Pumps

Pumps are a way to move matter (usually fluid).  They can be characterized by how powerful they are (i.e to what height- or head- they can pump to), how efficiently the convert input energy into potential energy, and how gentle they are  on microbial life.  

 

Direct lift devices

 

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  Pump type	Example	Maximum lift height	Efficiency	Output	Microbial Destruction	Material requirements	Difficulty of production
  Continuous bucket pump	Â	5m-50m	medium	low-medium	Negligible	 ?	traditional
  Reciprocating bucket hoist	Â	100m-500m	medium	medium-high	Negligible	 ?	industrial
  Rope & bucket	Â	5m-50m	very low	very low	Negligible	 ?	basic
  Swing basket	Â	>1m	very low	low-medium	Negligible	 ?	basic
  Waterwheels	Â	>5m	low-medium	low-medium	Negligible	 ?	traditional

 

Displacement pumps

Displacement pumps physically move a set amount of water for a given turn of the input shaft.  There is a lot of physical contact between surfaces which destroy microorganisms.

Pump type	Example	Maximum lift height	Efficiency	Output	Microbial Destruction	Material requirements	Difficulty of production
Archimedean screw	Â	>2m	medium	medium-high	Negligible	 Wood, pipe	industrial
Chain (or rope) and washer pump	Â	3m-20m	medium-high	medium	Negligible	 Rope, pipe	traditional
Coil pump and spiral pump	Â	>6m	medium	low-medium	 ?	 ?	traditional
Diaphragm pump	A diaphram membrane squeezes water through two flexible layers. Check valves are located at the in and out of the pump.The diaphragm never collapses totally; hence, not crushing microorganisms.    This pump is used for compost teas and general aquaponic use.	5m-10m	medium-high	medium	 ?	 Membrane	industrial
Flash wheel and treadmill	Â	low-medium	medium-high	 ?	 ?	 ?	traditional/industrial
Flexible vane pump	Â	10m-20m	medium	medium	 ?	 ?	industrial
Gas displacement pump	Â	5m-50m	medium	medium-high	 ?	 ?	industrial
Gear and lobe pump	Â	10m-20m	low-medium	very low	 ?	 ?	industrial
Open screw pump	Â	>6m	medium-high	medium-high	 ?	 ?	industrial
Peristaltic pump	Â	>3m	medium	very low	 ?	 ?	industrial
Porous rope	Â	3m-10m	 ?	low-medium	 ?	 ?	industrial
Progressive cavity pump	Â	10m-100m	medium-high	medium	 ?	 ?	industrial
Piston pump, bucket pump	Â	2m-200m	high	medium	 ?	 ?	traditional/industrial
Plunger pump	Â	100m-500m	medium-high	low-medium	 ?	 ?	traditional
Pulser Pump	Â	1-300m	low	low-medium	Â	 ?	traditional
Semi-rotary pump	Â	5m-10m	low-medium	low-medium	 ?	 ?	industrial

 

 

Velocity pumps

These pumps typically have an impeller that blends the water by drawing in the water through the center and by centrifugal force, whipping out the side.  The rotation of the pump shaft does not equal to a measureable amount of water pumped. This is used in aquariums, hot tubs, pool pumps and etc....  It destroys microorganisms in hours.  Each time water passes the blades, it's chopped up into bits.  

For an example, a 10 gpm pump will go through a 100 gallon tank in 10 minutes.  It runs all day pumping the water through 144 times.  Bacteria cannot reproduce to replace what is destroyed by the pump. This is one of the reasons it takes forever to cycle a salt water aquarium.

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  Pump type	Example	Maximum lift height	Efficiency	Output	Microbial Destruction	Material requirements	Difficulty of production
  Centrifugal pump	Â	10m-30m	medium	medium	 ?	 ?	industrial
  Centrifugal (turbine) pump	Â	3m-200m	medium-high	high	 ?	 ?	industrial
  Flap valve pump	Â	2m-4m	low-medium	very low	 ?	 ?	basic/traditional
  Inertia pump, joggle pump	Â	2m-4m	medium-high	low-medium	 ?	 ?	traditional, industrial
  Jet pump (water, air or stream)	Â	2m-20m	low-medium	low-medium	 ?	 ?	industrial
  Mixed flow pump	Â	2m-10m	medium-high	high	 ?	 ?	industrial
  Propeller (axial flow) pump	Â	5m-30m	medium-high	high	 ?	 ?	industrial



• Biological pumps


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                  Pump type	Example	Maximum lift height	Efficiency	Output	Microbial Destruction	Material requirements	Difficulty of production
  Cardiac	The vertebrate cardiac system is the obvious example. The heart is actually a diaphragm pump.	Â	Â	Â	Â	?	Â
  Lymphatic system	The lymphatic system is an extensive vessel network featuring one-way valves and contractile walls that pump interstitial fluid, proteins, and immune cells through lymph nodes and then back to the blood circulation.	Â	Â	Â	Â	?	Â
  Xylem	Plants use capillary action to move fluids (water with nutrient solutes) via the xylem vessels to great heights in some cases. The motive force is transpiration from the leaf structures as well as pressure from the roots.Â	Â	Â	Â	Â	?	Â

 

Other

 

Pump type	Example	Maximum lift height	Efficiency	Output	Size of device	Fabrication requirements	Difficulty of production
Air lift	This is a gravel filter in aquariums.  It's a very non-positive displacement pump.  An air stone or just a hose end has forced air blown out into water.  Bubbles rise and create a draft of water while the on their way up to the surface.  A glass chimney is placed around the air stone which helps bring water from the bottom to the top of the tank. Few bacterium and microorganisms are lost with this method. Below is a picture of an air stone in the center of a chimney.  Water is being moved from the bottom of the tank to the top.  At the same time, the water is being aerated. This type of pump is not good for filtering water.  It is very weak but is good for moving water around in the tank.  This imitates water movement around in the ocean.  In the ocean there are no pumps, just waves.	5m-50m	low-medium	medium	 ?	 ?	industrial
Stirling Pump	Â	Â	Â	Â	Â	Â	Â
Magnetohydrodynamic	Â	Â	Â	Â	Â	Â	Â

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