Beginner Guide on Industrial Vacuum Pumps and Their Uses

There are multiple reasons why someone might want to know more about what vacuum pumps are, how they work, and what they are used for. Perhaps you are a student looking to learn more about them to finish an essay, or just a company or factory owner wanting to understand why you need to get a vacuum pump in the first place.

Whatever your reason might be, in this article, I’m going to talk about them and simply explain what they are. Of course, if you want more detailed information on the matter, you can always check this article over here.

Their History

Believe it or not, vacuum pumps have been present in our story for a long time, with some pumps appearing as early as the 13th century. A pump could even be used as a weapon on some occasions, with a good example being the greek fire used by the Byzantine empire, which was known for being a rather terrifying weapon that burned hundreds of ships.

Back in the 17th century, although functional versions of a pump existed, the science behind there was not completely understood. With that said, they were able to create vacuum spaces to some extend. The main use of these pumps was to clean drainages, to deal with flooded mines, and for decorative purposes.

The power of these devices was not as strong, though, so they had certain limitations, greatly reducing their capabilities to move liquid in comparison to our current models. Also, they weren’t able to move liquid from certain heights due to the lack of suction power.

Nowadays, there are different versions, models, and types, and they all are capable of performing its purpose without much effort. The idea behind all the types of vacuum pumps is simple, though, and is often linked to creating a vacuum space.

How a Vacuum Space and Suction Power Are Related

Vacuum spaces also referred to as a vacuum chamber, are not only used to produce suction power but for many other things as well, including vacuum-driven machines and outgassing. Since we are talking about pumps, I’ll focus on them.

Pumps are used for two things in general but have many other uses. The main uses are moving liquids, and moving gases. The idea is simple: a vacuum space is referred to as an area that has a lower pressure than atmospheric pressure.

A type of pump known as a positive displacement pump uses this logic to move liquids, and a good example is a manual water pump. Inside of it, a part of the device is used to artificially create this space through physical force, and the pressure difference is what moves fluid through it, and placed in a small cavity inside the device.

This space is often sealed and released into the atmosphere depending on the type of device. In this case, the water pump releases the water from a well or pipe for it to be used.

Of course, this was a rather simple way of explaining it, and its functions are much more complex than that, but you can always check more information about it in this article over here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vacuum#Uses.

Types of Industrial Vacuum Pumps

As it is in the market right now, you can find a gas transfer, kinetic, entrapment, and positive displacement pumps. These are known as pressure industrial vacuum systems, with the kinetic and positive displacement varieties falling under the category of gas transfer pumps.

Then you can find the wet and dry varieties. Wet are the ones that require lubrication and the gas might be exposed to oil or water during the process of compression. Dry, on the other hand, are water and oil-free.

Under this category, you can find centrifugal and liquid ring void varieties, as well as rotatory claw and rotatory screw models. The last model falling under this category is side channel blowers.

Take in mind that these industrial vacuuming systems are often used for very large projects that require a lot of strenght and endurance, thus, can be very expensive depending on the type and brand. Of course, they might be absolutely required to run certain types of businesses, but it depends entirely on the job.