23.12.10

Whether pump can be used for Unloading and Loading ?

Site : Palm Oil Refinery
Unloading : From Truck Tanker to Storage Tanks
Loading Or Despatch Pump : from Storage Tanks to Truck Tanker

In a typical Palm Oil Refinery  in Malaysia . the pumps are usually located about 3 to 5 meter
away from Trucks , and the storage tanks are located about 200 Meter or more away from ths pumping station

For unloading , normally no problem

If the same pumps are to be used for pumping from stoarge tank to the truck tanker ,with a
suction line of 200 M or more , problem such as cavitation will arise due to NPSH avialable being too low
Possibly when  the tank level is high ,the pump may still work depending on the NPSH condition
When the level gets low ,serious cavitation occurs and this cause high reduction in flow ,pump noisy
and pump life gets shorten

Should there be intention for the pumps to be used both ways , the piping system must be designed to
suit the purpose ,that is taking into account the NPSH available for flow in both directions

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