Case Histories

Slurry Pumps Used in Log Flume Application with Great Success

Instituting quality improvement doesn't always mean reinventing the wheel. Sometimes, it's simply a matter of applying existing technology to new applications.

Take the northeast Florida paper plant that was modernizing its woodyard facility back in 1986. As a part of this upgrade, the 2,500 ton-per-day kraft mill was replacing a cumbersome and hard-to-maintain woodyard conveyer with a log flume.

The company contracted Simons Engineering Inc. of Decatur, Ga., to engineer the project. The firm, which specializes in the pulp and paper industry, assigned Senior Staff Specialist Jack Moore to coordinate the project.

It was a wise choice.

Several years earlier, when working at a paper plant in Augusta, Ga., Mr. Moore had visited GIW's Grovetown, Ga., facility and had seen the slurry pumps in their assembly area. This piqued his interest.

The paper industry has long had a problem with vertical turbine water pumps in the flume recirculation systems that move the logs into the plants. In the process, the logs are partially washed of dirt and bark. Because the pumps cannot handle the solids in the water, they require re-building to the tune of approximately $150,000 a year.

After visiting the GIW facility, Mr. Moore began to consider using slurry pumps in log flume applications. Although this had not been done before, it seemed a logical and cost effective application.

Therefore, when the Florida plant decided to install a log flume, Mr. Moore called GIW's Reab Berry and asked him about the feasibility of using slurry pumps to recycle the water in log flumes. "I told him they could use our slurry pump in this application with virtually no maintenance," Mr. Berry says.

Several weeks later, representatives from GIW, Simons and the end user met in Atlanta to discuss the pumps.

After discovering the system's parameters to be 50,000 gallons per minute (11.360 cubic meters per hour) at 50 feet (15 meter) of head, with only one to three percent solids, Mr. Berry suggested the plant install two LHD 24x24-44, each of which could pump 25,000 gallons per minute (5.680 cubic meters per hour).

The end user worried about the pump's wear life, but since these pumps are designed to handle 30 to 40 percent solids by weight, Mr. Berry assured them they should get excellent service and long life from the pumps.

In November 1985, following Simon's recommendation, the plant purchased the pumps and put them into service. "We selected GIW as a supplier because they were offering a better, longer lasting product for this application," Mr. Moore says. "While many other plants still have to rebuild their vertical pumps every three months, this facility has enjoyed long and maintenance free life from the GIW slurry pumps."

At the end of a year, plant personnel called GIW and said that they wanted to open the pumps and inspect them, although they were experiencing no problems. "Since the pumps were running efficiently, we strongly suggested they not do that," Mr. Berry says. By then, the pumps had paid for themselves in maintenance costs savings. Further, they had decreased down time and improved productivity. In other words, the GIW pumps built quality into the user's operating system.

In 1995, plant personnel began to notice a slight decrease from the original 25,000 gallons per minute (5.680 cubic meters per hour) so they returned one of the pumps to GIW for inspection. "We found only the shaft sleeve, impeller and suction liner needed replacement," Mr. Berry says.

"We have had excellent service from these pumps," says the plant's woodyard supervisor. In fact, they didn't open the pumps or perform any maintenance other than changing the oil, for eight years. "These pumps have saved us lots of money and headaches."

If you'd like more information on how GIW slurry pumps can build quality into your plant by lowering maintenance costs and improving efficiency, please call (706) 863-1011, Ext. 2272, or send an e-mail to sales@giwindustries.com.