feature metering and dosing
A short history of the
dosing pump
The dosing pump concept was born in the 19th Century, when industry
started to develop in Europe and concerns about healthcare and water
quality were growing, writes Patrick Deniau of Dosparo Milton Roy. Since
then technology changes have been pushed forward by the growing need
for increased safety and environment protection.
T
he most commonly accepted
definition of a dosing pump is
a reciprocating pump that can
have its capacity adjusted by varying
its swept volume. Usually, this can be
done while the pump is running, but
some older designs can only accept a
capacity change when the pump is
stopped. The ability for the capacity to
be changed while the pump is running
provides the dosing pump with a very
high degree of accuracy. As a result,
pumps of this type are used to meter
and inject additives and chemicals in
almost all types of processes where
accuracy is a critical factor.
Because it can serve many different
processes, a dosing pump is able to
accurately handle various fluids,
including those that are corrosive,
abrasive and radioactive, at even
extreme pressure and temperature
Figure 1. Plunger conditions.
liquid end.
Threaded end fitting
Ball guide
Ball Plunger
Seat
Liquid end
body
Piston packing
30 0262 1762/05 © 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved
Accurate delivery
In continuous processes for example,
a constant rate of chemical injection
is required and can be measured as the
steady state accuracy of the pump, this
qualifying the variation of the
delivered flow around its mean value.
Only reciprocating pump technology
can provide steady state accuracies as
low as 0.5%. Despite this degree of
accuracy, the highly variable
instantaneous flow delivered by a
reciprocating pump (its pulsated
flow), is a disadvantage. This is why
dosing pump manufacturers offer
pulsation dampeners as a typical
ancillary device for their pumps.
Pulsation dampening of +/-2% is
currently obtained and this is below
that which is usually expected from
other hydraulic devices like flow
meters.
In certain processes, a chemical
injection function of process data may
be required, such as in pH control.
Here, two other types of accuracy
have great importance, these being
linearity and repeatability. Linearity
translates how the flow delivered by a
dosing pump is proportional to the
flow adjustment order, through a
4-20mA signal for example.
Repeatability gives an idea of the
hysteresis inherent in all mechanical
and hydraulic systems: each time the
dosing pump is adjusted at a given
setting point, it must deliver more or
less the same amount of flow. The API
standard gives a limit to linearity and
repeatability accuracies: they must
stay within +/-3% of the rated pump
flow.
Development history
The very first dosing pumps were
motor driven and of packed plunger
type (Figure 1) as this was the only
reliable design at that time with the
ability to handle a wide pressure range.
Sealing was obtained by means of
packing rings (braided cotton) or seals
(elastomer, leather). There were
limitations, however, particularly
when pumping slurry, but the major
concern was the fluid leakage at the
packing gland when the pumped
product was flammable, a health
hazard, or corrosive. Despite the
development of features including
double packing and flushing, plus the
invention of PTFE with its increased
corrosion resistance, pressure was put
on manufacturers to develop
alternative solutions.
Leak-free diaphragms
The development of plastic materials
and the invention of the PTFE was a
significant event for it enabled
manufacturers to develop reliable and
leak-free diaphragm technologies (seal
less pumps). Utility applications such
as water and waste treatment and water
conditioning were the first to benefit
from the launch of mechanically
actuated diaphragm (Figure 2)
technology. In this design, the
diaphragm is mechanically attached to
the drive at its centre and functions in
the manner of a totally sealed piston,
but of a large diameter and short stroke
type. Dead volume is important for the
diaphragm has to handle the discharge
pressure on its process side at the same
WORLD PUMPS January 2005

Diaphragm
Pumped
liquid
Casing at atmospheric
pressure
Figure 2. Mechanically driven diaphragm liquid end.
time as its other side is at atmospheric
pressure. This very simple design is,
therefore, limited in terms of pressure
capability. When first developed the
maximum pressure capability was in
the region of 5 bar, whereas today it is
up to 20 bar today. The main
improvements have come from the use
of composite (PTFE/elastomer), pre-
shape diaphragms, etc. In terms of cost,
the mechanically actuated diaphragm
is even cheaper than the packed
plunger technology, which explains
why it is now a standard worldwide.
It is interesting to note that in some
applications, such as sampling from an
extraction column, diaphragm seal less
technology now also has the advantage
over packed plunger technology. Pre-
shaped mechanical diaphragms, thanks
to their ability to handle differential
pressure, are a solution to pumping
under extreme suction conditions,
with absolute suction pressures as low
as 7 Torr.
Piston diaphragms
In industrial applications, where high
pressures are likely to be encountered,
the piston-diaphragm technology
rapidly took a predominant position.
In this type of pump, the piston is
hydraulically coupled to a diaphragm,
which is in contact with the process
fluid (Figure 3). Here the diaphragm is
only a separator and is pressure
balanced. Typically, it can handle
WORLD PUMPS January 2005
feature metering and dosing
Crosshead
Process
fluid
Figure 3. Hydraulically driven diaphragm liquid end.
pressures up to 400bar and some
technologies, the pre-shaped comp-
osite being an example, can give an
operational life in excess of 20,000
hours.
This design considerably less limited in
terms of slurry handling and has about
the same capability to pump viscous
fluid when compared to the packed
plunger type. As the main limitation
has been the ability to pump in high
temperature conditions, the market is
now offered alternatives with metallic
diaphragm heads.
Current generation
Today, the state-of-the-art for process
industries (chemical, oil extraction,
food) is the double diaphragm
configuration with diaphragm failure
detection, as this offers greater levels of
safety and zero emission. Some studies
have been undertaken showing that if
the capital cost is more important than
for a packed plunger pump, the total
cost over five years including
maintenance gives a competitive edge
to the diaphragm technology. Only in
developing countries, is there still a
noted preference for packed plungers,
as these are seen as easier to maintain.
In parallel with this move from packed
plunger toward diaphragm tech-
nologies, another major improvement
took place in the 1970’s. For small
pumps, i.e. pumps needing fractional
Diaphragm
Plunger
Crosshead
Casing at
atmospheric
pressure
Hydraulic
liquid
horsepower, the reciprocating motion
of a dosing pump became obtainable
from a solenoid with acceptable pump
life and reliability.
This technology lead to a more simple
and lower cost design of pump and it
rapidly became a worldwide standard
in utility applications. This was helped
by the possibility, for almost no extra
cost, of providing either variable
stroking speed or automated
proportional function due to the
electronic circuit board required to
pulse the solenoid. Compared to the
motor driven pump, this was a huge
improvement in terms of pump
capability and versatility. More
recently, with the development of
technical plastics suitable for the pump
housing, this technology has gained
both in cost efficiency and in corrosion
resistance. Today, in terms of the
number of units sold, solenoid dosing
pump is the most popular design,
by far. ■
CONTACT:
Dosapro Milton Roy
Sales Promotion Department
10 Grande Rue
27360 Pont-Saint-Pierre
France
email: contact@dosapro.com
Patrick Deniau is a graduate
Mechanical Engineer and has
worked for Dosapro Milton Roy
since 1980. For the past two years
he has held the position of
Business Development Manager.
www.worldpumps.com 31