Air Water is stepping up its sales activities of vertical centrifugal pumps for cryogenic gases developed by its own technologies to be used in the domestic LNG satellite bases. Air Water developed a new centrifugal pump named “VCP 1000” with enhanced durability and sealing property of vertical dual (air/liquid) chamber structure to be used for the transportation of liquefied cryogenic gases like LO2, LN2, argon and LNG. The pump has been marketed for application including separated gas tank-trucks, LNG lorries and plant process such as cryogenic air separation process. As a result of the active approach to LNG satellite stations since last autumn, they decided to adopt the pump this year.

Most of the conventional pumps are of submerge type in which the bearing is submerged into a liquefied gas. Therefore, the life of bearing naturally becomes shorter, causing an incompatible timing of maintenance intervals with other equipment for an independent maintenance only for pumps. However, Air Water’s new pump has a motor equipped on top in order to avoid exposure to a low temperature of such friction parts as bearings. It enables extension of a maintenance interval up to 20,000 hours, and contributes to saving of the maintenance and running costs.

Kohji Tanaka, corporate research manager and chief of Sakai Laboratory told that Air Water have received more than fifty inquiries from LNG-related users for their new satellite bases or replacement of their old satellite bases. He expects that the adoption at this time will be able to accelerate adoption by other city gas suppliers.

In future, Air Water will add variation in flow-rate or stroke, and put into market a high working pressure type with CO2 gas specifications.