Back to Basics

Choosing Process
Vacuum Pumps
Don Collins
Edwards Ltd.

Vacuum pumps are an integral part of many

industrial facilities. Both processing objectives and
budget constraints must be considered when
selecting a specific pump.

acuum, or sub-atmospheric pressure, is used in a

wide range of chemical processing and manufacturing applications. This article is an introduction to
the main vacuum pump technologies suitable for use in the
chemical process industries (CPI). It offers basic selection
guidance for wet and dry vacuum systems, and discusses
system design, safety issues, and typical applications.

Use of vacuum in chemical processing

A vacuum system can affect every aspect of a process,
such as utility consumption, processing times, quality, safety,
and environmental impact. The benefits of vacuum include:
reduced energy consumption and reduced risk of
heat damage to sensitive products by lowering processing
temperatures
enhanced product quality through impurity removal
safer operating atmospheres through oxygen exclusion
increased yield by shifting reaction equilibrium
simplified product transfer in pneumatic conveying and
lifting.
The design of the vacuum system, including pumps,
piping, controls, and other accessories, is determined by
process parameters and evacuation requirements. Correct
sizing is vital to ensure that the processing objectives, such
as vacuum pressure, pumping speed, and budgets, are met.
Vacuum technologies
CPI vacuum technologies include wet and dry mechanical pumps. Wet technologies require lubrication fluids, such
as oil or water. The lubrication fluid must be changed regularly and disposed of appropriately, as it frequently becomes
contaminated with process fluid.

Dry vacuum pumps do not use any lubricant in the swept

volume. They have a lower environmental impact, require
less maintenance, and are often more reliable than oil-sealed
pumps in the CPI. For these reasons, dry vacuum is used to
pump some of the most aggressive and problematic gases in
a broad range of chemical processes.
Pumps that discharge to atmospheric pressure are
referred to as primary pumps. These may be used alone or
with a secondary pump that creates a higher vacuum or more
pumping speed.

Process Gas Inlet

Cold Guard Ring
Vapor Jet
Cooling for
Body

Ejector Stage

To Backing Condenser
and Primary Pump

Condensed
Fluid
Hot Vapor

Skirt

Pump Fluid
Boiler/Heater

p Figure 1. Vapor boosters require a primary pump and generate medium

to high vacuum.

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Wet vacuum technologies

The traditional wet process vacuum technologies used
in the CPI include vapor boosters, steam ejectors, liquidring pumps, and oil-sealed pumps such as rotary-piston and
rotary-vane types.
Vapor boosters can provide high pumping speeds at very
low pressures of 102 to 105 mbar more economically than
other vacuum technologies.
A vapor booster (Figure 1) is a secondary pump, and
requires initial pumpdown by a primary pump. During
pumpdown, a mechanical primary pump evacuates the vapor
booster to below its critical backing pressure (i.e., the vapor
boosters maximum allowable exhaust pressure, typically
below 1 mbar). The pump fluid is vaporized by the
boiler/heater. As the vapor rises and passes through the coneshaped jet stages, it generates a pressure of about 5 mbar
within the jet assembly. Vapor streams exit the jet assembly
at a high velocity, then condense on the cooled walls of the
jet and ejector stage cones and drain into the base of the
pump for recirculation.
The process gas enters the vapor booster through the
pumps inlet port. A portion of the gas becomes trapped
in the vapor stream leaving the top jet stage. The gas is
compressed as it travels from one stage to the next, and exits
the pump by passing through the ejector stage and into a
backing condenser. The gas is then removed by the backing
pump (i.e., a type of vacuum pump that increases the pressure to an intermediate value or to atmospheric pressure).
The cooled surface of the guard ring above the first jet stage
traps and condenses pump fluid vapor and minimizes its
backstreaming into the vacuum system.
Steam ejectors have three basic parts: a nozzle, a suction
chamber, and a mixing diffuser (Figure 2). A high-pressure
motive fluid (usually steam) passing through the nozzle
entrains low-pressure vapor from the suction chamber and
discharges it at an intermediate pressure to another ejector
or condenser, or to the atmosphere. Unless the process vapor
is the same as the motive fluid, a large amount of effluent is
usually generated. Additional effluent is generated if spray
condensers are used to condense the combined steam and
process vapor between ejectors or at the system exhaust.
Steam ejectors are known for their high reliability and
robustness in arduous and corrosive environments, and
provide rough to medium vacuum with high suction capa-

Vacuum Pressures and Terminology

Rough vacuum: 1,013 to 1 mbar (760 to 1 torr)
Medium vacuum: 1 to 103 mbar (1 to 103 torr)
High vacuum: 103 to 107 mbar (103 to 107 torr)
Ultrahigh vacuum: 107 mbar and below (107 torr)

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bilities. However, they can be very sensitive to variations in

process conditions and pressure, and they tend to suffer from
low thermal efficiency, making them expensive to operate.
A single-stage ejector cannot provide a low enough
vacuum for some processing applications, such as active
pharmaceutical ingredient (API) production and refinery
service. Multistage ejectors with direct or indirect interstage
condensation are an alternative, but these require very large
quantities of steam and cooling water. This makes for high
energy and water bills, and it usually creates a condensate
contaminated with process vapor that requires appropriate,
costly disposal.
Although steam is widely used in the CPI, ejector systems that use fluids other than steam are also available (e.g.,
air ejectors).
Motive Fluid

Nozzle
Suction
Chamber

Mixing Diffuser
(Venturi)

Discharge

p Figure 2. The steam ejector consists of three basic parts: a nozzle, a

suction chamber, and a mixing diffuser.
Suction

Discharge

Impeller

Outlet Port

Inlet Port

Casing
Sealing Ring
Direction of Rotation

p Figure 3. The vertically offset rotor of a liquid-ring pump creates a

piston-like action as the ring rises and falls.

1. Induction

Exhaust Outlet
Inlet

Exhaust Valve
4. Exhaust

2. Isolation

Blade
Stator
Spring

3. Compression

Rotor
Pump Oil in
Oil Reservoir

p Figure 6. A rotary-vane pump has two blades that force gas around a
circular stator; as the rotor turns, the tips of the blades are in contact with
the oil-lubricated stator walls.
p Figure 4. Oil-sealed rotary-piston and rotary-vane pumps draw a
volume of gas into the pump, isolate it in an enclosed chamber, compress it,
then exhaust the gas to create a vacuum.
Splash Filter
Inlet Strainer
Exhaust Valve
and Cover
Hinge Pin

Stator

Cooling
Water Coil

Cam

Drive Shaft
Rotary Piston

p Figure 5. In a rotary-piston pump, the piston moves around a circular

stator on a rotating cam.

Liquid-ring vacuum pumps (LRPs) use water, oil, or

other liquids as a sealing fluid (Figure 3). The vertically offset rotor creates a pumping action (like a piston) as the liquid
ring rises and falls.
LRPs can have compression ratios of up to 10:1 in a
single stage and up to 30:1 in two stages, depending on
the properties of the liquid used. They are available with
capacities up to 50,000 m3/h and pressures down to 33 mbar
(water) or 10 mbar (oil). LRPs may be combined with
dry mechanical booster pumps or steam ejectors for lowpressure operations.
LRPs can handle high vapor temperatures and loads
(i.e., up to a 10C temperature rise in the seal fluid), have

low noise and vibration levels, and can be built in a variety

of materials for wide chemical compatibility.
Traditional once-through LRPs require a large amount of
sealing fluid, which can become contaminated with process
materials, making it difficult or costly to dispose of. Partialrecirculation or total-recirculation systems help to mitigate
this problem. Furthermore, LRPs tend to cavitate when the
seal fluid vapor pressure approaches the system pressure;
this can cause severe damage to the pump.
Oil-sealed rotary-piston and rotary-vane pumps differ slightly in design but operate on the same principle. As
shown in Figure 4, a volume of gas is drawn into the pump
(induction), trapped in an enclosed chamber (isolation),
pushed around the pump (compression), and forced out of
the pump (exhaust).
In a rotary-piston pump, the piston moves around a
circular stator on a rotating, eccentrically mounted cam
(Figure 5). A thin film of oil is maintained between the rotating components for lubrication.
The rotary-vane design consists of an eccentrically
mounted rotor in a cylindrical-bore stator (Figure 6). The
rotor has two blades that slide in opposite slots, and as the
rotor turns, the tips of the blades are in contact with the
oil-lubricated stator walls. These pumps can have one- or
two-stage designs.
Introduced to reduce the costs associated with the disposal of contaminated wastewater from steam ejectors and
liquid-ring pumps, oil-sealed pumps initially were a reliable
and popular alternative. These pumps offer a high ultimate
vacuum to 103 mbar and near-constant volumetric capacity.
However, as environmental standards have become more
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strict around the world, the intensive maintenance associated with oil changes and disposal has become a significant
disadvantage of the technology.
Backstreaming of oil the migration of oil vapor from
the pump back into the process can occur in normal
operation, which can reduce process cleanliness. For this
reason, oil-sealed pumps are usually not the best choice for
chemical processing applications.

Mechanical dry vacuum pump technologies

Modern dry vacuum pumps have nonlubricated, noncontacting mechanical impeller designs; the most common
types are screw, claw, and roots. The key advantage of all
dry pump technologies is that they do not use water or oil for
sealing or lubrication of the vacuum stages. This eliminates
the risk of process contamination and the expense of effluent
disposal. Pumps that are optimized for use in the CPI are
often referred to as chemical dry pumps.
A screw pump consists of a pair of opposed Archimedean-style screws with a small clearance between them that
rotate synchronously at high speed (Figure 7). Gas flows in
an axial direction from the inlet port to the exhaust port. The
latest screw pump designs feature tapered, discrete, variablepitch screw technology.
A claw dry pump has two cylindrical rotors, each with
a deep depression, followed by a protruding claw over one
quadrant (Figure 8). During rotation, the claw enters the
depression in the mating rotor, drawing gas in and through
the pump.
Screw and claw technologies are typically used as primary pumps because they discharge to atmospheric pressure.
Roots pumps are valveless positive-displacement devices
in which two interlocked and synchronized lobed rotors
rotate in opposite directions, moving past each other and the
stator wall with small clearances (Figure 9). Gas is trapped
in front of each lobe and swept around the stator periphery from inlet to outlet. Roots pumps are normally used as
booster pumps, and they are often referred to as mechanical
boosters.

In all mechanical dry pumps, the internal temperature

profile is crucial. A smooth and gradual compression ensures
that the process gas is maintained in the vapor stage without
risk of corrosion due to condensation, or polymerization,
auto-ignition, and other effects of excess heat (Figure 10).
Dry pump systems typically have higher capital costs than
equivalent wet vacuum systems, but are usually significantly
less expensive to operate and maintain than wet pumps.
They are often the most cost-effective option in terms of
overall cost of ownership. Table 1 compares the relative cost
of ownership for dry and wet vacuum pumps for some typical applications.

Vacuum technology selection

Table 2 summarizes the key advantages and limitations of each of the vacuum technologies. When selecting
a vacuum pump for a specific application, first consider the
required vacuum pressure and flowrate to determine which
technology is likely to be the best choice, and what size
pump is required.
Claw Rotor

Exhaust
Inlet

p Figure 8. Claw pumps consist of two cylindrical rotors, each with a deep
depression, followed by a protruding claw over one quadrant.

Exhaust

Inlet

Gas is P

umped

in this D

irection

p Figure 7. The heart of a screw pump is a pair of opposed synchronously

rotating Archimedean-style screws with a small clearance between them.

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Compression

p Figure 9. Roots pumps have two lobed rotors that rotate and trap air
within the pockets surrounding the lobes.

 For large flows (approximately 3,00050,000 m3/h) of

incondensable vapors above 50 mbar, the most economical
choice is typically an LRP (or multiple pumps in parallel),
especially if contamination is not an issue.

Evaporation

Pressure

Pump Too Cold

Condensation

Optimal Operating
Range

Pump Too Hot

Polymerization
Auto-Ignition
Reduced Bearing Life
Risk of Seizures

Temperature

p Figure 10. Mechanical dry pumps should have a temperature-pressure

profile that is not too cold or too hot to reduce the risk of condensation (and
subsequent corrosion), polymerization, auto-ignition, and pump failures.

For flows less than about 3,000 m3/h between 10 and

50 mbar, a dry pump is likely to be the best choice, especially if exotic materials are needed for wetted parts or if
effluent generation is an issue. Although LRPs and steam
ejectors can be considered for this sort of application, a dry
pump will almost always have a lower cost of ownership
than an LRP, whether the latter is a once-through system, or
uses full or partial recirculation.
Between 0.1 and 20 mbar, use either a dry pump or a
steam ejector (if steam is available). Between 0.0001 and
0.1 mbar, combinations of vapor and mechanical boosters
with steam ejectors and dry vacuum pumps are likely to be
the optimal choice.
Multiple vacuum pumps may be used to achieve a
desired processing objective. A multistage vacuum system
may consist of all wet pumps, all dry pumps, or a combination of both. Figure 11 indicates how a multistage vacuum
system is likely to be configured wet or dry or both
according to the process pressure and capacity required.
Article continues on next page

Table 1. Mechanical dry pumps are cheaper to run and maintain than wet pumps,
and therefore have a lower overall cost of ownership in most CPI applications.
Chemical
Dry Pump

Mechanical
Booster

RotaryPiston Pump

Rotary-Vane
Pump

Liquid-Ring
Pump
XX

Steam
Ejector

Distillation, normal

XX

XX

Short path distillation

XX

XX

Molecular distillation

XX

XX

Reactor service

XX

XX

Central vacuum
(flammables and corrosives)

XX

XX

XX

Biofuels

XX

XX

XX

XX

Drying, evaporation,
crystallization, concentration

XX

XX

Gas recovery, recirculation

XX

XX

Absorption, adsorption, desorption

XX

XX

XX

Pervaporation

XX

XX

XX

Solvent recovery

XX

XX

Degassing

XX
XX

XX

XX

XX

Polymers and plastics production

XX

XX

XX

XX

Paints, pigments, coatings

XX

XX

XX

Soaps and detergents production

XX

XX

Oil treatment plants

XX

XX

XX

Dewatering and filtration

Flammable and corrosive gases

XX

XX
X

XX
XX

XX

XX

XX: Preferred technology or in widespread use

X: Some applications
Lowest cost
of ownership

High cost of
ownership

Highest cost
of ownership

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Table 2. Each type of vacuum pump has its own advantages and limitations
that make it suitable for specific processing conditions.
Advantages
Vapor Boosters

Wet

Steam Ejectors

Limitations

Generate low pressures and high pumping speeds

Tolerant of dust and dirt

Require initial pumpdown and continuous

backing from a primary pump

No moving parts; highly reliable

Cannot discharge to the atmosphere

Easy maintenance, low capital cost

Risk of contamination due to backstreaming

Multistage combinations offer large capacity and high Single stage provides only low vacuum pressure
vacuum capabilities
Large amount of effluent generated that requires
No moving parts; reliable, and simple to operate and costly disposal
maintain
Large quantities of steam and cooling water are necMotive fluid can vary from steam to air or liquids

essary for multistage combinations

Available in a wide variety of materials

High sensitivity to variations in process

conditions and temperature

Tolerant of liquid and solid slugs

Liquid-Ring Pumps
(LRPs)

Used in combination with LRP or dry pump in multistage system

Low thermal efficiency

Large capacity range

May require large amounts of cooling water

Simple construction

Costly disposal of sealing fluid

Very tolerant of process upsets

Risk of cavitation when the seal fluid vapor pressure

approaches the system pressure

Wide range of materials of construction

High operating costs

Low noise and vibration

Oil-Sealed Pumps

Screw and Claw

Vacuum Pumps

Constant volumetric capacity

High operating and maintenance costs

Lowest power requirements

Costly disposal after oil changes

Relatively low capital cost

Risk of oil backstreaming into the process

High operating vacuum capability, not limited by

cooling water temperature

Risk of condensation or polymerization and

auto-ignition if the temperature profile is too low or
too high

Process gases are maintained in the vapor phase to

allow optimum exhaust vapor recovery and prevent
corrosion

High capital costs

Cold seizures from solids buildup

No effluent generation
Dry

Safe pumping of flammable mixtures and

corrosives
High thermal and mechanical efficiencies
Roots Vacuum
Boosters

High vacuum and volumetric capacities

Multistage combinations with wet or dry
backing pumps

Risk of condensation or polymerization and

auto-ignition if the temperature profile is too low or
too high

Widely available materials of construction

Require backing from a primary pump

Reliable and proven, easy maintenance

Low capital cost

After the vacuum pump is chosen, the system, including piping, accessories, and control equipment, must be
designed, and the capital costs and costs of ownership must
be analyzed.

Safety concerns
Flammability must be taken into account when sizing
and specifying vacuum pumps. Steam ejectors, LRPs, and
mechanical dry pumps have no internal sources of ignition
in normal operation. However, they are often required to
pump potentially explosive vapors, and it is necessary to
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consider the possibility of ignition sources resulting from a

pump failure or process leak. A proper safety strategy should
include the following steps:
1. Identify explosive atmospheres. First understand where
an explosive atmosphere may occur and where an ignition
might take place. Consider the external atmosphere surrounding the pump and the internal atmosphere within the
pump, including the process interface to the inlet flange of
the vacuum pump, and the area from the inlet flange on the
vacuum pump to the exhaust interface.
2. Avoid explosive atmospheres. Operation outside the

Capacity, m/h

50,000
Dry+Wet

Wet+Wet

Dry+Dry

Wet+Dry

3,000

0.001

50

1,013

Pressure, mbarA

p Figure 11. Single- or multistage vacuum pump systems should be

chosen based on the desired flowrate and pressure drop.

flammable range ensures that even if an ignition source is

present there will not be an explosion.
3. Eliminate both spark- and auto-ignition sources.
Auto-ignition can be avoided by configuring the pump correctly, but it is impossible to eliminate all potential sources
of spark ignition in a dry mechanical pump. Like other
mechanical, rotating equipment, dry pumps contain bearings
that can fail and cause spark ignition. Debris such as built-up
solids could also lead to hot spots. Therefore, if pumping in
the flammable zone is unavoidable, take steps to minimize
potential spark ignition sources through good pump design,
operation, and maintenance practices.
4. Limit the effects of an explosion should one occur. If,
despite these precautions, an ignition does occur, it is important that it not cause a major incident or damage. Flame
arresters extinguish open flame, and must be tested with the
pumps to prove their performance.

System design
System design is the final step to ensure that mechanical, electrical, and regulatory standards are met. A complete
design may include accessories such as sensors, filters,
condensers, receivers, knock-out pots, separators, flame
arresters, silencers, skids, valves, and control systems.
The system must be designed to meet processing objectives, but also have the flexibility to cope with process
upsets. The mechanical design of a vacuum pump system
should focus on three basic functions:
integrity compliance to minimize air leakage
dimensional and material compliance to satisfy regulatory and safety standards
functionality to ensure that the system has minimal
pressure drops and has a sufficient life span.
Cost of ownership
The total cost of ownership includes the capital, installation, operating, and maintenance costs. The final choice of
a vacuum system should be based on cost of ownership and

payback period (typically one to three years).

Dry pumps offer the best thermal efficiency of any CPI
vacuum-producing system. Not only does a dry (and LRP)
system use significantly less energy when it is running, but,
unlike a steam ejector, it can be switched off between cycles
so that it uses no energy at all when it is not required. Inverters can also be installed to minimize power usage in standby
mode. Reduced power consumption results in a lower carbon footprint and environmental impact.
A dry vacuum pumps operating costs can be significantly lower than those of a liquid-ring pump system, and
can be up to 90% less than those of a steam ejector equivalent. Even when the higher capital cost of a dry pump system
is taken into account, the lower cost of ownership of the dry
system means that it often pays for itself very quickly.
Table 3 compares the operating costs of a mechanical dry
pump and a steam ejector.

Typical Applications
Steam ejectors for refinery service. Crude oil distillation columns have a high vapor load, typically around
15,000 kg/h of water vapor and condensable hydrocarbons,
and a noncondensable load of 1020 torr. Because a single
mechanical dry vacuum pump or LRP is not able to accommodate a vapor flow this large, a steam ejector is the best
choice to create vacuum in this application. Steam is readily
available in oil refineries, so the extra cost associated with
steam generation is low. Steam ejector systems have no
Table 3. Although dry pumps have higher initial costs, wet
vacuum pumps are typically more expensive to operate.

Steam flowrate, kg/h

Steam cost at $0.03/kg, $/yr
Cooling water flowrate,

m3/h

Water cost at $0.04/m3, $/yr

Effluent treatment flowrate,

m3/h

Treatment cost at $1.23/m3, $/yr

Nitrogen flowrate,

m3/h

Nitrogen cost at $0.14/m3, $/yr

Power use, kW
Power cost at $0.08/kWh, $/yr
Total utility cost, $/yr
Maintenance cost, $/yr
Yearly operating cost, $/yr

Steam
Ejector

Dry Pump

180

4,320

30

0.3

9,600

96

0.18

1,771

1.00

1,120

7.8

4,992

15,691

6,208

375

750

16,066

6,958

Dry system operating cost savings*, $/yr

9,108

*Based on 8,000 h/yr operation

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moving parts and are capable of operating for 10 to 15 years

with little maintenance.
Liquid-ring pump for viscous material. A chemical
company requires a vacuum pump with high pumping speed
and rough vacuum to transport highly viscous material
to an evaporator. The system requires discharge at high
backpressures. A liquid-ring pump system, configured for
total recirculation, with a solvent that is already being used
elsewhere in the plant as the seal fluid, would be a suitable
choice. By using a low-vapor-pressure solvent instead of
water, cavitation problems can be avoided.
Reverse-claw dry vacuum pump for caustic chemicals.
A manufacturer of agricultural chemicals needs to transport
caustic chemicals such as phosphorus oxychloride, thionyl
chloride, and hydrogen chloride. Using existing LRPs would
require an expensive upstream scrubber which would
increase operating costs significantly. Instead, a reverseclaw dry vacuum pump operating above the dewpoint of the
vapor allows the vapors to be pumped without condensing
internally during compression, thus avoiding corrosion.
Dry screw vacuum pump. A specialty polymer manufacturer needs a vacuum pump system that can withstand
a wide range of process media and service conditions. A
variable-pitch, indirectly cooled, 1,000-m3/h dry screw
vacuum pump with integral temperature control meets this
need. It can be fitted with flame arresters at the inlet and outlet so that the system can operate safely and reliably under
any process media composition, even if it was potentially
corrosive, flammable, or sticky.

Closing thoughts
Although vacuum systems represent a small part of any
chemical or pharmaceutical processing plant, their role is
significant to the products quality and consistency, and to
the cost-efficiency of the process. Processing objectives,
equipment sizing, and system design must be carefully considered before a vacuum pump can be purchased, and expert
guidance is essential throughout this process. The optimal
vacuum system is typically dictated by the total cost of ownership; to select a vacuum system on the basis of capital cost
alone is a mistake.
Dr. Don Collins is the Market Development Manager for the chemical
and pharmaceutical dry pump section at Edwards Ltd., headquartered
in the U.K. He is responsible for Edwards global chemical dry pump
applications engineering and for identifying value-added vacuum
solutions to help expand the companys chemical dry pump business.
He has designed thousands of successful vacuum systems installed in
many countries. Before joining Edwards in 1995, he worked with several
major companies and gained experience in research and development,
business development, mathematical modeling and plant simulation, design, optimization, and troubleshooting. He earned his PhD in
mathematical modeling and process control from the Dorset Institute
of Technology, now Bournemouth Univ., while working for Davy McKee
(Poole) Ltd.

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