How Liquid Ring Vacuum Pump Works

A liquid ring vacuum pump has an impeller with blades attached to a center hub, located in a
cylindrical body, but off-set from the center.
In Diagram 1A on the right you can see the blades near the top of the pump are closer to the
outside wall than at the side of the pump. They are furthest away at the bottom of the pump;
you can see this more clearly in Diagram 1B.
The impeller sits between two end plates (port plates) which have shaped holes cut into them
called ports.
The pump requires a liquid (also called the sealant) to create vacuum as follows. Prior to
starting the pump, it should be partially filled with the liquid sealant (typically to the center of
the body, although this can be plus or minus a couple of inches). The liquid can be water
(making it a water ring pump), oil or a solvent, depending upon the application. As you can
see in the Diagrams, when the pump is at rest, some of the impeller blades are immersed in
the sealant liquid.
When the pump starts, the impeller slings the liquid sealant by centrifugal force, to the
outside walls of the body, forming a ring of liquid at the outside walls of the body. Because
the impeller is off-set from the body, some of the blades are fully immersed in liquid, and
some are almost out of the liquid. The area of void space without liquid, is sealed off between
the liquid (and hence the term "sealant") and between the impeller blades, called an "impeller
cell". As we follow one impeller cell from the top of the pump, counter-clockwise, you can
see the liquid recedes from the center hub, acting as a liquid piston to create a larger cell. This
is the suction of the pump, drawing in air, gases, or vapors thru the "inlet port" at the sides of
the impeller. After impeller cell passes the inlet port and travels toward the discharge port, the
sealant liquid is forced back toward the center hub of the impeller, creating the compression
step. As the impeller cell passes the discharge port, the compression is at its highest, and the
gases, along with some of the liquid sealant are exhausted thru the discharge port to
atmosphere. Although the diagrams show a very smooth ring of liquid, in actuality, the liquid
sealant is highly turbulent, which is why some of the liquid sealant is discharged with the
gases.

Single-Stage vs Two-Stage Liquid Ring Pumps

The above describes the cycle of a single-stage pump; so in one revolution, we have suction
(pulling a vacuum), and compression (back to atmosphere). Some manufacturers' single stage
pumps can operate to just 26"HgV, while others can operate to 28"HgV and others to
29"HgV. A two-stage pump is just two of these operating in series, so the discharge of the 1st
stage goes into the suction port of the 2nd stage. Two-stage pumps have better efficiency at
higher vacuum levels (higher than 23"HgV) than a single stage pump and are designed to
operate at vacuum levels higher than 20"HgV.

A two-stage pump is also a much better choice if you are handling solvents at higher
vacuum levels (higher than 23"HgV). This has to do with the effect of sealant temperature
rise being spread across two stages and its relationship to the sealant vapor pressure in liquid
ring vacuum pumps.
Type
Once-thru-water water sealed (includes sealant flow controls and a discharge separator
tank). Typically used when water cost/use/disposal is not an issue. Water hardness would be
of concern for long term life in a water ring pump. Any process carryover is flushed out with
the sealant water.
Full recovery water sealed (includes larger separator, sealant controls and heat exchanger)
reuses the sealant water in a closed loop for the water ring pump, so that any process is not in
contact with the cooling water. This type of system is used when the facility has a cooling
tower or chiller for cooling water.
Full recovery oil-sealed (Vmax) this pre-designed package is a cross between an aircooled rotary vane pump and a full recovery liquid ring vacuum pump. The pump is available
as air or water cooled. It is used in relatively clean and moist applications with minimal
carry-over concerns.

Full recovery solvent sealed (includes larger separator, sealant controls and heat exchanger).
This package is custom designed to handle solvents, and may utilize a solvent as the sealant.
Any liquid solvent can be used to allow for solvent recovery provided the required operating
vacuum level and cooling water temperatures are appropriate.
Selecting the right size: for all the advantages and reliability of liquid ring vacuum pumps,
determining the correct size for an application is not very easy. Wintek is an expert in the
correct sizing/selection of liquid ring pumps and will help you through this step. Many
factors affect the operation of this pump, which can be both good and bad: Cooling/sealant
temperature, vapor temperatures, solvents handled, vapor loads (dry, saturated or partially
saturated), sealant viscosity, backpressure, etc.

Pump Data
Performance Characteristics, Single-Stage Liquid Ring Pumps
Single-stage
Nominal Maximum
Motor-Mounted capacity vacuum
Design
(CFM) (Inch Hg)
DV0020 B-MA

20

29

Motor
60Hz
(HP)

Speed
(RPM)

Noise
(at aft)
(dBA)

Weight
bare-shaft
(Lbs)

1.5

3450

68

53*

DV0035 B-MA

35

29

3450

70

57*

DV0060 B-MA

60

29

1750

73

148*

DV0080 B-MA

75

29

1750

72

205*

DV0100 B-MA

100

29

7.5

1750

72

231*

Motor
60Hz
(HP)

Speed
(RPM)

Noise
(at aft)
(dBA)

Weight
bare-shaft
(Lbs)

Single-stage
Monoblock
Design

Nominal Maximum
capacity vacuum
(CFM) (Inch Hg)

DV0020 B-KA

20

29

1.5

3500

68

48

DV0035 B-KA

35

29

3500

70

62

DV0080 B-KA

75

29

1750

72

121

DV0100 B-KA

100

29

7.5

1750

72

123

DV0150 B-KA

150

29

10

1750

72

178

DV0200 B-KA

200

29

15

1750

72

196

DV0300 B-KA

300

29

20

1750

72

242

Single-stage Bare-shaft
Design
DV045OA-KA

450

29

25

1750

76

455

DV055OA-KA

550

29

40

1750

78

517

DV075OA-KA

650

29

40

960

79

880

750

29

50

1200

79

880

DV1200A-KA

1200

29

60-100

1200

80

1023

DV2500K-K

2600

29

75-150

740

85

3080

DV3500K-K

3500

29

100-200

660

85

4400

DV4500K-K

4400

29

125-200

470

85

7700

DV6500K-K

6600

29

150-300

470

85

8360

DV9000K-K

9200

29

250-350

300

85

17600

Performance Characteristics, Two-Stage Liquid Ring Pumps

Two-stage
Design

Nominal Maximum
capacity vacuum
(CFM) (Inch Hg)

Motor
60Hz
(HP)

Speed
(RPM)

Noise
(at aft)
(dBA)

Weight
bare-shaft
(Lbs)

DV0015BDA

15

28.5

3500

66

50

DV0035BDA

35

28.5

3500

66

55

DV0040B-

40

29

3500

66

66

DA
DV0075BDA

75

29

1750

68

148

DV0100BDA

100

29

7.5

1750

68

154

DV0140BDA

140

29

10

1750

68

172

DV0200BDA

200

29

15

1750

73

290

DV0250BDA

250

29

20

1750

73

315

DV0300BDA

300

29

25

1750

74

330

DV0400BDA

400

29

40

1750

79

495

DV0500BDA

500

29

50

1750

79

539

DV0750DDA

750

29

50

950

82

1100

DV0950DDA

950

29

60

950

82

1200

DV1200CDA

1200

29

100

730

85

3000

DV1600CDA

1600

29

125

730

85

3250

DV2000CDA

2000

29

125

730

85

3600