This article's lead sectionmay be too short to adequately summarize the key points. Please consider expanding the lead to provide an accessible overview of all important aspects of the article.(November 2012)
An airlift pump is a pump that has low suction and moderate discharge of liquid and entrained solids. The pump injects compressed air at the bottom of the discharge pipe which is immersed in the liquid. The compressed air mixes with the liquid causing the air-water mixture to be less dense than the rest of the liquid around it and therefore is displaced upwards through the discharge pipe by the surrounding liquid of higher density. Solids may be entrained in the flow and if small enough to fit through the pipe, will be discharged with the rest of the flow at a shallower depth or above the surface. Airlift pumps are widely used in aquaculture to pump, circulate and aerate water in closed, recirculating systems and ponds. Other applications include dredging, underwater archaeology, salvage operations and collection of scientific specimens.
An airlift pump, powered by compressed air, raises fluid by entraining gas to reduce its density. 1. air supply 2. liquid supply 3. air inlet port 4. air supply line 5. air port 6. air outlet 7. fluid intake 8. riser tube 9. air liquid mixture 10. pump outlet L: liquid, usually wastewater LL: liquid level V: Vessel G: Gravel or solids.
The only energy required is provided by compressed air.[1] This air is usually compressed by a compressor or a blower. The air is injected in the lower part of a pipe that transports a liquid. By buoyancy the air, which has a lower density than the liquid, rises quickly. By fluid pressure, the liquid is taken in the ascendant air flow and moves in the same direction as the air. The calculation of the volume flow of the liquid is possible thanks to the physics of two-phase flow.
Use
Airlift pumps are often used in deep dirty wells where sand would quickly abrade mechanical parts. (The compressor is on the surface and no mechanical parts are needed in the well). However airlift wells must be much deeper than the water table to allow for submergence. Air is generally pumped at least as deep under the water as the water is to be lifted. (If the water table is 50 ft below, the air should be pumped 100 feet deep). It is also sometimes used in part of the process on a wastewater treatment plant if a small head is required (typically around 1 foot head).
In an aquarium an airlift pump is sometimes used to pump water to a filter.
In a coffee percolator the airlift principle is used to circulate the coffee.
Inventor
The first airlift pump is considered to be invented by the German engineer Carl Emanuel Löscher [de] in 1797.
Advantages and disadvantages
Advantages
The pump is very reliable. The very simple principle is a clear advantage. Only air with a higher pressure than the liquid is required.
The liquid is not in contact with any mechanical elements. Therefore, neither the pump can be abraded (which is important for sandwater wells), nor the contents in the pipe (which is important for archeological research in the sea).
Act as a water aerator and can in some configurations lift stagnant bottom water to the surface (of water tanks).
Since there are no restrictive pump parts, solids up to 70% of the pipe diameter can be reliably pumped.
Disadvantages
Cost: while in some specific cases the operational cost can be manageable, most of the time the quantity of compressed air, and thus the energy required, is high compared to the liquid flow produced.[3][4]
Conventional airlift pumps have a flow rate that is very limited. The pump is either on or off. It is very difficult to get a wide range of proportional flow control by varying the volume of compressed air. This is a dramatic disadvantage in some parts of a small wastewater treatment plant, such as the aerator.[5]
the suction is limited.
this pumping system is suitable only if the head is relatively low. If one wants to obtain a high head, one has to choose a conventional pumping system.
because of the principle, air (oxygen) dissolves in the liquid. In certain cases, this can be problematic, as, for example, in a waste water treatment plant, before an anaerobic basin.
Movement of the liquide by injection of compressed air for micro-organism cultivation in the CiYOU, bioreactor from Biorea
Design improvements
A geyser pump, an improved airlift pump, powered by compressed air, raises fluid by forcing rising bubbles to displace fluid. 50. air supply 52. air inlet port 58. liquid supply 60,62. air supply lines 64. upper end of air tank 86 66,82. air ports 70. upper air inlet of u-shaped elbow 74 76 air outlet 84. fluid intake 65. riser tube 88. displaced liquid 90. pump outlet L: liquid, usually wastewater LL: liquid level VVV: vessel G: gravel or solids
A recent (2007) variant called the "geyser pump" can pump with greater suction and less air. It also pumps proportionally to the air flow, permitting use in processes that require varying controlled flows. It arranges to store up the air, and release it in large bubbles that seal to the lift pipe, raising slugs of fluid.[6]
Airlift pump (left) compared to geyser pump (right)
See also
Airlift (dredging device) – Dredging device using injected air to move water and entrained load up a pipe
Gas lift – Raising a fluid by introducing bubbles of gas into the outlet tube
^"Water lifting devices". Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
^ abCahoon, LB; Lindquist, DG; Clavijo, IE; Tronzo, CR (1992). "Sampling small invertebrates at the sediment-water interface". In: Cahoon, LB. (Ed.) Proceedings of the American Academy of Underwater Sciences Twelfth Annual Scientific Diving Symposium "Diving for Science 1992". Held September 24–27, 1992 at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, Wilmington, NC. American Academy of Underwater Sciences. Archived from the original on July 5, 2013. Retrieved 2013-04-05.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
^(PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2006-10-22. (1.86 MB)
^New Pump Technology May Improve Small Flows, WVU NCSFC Clearinghouse 2010-12-02 at the Wayback Machine Accessed 2011-3-21
^Patent Application number: 11/654,448 2014-10-20 at the Wayback Machine, January 17, 2007, Inventor: Masao Kondo
Sources
(PDF). sanitaire.com. 2012-01-05. Archived from the original on 2012-01-05. Retrieved 2022-06-25.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
Recovered airlift_basic_calculation.xls via Waybackmachine. Mirrored at filedropper dot com /airliftbasiccalculation.
December 27, 2022
airlift, pump, this, article, multiple, issues, please, help, improve, discuss, these, issues, talk, page, learn, when, remove, these, template, messages, this, article, lead, section, short, adequately, summarize, points, please, consider, expanding, lead, pr. This article has multiple issues Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page Learn how and when to remove these template messages This article s lead section may be too short to adequately summarize the key points Please consider expanding the lead to provide an accessible overview of all important aspects of the article November 2012 This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Airlift pump news newspapers books scholar JSTOR March 2009 Learn how and when to remove this template message Learn how and when to remove this template message An airlift pump is a pump that has low suction and moderate discharge of liquid and entrained solids The pump injects compressed air at the bottom of the discharge pipe which is immersed in the liquid The compressed air mixes with the liquid causing the air water mixture to be less dense than the rest of the liquid around it and therefore is displaced upwards through the discharge pipe by the surrounding liquid of higher density Solids may be entrained in the flow and if small enough to fit through the pipe will be discharged with the rest of the flow at a shallower depth or above the surface Airlift pumps are widely used in aquaculture to pump circulate and aerate water in closed recirculating systems and ponds Other applications include dredging underwater archaeology salvage operations and collection of scientific specimens An airlift pump powered by compressed air raises fluid by entraining gas to reduce its density 1 air supply2 liquid supply3 air inlet port4 air supply line5 air port6 air outlet7 fluid intake8 riser tube9 air liquid mixture10 pump outletL liquid usually wastewaterLL liquid levelV VesselG Gravel or solids Contents 1 Principle 2 Use 3 Inventor 4 Advantages and disadvantages 4 1 Advantages 4 2 Disadvantages 4 3 Design improvements 5 See also 6 References 7 SourcesPrinciple EditThe only energy required is provided by compressed air 1 This air is usually compressed by a compressor or a blower The air is injected in the lower part of a pipe that transports a liquid By buoyancy the air which has a lower density than the liquid rises quickly By fluid pressure the liquid is taken in the ascendant air flow and moves in the same direction as the air The calculation of the volume flow of the liquid is possible thanks to the physics of two phase flow Use EditAirlift pumps are often used in deep dirty wells where sand would quickly abrade mechanical parts The compressor is on the surface and no mechanical parts are needed in the well However airlift wells must be much deeper than the water table to allow for submergence Air is generally pumped at least as deep under the water as the water is to be lifted If the water table is 50 ft below the air should be pumped 100 feet deep It is also sometimes used in part of the process on a wastewater treatment plant if a small head is required typically around 1 foot head Airlifts are used to collect fauna samples from sediment 2 Airlifts can oversample zooplankton and meiofauna but undersample animals that exhibit an escape response 2 In an aquarium an airlift pump is sometimes used to pump water to a filter In a coffee percolator the airlift principle is used to circulate the coffee Inventor EditThe first airlift pump is considered to be invented by the German engineer Carl Emanuel Loscher de in 1797 Advantages and disadvantages EditAdvantages Edit The pump is very reliable The very simple principle is a clear advantage Only air with a higher pressure than the liquid is required The liquid is not in contact with any mechanical elements Therefore neither the pump can be abraded which is important for sandwater wells nor the contents in the pipe which is important for archeological research in the sea Act as a water aerator and can in some configurations lift stagnant bottom water to the surface of water tanks Since there are no restrictive pump parts solids up to 70 of the pipe diameter can be reliably pumped Disadvantages Edit Cost while in some specific cases the operational cost can be manageable most of the time the quantity of compressed air and thus the energy required is high compared to the liquid flow produced 3 4 Conventional airlift pumps have a flow rate that is very limited The pump is either on or off It is very difficult to get a wide range of proportional flow control by varying the volume of compressed air This is a dramatic disadvantage in some parts of a small wastewater treatment plant such as the aerator 5 the suction is limited this pumping system is suitable only if the head is relatively low If one wants to obtain a high head one has to choose a conventional pumping system because of the principle air oxygen dissolves in the liquid In certain cases this can be problematic as for example in a waste water treatment plant before an anaerobic basin Movement of the liquide by injection of compressed air for micro organism cultivation in the CiYOU bioreactor from Biorea Design improvements Edit A geyser pump an improved airlift pump powered by compressed air raises fluid by forcing rising bubbles to displace fluid 50 air supply52 air inlet port58 liquid supply60 62 air supply lines64 upper end of air tank 8666 82 air ports70 upper air inlet of u shaped elbow 7476 air outlet84 fluid intake65 riser tube88 displaced liquid90 pump outletL liquid usually wastewaterLL liquid levelVVV vesselG gravel or solids A recent 2007 variant called the geyser pump can pump with greater suction and less air It also pumps proportionally to the air flow permitting use in processes that require varying controlled flows It arranges to store up the air and release it in large bubbles that seal to the lift pipe raising slugs of fluid 6 Airlift pump left compared to geyser pump right See also EditAirlift dredging device Dredging device using injected air to move water and entrained load up a pipe Gas lift Raising a fluid by introducing bubbles of gas into the outlet tube Pipe network analysis Pulser pump Water eductorReferences Edit Water lifting devices Food and Agriculture Organization FAO of the United Nations Retrieved 17 April 2021 a b Cahoon LB Lindquist DG Clavijo IE Tronzo CR 1992 Sampling small invertebrates at the sediment water interface In Cahoon LB Ed Proceedings of the American Academy of Underwater Sciences Twelfth Annual Scientific Diving Symposium Diving for Science 1992 Held September 24 27 1992 at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington Wilmington NC American Academy of Underwater Sciences Archived from the original on July 5 2013 Retrieved 2013 04 05 a href Template Cite journal html title Template Cite journal cite journal a CS1 maint unfit URL link Air quantity calculation PDF Archived from the original PDF on 2006 10 22 1 86 MB Airlift basic calculation Archived 2011 07 07 at the Wayback Machine New Pump Technology May Improve Small Flows WVU NCSFC Clearinghouse Archived 2010 12 02 at the Wayback Machine Accessed 2011 3 21 Patent Application number 11 654 448 Archived 2014 10 20 at the Wayback Machine January 17 2007 Inventor Masao KondoSources Edit Airlift calculation by Sanitaire pdf document PDF sanitaire com 2012 01 05 Archived from the original on 2012 01 05 Retrieved 2022 06 25 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint unfit URL link Recovered airlift basic calculation xls via Waybackmachine Mirrored at filedropper dot com airliftbasiccalculation Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Airlift pump amp oldid 1119481501, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
