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WORLD PUMPS March 2013

10 Product Focus

EcoVizor – the green pump of tomorrow

For EcoVizor, the journey from

idea to product has not been

an easy one. Despite the

great promise of the technology,

early eff orts at making an indus-

trial model based on the mecha-

nism failed. Progress was

continually set back by issues of

reliability and performance. While

the shape of working compo-

nents has remained mostly

unchanged, the housing, seals

and shafts have made a great

transformation.

Modern EcoVizor is not only

better-looking in design but has

much more characteristics than

prototype models. EcoVizor of

today can be equipped with

heating, cooling, monitoring and

automation systems, double

sealing and many other specifi c

solutions for diff erent industries.

After years of development, fi rst

EcoVizor models were ready to be

put to the test in the real world.

Installations in VKG Resins AS,

processing oil shale and chemi-

cals, took place at 2007. EcoVizor

was tasked with replacing internal

and external gear pumps used in

manufacturing epoxy resin. While

seemingly simple at fi rst, fi nding a

technical solution suitable for the

specifi cs of the production

process turned out to be quite a

challenge for the EcoVizor engi-

neering team.

The diffi culty lied in the variation

of environmental factors

throughout the process – the

In many present applications, longevity and energy effi ciency are much needed but seldom

available. Industries across the world are struggling with downtime and rising cost of energy.

A prototype of modern EcoVizor was born in the end of 1990s in post-soviet Estonia by

Jüri Keikov. EcoVizor of today can be equipped with heating, cooling, monitoring and auto-

mation systems, double sealing and many other specifi c solutions for diff erent industries.

temperatures range from room

temperature to near boiling, and

as various ingredients were added

the pH level and viscosity of the

product changed considerably. In

addition, certain stages of the

process required the pumps to

operate under vacuum conditions.

The initial tests indicated that the

standard design was not quite up

to the task – over time the pumps

would develop occasional small

leaks at the seals, just like the

units the EcoVizor was to replace.

The problem was solved by modi-

fi cation of the seal assembly, and

addition of a separate cooling

system to prevent steam bubbles

from forming at near-boiling

temperatures.

The design improvements turned

into another story of success for

EcoVizor. Not only did the EcoVizor

excel in reliability, it also off ered

energy consumption. In parallel

operation at VKG Resins the EcoV-

izor proved to consume only 38%

of the energy consumed by

internal gear pump, while external

gear pump from manufacturer

consumed 74% of internal gear

pumps consumption.

After early success EcoVizor has

been installed around the world.

Detailed studies from Saint Peters-

burg Vodokanal, which included

operation monitoring and disas-

sembly of EcoVizor fl occulent

pump, show the advantages of

this concept. Remarkable energy

effi ciency was not the only

saving. Comparison with replaced

screw pump indicates reduction

in noise and no signs of wear of

seals, housing or working compo-

nents. Saint Petersburg Vodokanal

calculations show that over fi ve

years, the initial cost of pump,

energy consumption and mainte-

nance is 2.6 times less than total

cost of previously operated screw

pump.

Another example comes from USA.

Everclear Ltd came to EcoVizor

with a simple problem – gear

pumps kept failing at crucial point

prior to production – unloading

used oil and industrial waters from

trucks, requiring regular repairs

that resulted in biweekly shut-

downs, with replacement parts

and labour totalling around

$16,000 per unit in a year.

Switching to EcoVizor solved the

problem – EcoVizor has been

continuously running for more

than a year with no sign of wear,

increasing production capacity and

dropping maintenance costs to

zero.

One of the latest installations is on

a vessel of Gulf Oil Netherlands.

EcoVizor is used to transport bilge

water from the hull of one vessel

to the other. Later the same pump

is reversed to pump this water to

trucks on the pier. Pumping

from fi ve meters below

demonstrates its self-priming and

vacuum capacity.

On a ship with limited space,

compact design with reduced

weight and size is appreciated. Small

size can save a lot of building space

in a structure with dozens of pumps

reducing heating and energy

costs. Compact pumps lead to

smaller motors and thinner wiring.

The pump mechanism comprises

disc-shaped housing (1) with

through hole (2), inner surface of

which (3) has shape of spherical

belt, two shafts (4) positioned at

an angle with respect to each

Prototype model of early EcoVizor pump

WOPU0313_Product focus_EcoVizor 10 28-02-2013 13:27:12

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WORLD PUMPS March 2013

11Product Focus

12

3

9 8

13

7610

6

5

12

4

11

4 13

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2

Naamloos-5 3 20-02-2013 12:30:44

belongs to axle (9) of cruciform and

journal (8) belongs to axle (10). Two

arc-shaped half-sleeves (11) and (12)

of two articulated joints are located

on the shafts perpendicular to their

axles (one sleeve on each shaft) and

represent doubled pistons of four

chambers of said rotor. Capacity of

chamber in direction of pistons’

movement is limited from the side,

opposed to the piston, by the

surface of second doubled piston

(13) that overlaps the said chamber

in the lateral direction. During the

shafts’ movement, each piston of

the rotary-piston group is moving

along the said chamber of the rotor,

changing its capacity twice per

revolution. Direction of forcing fl uid

through the said hole depends on

the direction of rotation of shafts of

rotary-piston group.

www.ecovizor.com

Installed pump at test facility in Estonia Modern EcoVizor pump

A look into the innovative design

other and directed inwards of said

housing, and rotary-piston group

mounted on shafts and located

within of said through hole. Rotor

(5) carries inside four chambers (6)

and kinematically represents a cruci-

form. Chambers of said rotor are

defi ned by two concave surfaces of

rotating (7) and (8) that kinemati-

cally represent journals of articulated

joints of two axles of cruciform (9)

and (10) with shafts. Journal (7)

WOPU0313_Product focus_EcoVizor 11 28-02-2013 13:27:13