that speed is started to be exceeded, the life of the pump is greatly reduced because the wear points of the slurry pump are actually sandblasted.

Centrifugal slurry pumps capable of providing high capacity with a limited head are mainly used for pumping slurry through pipes with a concentration of less than 70% by weight of solids. Centrifugal slurry pumps can be vertical, horizontal or submersible.

2. All have vertical pumps and horizontal pumps and can convey slurry.

Sites often rely on centrifugal pumps to provide slurry service. These pumps (and their associated piping systems) require special provisions that demand detailed knowledge of the properties of solids and slurries to prevent wear, corrosion, erosion and other adverse effects such as solids settling. Specifying the optimum combination of speed, geometry and material requires a proper balance of often conflicting pump priorities; this requires consideration of stable operation, maximum wear life, operational flexibility and minimum energy consumption.

Horizontal pumps are the most commonly used type of slurry pump and therefore have the advantage of being easy to install or maintain, a wide range of flow parameters to choose from and a wide range of design materials to choose from. One of the advantages of vertical pumps, however, is the relatively small amount of floor space required for installation.