Stator Problem Solved at Pet Food Manufacturer

For the past five years, a Pennsylvania pet food manufacturer has been successfully pumping a 40% solids slurry consisting of ground meat, bone meal and water through our sanitary NL Series pumps. These two-stage pumps are operated at 120 PSI and at a speed up to 300 RPM.

In September of 1999 the customer reported that the stators in the NL pumps were wearing out at a rapid rate. The stators were being replaced every three months, and the customer did not know why.

Initial inspection revealed that the CIP process had been changed from the original specifications. The pumps were now being used to CIP the piping during the cleaning process. Upon further investigation, it was discovered that caustic solutions were being fed through the pump at temperatures between 160° F to 180° F.

The end result was deteriorated stators, in this case stators made of Buna-n, that were being eroded by the customer's cleaning process.

Once the problem was identified, NEMO^® Service Technician, Dave Hoover, worked closely with the NETZSCH Research and Development team, and a compatible elastomer was identified and quickly developed.

Within three months, the customer's manufacturing process was back in operation along with the NETZSCH NEMO^® NL Sanitary pumps.

Thanks to the combined efforts of the worldwide NETZSCH staff another customer is satisfied.