Pumps supplier Packaged Metering & Pumping Solutions (PMPS) has added Rotho peristaltic pumps from Italian pumps manufacturer Ragazzini to its South African product offering.

“We see huge opportunity to supply peristaltic pumps to projects in neighbouring countries,” PMPS MD David O’Neill tells Mining Weekly, noting that PMPS, the official sub-Saharan Africa agent for many Italian pumps suppliers, was introduced to Ragazzini by one of its principal suppliers last year, owing to its good reputation in Europe.

The company, based in Boksburg, Gauteng, introduced the peristaltic pumps to its portfolio this year, as it was the one pump type missing from its product range, which comprises mechanical diaphragm dosing pumps, piston dosing pumps, gear pumps, magnetically coupled centrifugal pumps, progressive cavity pumps and solar-powered metering pumps.

Ragazzini’s Rotho peristaltic pumps range is one of the largest in the world with regard to transferring charged, abrasive, corrosive, foaming, viscous, fragile and shear-sensitive fluids. He points out that PMPS will supply the full series of Rotho peristaltic pumps from Ragazzini.

O’Neill explains that the Rotho peristaltic pumps are designed to pump highly aggressive fluids with suspended solids; they also offer good performance, as they have no valves, seals or glands that can clog or become obstructed.

“In the metering of corrosive reagents and processes involving sulphur and cyanide, the Rotho peristaltic pump is the most reliable, as it can be used to limit maintenance and downtime of continuous processes,” O’Neill says.

The pumps solve the transfer problems associated with other pump types when conveying dense product over long distances. Rotho pumps provide superior suction capability that can lift product from 9.8 m away while using smaller drives, compared with other peristaltic pumps of the same capacity.

The Rotho peristaltic pumps range can run dry, without the tube burning or deteriorating, owing to the materials used in its manufacturing, while its roller design offers many advantages over the sliding shoe design used by other hose pumps manufacturers.

“The roller design, introduced when the company started in 1980, eliminates the requirement for adding a lubrication fluid inside the pump housing. Wet-running pumps’ fluid levels require constant monitoring to ensure proper operation, but this is not required with the dry-running Rotho pumps. As no lubrication fluid is required, hose replacement is greatly simplified, without having to drain and dispose of a messy and possibly contaminated oil or glycerine solutions,” O’Neill explains.

Installation of the Rotho pumps can take from five to 15 weeks, depending on the size and complexity of the installation, with turnaround time following the placement of an order ranging from four to 12 weeks.

“The maintenance of peristaltic pumps is simple and can be done on site by either our technicians or training can be provided for customers during the commissioning phase of a project. The full pumps range is capable of pumping 10 ℓ/h, up to 180 m3/h at up to 15 bar,” O’Neill states.

Ragazzini’s Rotho peristaltic pumps range is also self-priming, includes only one wear item, is suitable for cleaning-in-place applications and is designed to prevent contact between the product and its mechanical parts.