Peristaltic pumps have been around for nearly a century and, as with many technologies, these pumps have evolved and improved over time. An area into which much research and development has gone is energy saving, given the importance of energy efficiency on the global agenda.

It is estimated that pumping systems account for more than 20% of the world’s electrical energy demand and, in certain industrial plant operations, they can be responsible for between 25% and 90% of the energy use.

South Africa-headquartered Afromix, a division of AFX Holdings, has designed its products with cost effectiveness and reliability in mind, says internal sales manager Verna Els, who states that the AFX pump uses far less electricity than the product offering of its competitors.

“We can demonstrate measurable savings, including energy savings and maintenance downtime savings of between 30% and 50%, compared with traditional peristaltic hose pump competitors,” she tells Engineering News & Mining Weekly.

Els explains that the AFX pump achieves its energy savings by using a roller design, rather than the traditional shoe design. The roller system eliminates almost all the friction found in the traditional sliding shoe, allowing the pump to run at higher revolutions.

These cost savings shorten the pump’s return on investment and extend the product life, owing to reduced loading.

The energy saving theme has been extended into the company’s agitator product offering.

“Our agitators make use of the latest impeller technologies, which not only reduce power, but also mechanical loading,” states Els.

Afromix is the only agitator supplier with an in-house manufacturing facility in Kariega, Eastern Cape.

The capacity to manufacture locally and in-house enables the company to control its schedules and fast-track the fabrication of custom-built components, should a breakdown occur. Further, quality is kept under close scrutiny.

With more than 30 years’ experience and over 6 000 major installations later, Afromix has supplied some of the biggest agitators and peristaltic pumps in the world.

Its pumps, which can be dry run for extended periods without damage, offer flow rates of between 40 ℓ/h and 150 000 ℓ/h. These pumps are self-priming, fully reversible, highly durable and easy to maintain.

On display at the Afromix stand at Electra Mining Africa will be its range of AFX pumps, pump hoses, folding impeller agitator, sample-sized impellers and a gas dispersion agitator. The gas dispersion agitator on show will consist of a drive, shaft with hub and dispersion blades. The peristaltic pump on display will expose the inner workings of the unit. At the heart of this is the peristaltic hose, which the fluid is transferred in.

Els is excited about returning to Electra Mining Africa this year. “We see this event as an opportunity that will open the doors for us to show up and meet our clients face-to-face. Building relationships with our clients is fundamentally important to Afromix.”