Chemical transports are one of the largest revenue streams for railroads in the United States. In 2019 close to 972 million tons of chemicals were shipped throughout the country due to their use in a diverse production of other goods. When transferring chemicals via rail car or tanker truck, the average capacity will be around 4,000 gallons, and there will be multiple tanks that need to be filled and emptied throughout transport. Due to the intermittent nature of the operation, self-priming pumps are most efficient option in the industry, as they are able to be started and stopped continuously between rail cars without being primed on start-up.
Here is a custom skid we designed and built that will transfer chemicals from a rail car and batches into tanker trucks. It utilizes a self-priming, 3” Blackmer Magnes pump with durable components that can withstand a variety of hazardous materials. The rotary vane magnetic drive pump with indefinite dry run capabilities is designed to handle dangerous liquids that are difficult to seal.
This pump skid also featured a Nord right angle gearbox, WEG Class 1 Div 2 explosion proof motor, Krones Coriolis flow meter, Dresser electrically actuated valve, IFC basket strainer, and Bitorq ball valves. To control the batch process the system includes a motor starter enclosure, a Scully ground monitor system, a Scully overfill protection system, and a Multiload II operator interface/process control to provide the highest degree of transfer accuracy. All of these components were mounted on a compact skid because the customer needed it to be small enough to be moved via forklift to different loading stations throughout the facility.