The OptiLobe is an optimized rotary lobe pump that is a cost-effective alternative to Alfa Laval SRU and SX rotary lobe pumps. Designed for standard duties within the food, dairy and beverage industries.
Simplicity of installation, operation, and maintenance are hallmarks of the OptiLobe series, Alfa Laval’s basic rotary lobe pump. Universal mounting with inlet and outlet ports in vertical or horizontal position makes installation very simple. Operation is just as straightforward and reliable, thanks to the robust gearbox construction. Besides that, the fully interchangeable front-loading seals provide fast access for inspection or replacement without pipe work disassembly.
OptiLobe is fully 3-A compliant and EHEDG certified. All product contact components are FDA compliant as well.
Models
- Model 22
- Model 23
- Model 32
- Model 33
- Model 42
- Model 43
Related Industries:
Processed Foods, Dairy, Beverages, Brewery, Home & Personal Care, Chemical
Simplicity at its best
Simplicity of installation, operation and maintenance are hallmarks of the OptiLobe, Alfa Laval’s basic rotary lobe pump. Universal mounting with inlet and outlet ports in vertical or horizontal position makes installation very simple.
Operation is just as straightforward and reliable thanks to the robust gearbox construction. Fully interchangeable front-loading seals provide fast access for inspection or replacement without pipe work disassembly.
Solid product quality
The OptiLobe offers reliable fluid transfer and gentle product handling in combination with low pulsation, low shear and low noise characteristics. The pump is suitable for most general application as well as for Cleaning-in-Place.
Low total cost of ownership
The OptiLobe not only reduces your initial capital investment but also reduces total cost of ownership. The simple, robust low maintenance design provides quick return on investment.
Robust construction
The OptiLobe features a robust gearbox construction with heavy-duty shafts, torque locking assemblies and taper roller bearings throughout. This delivers reliable operation and reduces maintenance.
APPLICATIONS
The SRU range of rotary lobe pumps has been designed for use on a wide range of applications within the brewing, dairy, food, pharmaceutical, and chemical industries. The SRU pump can handle low to high viscosity media, is suitable for CIP and SIP, and conforms to 3-A sanitary standards. The characteristic smooth, low-shear pumping action is ideal for products such as creams, gels, emulsions, aerated mixtures, delicate cells, and organic solids in suspension.
The SRU range is compact in size and highly efficient, capable of flow rates up to 466 gpm and pressures up to 290 psig. The new, improved modular design provides for greater application flexibility and cost-effective easy maintenance.
STANDARD DESIGN
The SRU pump, with its conventional lobe pump design concept, has a robust cast iron gearbox, which provides maximum shaft rigidity and easy oil seal replacement. The SRU range in series 1 – 4 has a universal gearbox design. This offers flexibility when mounting pumps, allowing the inlet and outlet ports to be in either a vertical or horizontal plane by changing the foot position. The SRU range in series 5 & 6 has dedicated gearbox castings, which also allows the inlet and outlet ports to be in either the vertical or horizontal plane. A quality epoxy paint system is used on the gearbox exterior for optimum protection against natural and corrosive elements.
PUMPHEAD CONSTRUCTION
The SRU, in standard specification, has sanitary design full-bore inlet and outlet ports to International Standards, maximizing inlet and outlet port efficiency and NPSH characteristics. Enlarged diameter and rectangular ports are also available to handle very high viscosity products.
The SRU, in standard specification, has tri-lobe rotors with the option of bi-lobe rotors for handling fluids containing large delicate solids. All rotors are available in three temperature ratings allowing the pump to be operated at maximum process temperatures of 158°F, 266°F, and 392°F for both fluid-pumped and CIP.
PUMP SIZING
To correctly size a rotary lobe pump some essential information is required. Provision of the information listed below enables our customer support personnel to determine the optimum pump selection:
- Fluid to be pumped
- Viscosity
- SG/Density
- Pumping temperature — minimum, normal, and maximum
- CIP temperature(s) — minimum, normal, and maximum
WORKING PRINCIPLE
The positive displacement of the SRU pump is provided by non-contacting, contra-rotating tri-lobe or bi-lobe rotors within a fully swept pump chamber. All SRU pumps are capable of bi-rotational flow without modification.
MATERIALS
MAXIMUM SOLID SIZE CAPABILITY
WEIGHT
Operating principle
A gear train in the pump gearbox drives the rotors and provides accurate synchronization of the tri-lobe rotors.
The movement of the counter rotating rotors creates a partial vacuum that allows atmospheric pressure or other external pressures to force fluid into the pump chamber. As the rotors revolve, an expanding cavity forms, filling with fluid. As the blades disengage, each dwell forms a cavity. As the rotor blades engage, the cavity diminishes and fluid is, displaced into the outlet port.
Construction
Alfa Laval rotary lobe pumps are positive displacement pumps with rotor case, rotor case cover, rotors, rotor nuts, shafts, gearbox and shaft seals and elastomers. The pumps operate with no internal contacting parts in the pump head.
The OptiLobe can be supplied either as a bare shaft pump or mounted on a base plate complete with coupling, guard, gear motor and shroud for easy plug-and-play installation.
The standard materials of construction are 316L stainless steel for all wetted parts, all stainless steel exterior and EPDM for all product-wetted elastomers. EasyFit shaft seals are fully front loading and fully interchangeable.
In addition, Alfa Laval manufactures all pump parts, including the rotor case and high-precision rotors. This facilitates maintenance and results in full interchange ability of spare parts.
Pump range
OptiLobe rotary lobe pumps are available with six different pump head displacements based upon 3 different gearbox modules., flow rates up to 48 m3/h, differential pressures up to 8 bar, temperatures up to 130°C and port sizes from 40 to 80 mm in diameter.
Higher profits and lower maintenance costs with OptiLobe rotary lobe pump
Italian food group Parmalat SpA set out to increase operating efficiencies and reduce maintenance through the introduction of new technology. Replacing a progressive cavity pump with an Alfa Laval OptiLobe rotary lobe pump boosted both productivity and profits.
This straightforward hygienic pump meets or exceeds all the characteristics of a progressive cavity pump, including minimal shear, variable viscosity handling and the ability to move a variety of viscous media at lower velocities.
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