The ESK-IMO pumps offer the advantage of easy maintenance without the need for tank draining and reclamation.
With flow rates from 70 m3/hr up to 500 m3/hr and a head of up to 240m, the pump’s entire hydraulic and mechanical part derives from Vanzetti’s established ARTIKA series. In contrast to the ARTIKA Series, which is mounted directly at the bottom of the tank or inside a cryostat, the ESK-IMO retractable pump is installed inside a column that is isolated from the rest of the tank by a foot valve. In this way, the liquefied natural gas remains confined in the tank outside the column, allowing the pump to be removed by opening a cover at the top of the column.
Vanzetti Engineering offers the new retractable submerged pump series with all the accessories required for its operation: the foot valve, the column cover, the cables required to lift the pump and remove it from the tank, and the electrical connectors. As an optional extra, a vibration monitoring system is also available to display and signal any malfunction alarms.
A special feature of the ESK-IMO retractable pump is that it does not require the tank to be emptied for maintenance. This is an important added value considering that the tanks of small scale LNG terminals are subject to very long maintenance intervals (over 25 years). As the maintenance interval of the pump is generally shorter than that of the tank, it is a huge advantage to be able to remove the pump and carry out maintenance without taking the tank out of service because it makes the process quicker and easier for both the user and the terminal itself. In addition, all potential related risks are thus avoided.
In the marine sector, the ESK-IMO Series allows for greater flexibility in maintenance activities, making it possible to empty atmospheric tanks (operating at a pressure of less than 1 bar) in order to service the tank itself or the installed pumps. Moreover, the ESK-IMO pump does not require a large space above the tank – a feature that is compatible with environments normally found below deck – to be extracted from the column.
