MechChem Africa talks to Tapflo’s local MD, Jason Andrew, about pumping solutions for the food, beverage and processing industries that carefully match pump technologies with control strategies to deliver reliable, efficient, and effective liquid transport solutions.
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“Tapflo is an independent, family-owned global company with manufacturing roots in Sweden. We are a well-grounded company that operates according to family values: integrity, enthusiasm, mutual respect, and commitment – to employees and our clients,” begins Jason Andrew, the managing director responsible for Tapflo in South Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa.
“This enables us to be in control of the products and solutions we provide, from the technologies we apply and the manufacturing quality of our premium products, through to the local implementation of industrial pumping solutions. Our motto is ‘Simple is Art’ which reflects our drive to seek always the smoothest and least complicated solution that will fully satisfy the needs of an application across its lifetime,” Andrew tells MechChem Africa.
As well as offering an extensive range of own-brand pumps and pump types, Tapflo also deals with reputable third-party suppliers to provide complete solutions: “We can customise our solutions by adding custom baseplates with gear motors, couplings and coupling guards, for example. And increasingly, we are adding system-wide control and automation for the solutions we sell to end users; we are always looking to provide a complete solution.”
The first products manufactured by Tapflo were air-operated double diaphragm (AODD) pumps. “We've since grown into one of the largest European manufacturers of these pumps, and globally, we probably have the widest range of combinations and options of AODDs,” he continues.
“We have also branched into the production of two ranges of centrifugal pump technologies, suited for either the industrial or hygienic markets. The Tapflo baseline for centrifugal pumps is 316L stainless steel in either electro-polished or glass bead blasted surface finishes. This tends to meet both the clean & sanitary, but also chemical resistant process needs, whilst offering ATEX-certified units for more demanding applications.
Tapflo has developed two ranges of high- and low-pressure hose pump technologies, which are marketed to these same two sectors.
In addition, through our partners and third-party suppliers, we offer a diverse and extensive range of different industrial process centrifugal pump technologies in both vertical and horizontal configurations with various mechanical sealing options.
“For more demanding and robust applications needs, our partners offer centrifugal pumps that conform to ISO 2858 and/or ISO 5199 norms and ATEX certified units, in addition to offering different exotic alloys material options of construction to these ranges,” he says, adding that the company also offers magnetic drive pump technologies with metal or plastic linings.
For positive-displacement applications, Tapflo offers a wide range of rotary lobe, screw, internal gear, and progressive cavity pumps. Also available are precision dosing using solenoid or electrical motor driven metering pumps. “We recently partnered with an International Pharmaceutical/Sanitary and Hygienic Certified Valve, Tank Top Fittings and Pipeline Components Manufacturer so can now offer our customers this range, which complements our own core product ranges for the sector.”
AODDs and catalytic converters
Tapflo’s AODD series is ideal for the gentle management of viscous liquids. In the food industry, everything from yoghurt with fruit pieces, to various syrups, to glycerine can be handled. “We use too them for pumping printing inks to gently move abrasive inks onto the rollers and doctor blades in the print and packaging industry, and we service some key plants in the mining industry that handle highly aggressive chemicals,” notes Andrew.
He cites a particularly successful early application for Tapflo in South Africa’s catalytic converter industry: “One of our first breakthroughs in the automotive industry was the use of Tapflo AODD pumps for the manufacture of catalytic converters. Our pumps are now widely used to transfer the very abrasive sulfuric acid-based slurry that carries the platinum and other exotic ingredients used by the converter. This slurry is pumped into moulds before being baked to form a solid ceramic inner filter.
“In terms of the manufacture of this key component, Tapflo pumps are used to handle all the mixing of slurry ingredients to ensure compositional accuracy and the waste-free transport of the value laden slurry into the moulds,” Andrew informs MechChem Africa, adding that to handle the slurry reliably, high density polyethylene (HDPE) pump casings and chemically resistant PTFE diaphragms are used.
Handling and mixing of SLES
Tapflo also has a separate department that develops tailor made flow solutions for complex applications. One of these solutions involves a key ingredient called sodium laureth sulphate (SLES), which is widely used in the pharmaceutical, cosmetics and personal care industries.
“SLES is an organic compound that has good cleaning and foaming properties. It is normally sold and delivered in concentrations of 70%, which then need to be diluted before being added to the end-product. But it is very viscous, which makes it difficult to pump and mix during dilution.
“What our team developed is a complex, fully automated and compact system that solves a host of the problems end-user clients were experiencing. The first problem was to thoroughly mix the concentrated SLES with water to the dilution required. Traditionally this used to take six to eight hours using a heated jacketed holding tank and recirculation pumps and stirrers.
“By using a combination of positive displacement and centrifugal pump technologies with other inline components, we can convert and dilute the concentrated SLES into the customer’s required diluted SLES using efficient high shear mixing (HSM). This process is significantly faster than the traditional dilution and is completed inline whilst moving through the Tapflo SKID Designed unit. The mixing efficiency is carefully monitored and controlled by a PLC, which ensures the dilution accuracy and mix quality, and alerts operators of any deviations.
“Additives such as perfumes or preservatives can also be dosed into the diluted SLES accurately and inline if needed. The Tapflo SLES system, using various valves and components, then transfers the end-product out of the system directly to process or storage tanks for later use. The result is a consistent, well-mixed user friendly diluted SLES product, produced using far less energy and huge time savings, “Jason Andrew explains.
“We also often add some form of automation: for batching purposes, to control and monitor the process and to track the maintenance needs,” he adds.
Drum decanting
“We also offer simple to tailored drum decanting solutions, from a simple Air Operated Double Diaphragm pump with mounting handle and suction tube to suit, to more complex automated drum decanting systems. Some of these are developed to meet a specific need,” Andrew continues. “A food producer might routinely take deliveries of ingredients such as tomato concentrate. These need to be safely decanted and delivered to the point of need.
“So, we have developed an automated, operator safe decanting system: the operator can decant from a single 210 litre drum unit up to a four-drum system: the HVS Quattro,” he says. These viscous products arrive in a sealed aseptic plastic bag within a drum of varying dimensions. The custom light mobile Tapflo decanting unit can handle these drum variables and manage the problematic hygienic bag.
Rotary lobe pumps for confectionery products
Another example that is particularly successful with multinationals is a pumping system for handling product deliveries such as glucose or maltose. “When pumping sugar-based solutions it is critical to make sure they do not caramelise or solidify, and when the pump is not in use, you do not want air to get into the mechanical seal faces, which will cause crystallisation and can quickly result in seal failure, particularly on pump unit start-up.
Tapflo has developed a comprehensive road tanker offloading and transfer solution based on its rotary lobe pump technology. This is now being used by internationally recognised breweries and several national confectionary plants. Key to the solution is monitoring the line pressures and pump speeds, which enables varying viscosity ranges and friction head losses to be accommodated. “We also put in dry run protection, which is a key cause of premature pump failure, often due to operator neglect.
“We've automated the system, so all the driver/operator needs do to offload his tank is connect the hoses, open the appropriate valves and push the start button. The pressure and pump speed will then automatically be established to suit the product viscosity and the distance to the storage container,” he notes, adding that a novel solution has been developed to protect the mechanical seals on the pump.
Concluding, Jason Andrew says: “Our approach to business at Tapflo is slightly different. When we look for solutions to simple or complex problems, we assess exactly what the client is trying to do. Then we apply the pump technologies that we believe are the best suited to and most efficient for the end user.”