Fluidics Trends 2023 Fluidics Move the World —  what Makes Fluidics Move?

Related Vendors

DECHEMA Ausstellungs-GmbH

DECHEMA e.V.

EagleBurgmann Germany GmbH & Co. KG

EDL Anlagenbau Gesellschaft mbH

Angst+Pfister AG

Natural gas pipelines, hydrogen, drinking water or CO₂ capture — you can’t do it without pumps, valves and compressors. At the same time, fluid systems have a reputation for being energy- and maintenance-intensive cost traps. With fluid technology becoming networked and the threat of a PFAS ban looming, the industry is looking for new approaches.

Pumps — and, of course, compressors — are energy-hungry units: it is estimated that around a quarter of all the electricity consumed by industry is used to pump fluids. In terms of global electricity production, this represents ten percent of the world’s total — meaning that one in ten power stations is in operation just to provide the energy needed to move liquids from point A to point B.

This is not always efficient: in particular, improperly dimensioned, worn or poorly controlled pumps, as well as inefficient compressors and compressed air leaks, are known to be huge energy wasters. In addition, pumps are often oversized due to ignorance or uncertainty. As a result, the units operate outside their optimum efficiency, have to be throttled, and wear out more quickly. However, the consistent use of modern speed control systems could help to save 7.5 terawatt hours of energy and four million tonnes of CO₂ emissions each year in Germany alone. Thanks to the lower energy consumption of controlled drives, improved impeller geometries or smaller clearances, the extra cost of new equipment is quickly amortised.

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Another factor to consider is the enormous burden of high energy prices, particularly for companies with a high degree of upstream integration: Production processes such as the casting of machine parts or the testing of large pumps are expensive, with energy requirements in the megawatt range and huge costs for electricity and gas, experts warn — and they point out that, unlike consumers, industrial companies do not benefit from fixed price guarantees. Energy and cost optimisation will therefore not only be part of the product development specifications for pump manufacturers in 2023, but also at the heart of their own manufacturing processes.

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Is Connected Fluidics the Next Big Thing?

The prevailing influence of energy efficiency is also reflected in the fact that the industry associations such as Germany’s Engineering Federation (VDMA) see the greatest potential for digital tools in this area. After all, a lot is happening in terms of Fluidics 4.0: The asset administration shell could finally bring the concept of the digital twin to life. Pumps, compressors, vacuum pumps and even connected fittings can now be specified in such a way that this information can be read and used by everyone involved in the process. OPC UA Companion Specifications are also available to ensure interoperability between components from different manufacturers.

Digital solutions also score when it comes to leak detection: Acoustic cameras combine ultrasonic sensors with optical imaging to detect leaks in pipelines or compressed air systems. Manufacturers such as FLIR are taking this a step further by integrating gas analysis into so-called gas cameras. These cameras not only detect leaks, but also identify the corresponding gas. Today, such units are small enough to be available as handheld devices, but they can also be permanently installed at critical points within an industrial production process.

In addition to efficient drives and precise controls, more and more suppliers are using methods such as software-based anomaly detection, in which an algorithm examines current operating conditions. Based on these values, the software can make predictions about future malfunctions or anomalies and suggest appropriate measures. According to the VDMA, predictive maintenance could prevent around 70 percent of unplanned shutdowns.

Most common digital technologies currently used by the oil & gas industry worldwide as of 2020

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There are growing calls for the integration of condition monitoring, even for relatively simple components such as valves and even seals. This is not easy when the necessary sensor technology also has to work in a hazardous area, for example. Even mechanical seals are making the leap into the digital world with products such as EagleBurgmann’s wireless Smart Seal sensors.

Operators are increasingly unwilling to take risks, especially when dealing with explosive or hazardous substances. Sealless magnetically coupled pumps are therefore in great demand, especially because manufacturers such as Richter Chemie-Technik supply them with wetted parts or linings made of PFA or PTFE. However, because the magnetic force can only transmit a certain amount of torque, a full-length shaft is sometimes essential — this can be made even tighter, for example with leak-free mechanical seals from EagleBurgmann. The nitrogen-flushed sealing solutions are used in compressor stations for natural gas pipelines, where they prevent the escape of the greenhouse gas methane.

New Media for the Energy Transition

Of course, pumps and fluid fittings will also be needed in the energy and raw materials value chains of the future: hydrogen, for example, as the smallest molecule in the periodic table, places special demands on pumps and compressors. The gas is highly volatile and can penetrate the crystal lattice of metallic materials, leading to hydrogen embrittlement. It is therefore important to take a close look at the components used — from the pump to the fittings. After all, requirements such as specific materials and surface qualities are often not specified. For this reason, pump manufacturers such as KSB are currently drawing on their expertise from “classic” hydrogen projects in the chemical industry, even though not every detail has yet been clarified. For example, developers complain that there are still unresolved questions about hydraulic balancing or the operation of pumps in different hydrogen processes.

Spending on digital transformation technologies and services worldwide from 2017 to 2026

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This also applies to the size of future hydrogen projects. While typical modular container plants currently produce around 10 m³ per hour, large world-scale plants can produce 800 m³ and more — as can the operating pressure, which can range from 6 bar to up to 40 bar. Depending on the size, sealless standardised chemical pumps, diaphragm valves and butterfly valves made of corrosion-resistant materials or with appropriate coatings are used. Also on the pumping experts’ agenda are processes for CO₂ capture and utilisation or storage (CCS or CCSU). For these processes, pumps must cover a wide range of applications, be ready for use in a short time and be able to withstand very high pressures and temperatures, the manufacturers explain. Then there are the challenges of CO₂ as a medium, such as its volatility — carbon dioxide exists as a gas phase at ambient pressure — which requires a suitable seal.

Exploiting Energy and Efficiency Potentials

However, these challenges can be overcome: This is demonstrated by the column internals for amine scrubbing that fluidics specialists such as Sulzer are supplying for large-scale demonstration projects for CO₂ capture, as well as the high-pressure pumps and valves — such as double-eccentric butterfly valves, cage-guided single-seat control valves and diaphragm valves — that KSB, among others, offers for handling liquid CO₂. Lewa, for example, uses diaphragm pumps for the injection of carbon dioxide or hydrogen sulfide, as the toxic H₂S in particular is difficult to pump due to its high vapor pressure and poor lubricating properties.

Then there is LNG: in the short term, liquefied natural gas is expected to satisfy Europe’s hunger for energy and compensate for the loss of supplies from Russia. In 2022, 27 billion dollars worldwide — ten times as much as in 2020 — were invested in gas projects and terminals. This includes the corresponding fluidics, especially since the extreme conditions of this cryogenic medium require high-performance technology: The components must be able to withstand temperatures well below –160 °C and safely contain the explosive vapor produced during evaporation. Single or multi-stage centrifugal pumps are used for this purpose, but the extreme conditions make seal-less designs such as canned motor pumps more suitable.

Smart & Digital Pumps

Smart Pumps: The Future is Digital and Connected

Furthermore, explosion protection and Atex certification place high demands on the components used. LNG regasification in particular requires suitable safety valves due to the extreme pressures involved. For fluctuating flow rates, side channel pumps designed for low-viscosity media, such as those from Sero Pump Systems with their wide speed ranges, are best suited, experts agree. With the right components — and as production becomes more connected and digitally supported — operation and maintenance can be streamlined and run with less manpower, say fluid experts.

After all, the process industry is now also concerned about whether there will be enough skilled workers in the future and whether companies will be able to pay them. Particularly in the labour-intensive service sector, but also in manufacturing and increasingly in development, more and more companies are complaining about the difficulty of filling positions. Although the number of employees in the mechanical engineering sector recently rose slightly by 1.7 percent, to a total of 1.02 million, the German Engineering Federation (VDMA) estimates that there are still 1,400 vacancies at its member companies.

The End of the Seal as We Know it?

In fact, no one doubts that pumps, valves, actuators and compressed air components will continue to be needed in the future. Industrial pumps alone have a global turnover of around 70 billion dollars a year. But whether they will be as reliable and safe in the future as they are today is by no means a foregone conclusion, at least in Europe: the EU’s planned ban on so-called persistent chemicals or PFAS (perfluorinated and polyfluorinated substances) covers much more than just outdoor clothing, cosmetics, Teflon pans and pesticides.

The ECHA’s proposed ban covers all substances containing at least one CF₂ or CF₃ group. FKM and other fluorinated elastomeric plastics such as PTFE, FFKM, FEPM, PFA and FEP are also PFASs by definition, so using them would therefore be forbidden in the EU from 2026 onwards.

As a result, some of the most important materials for seals could disappear from the market for good. If this proposed law goes ahead as planned, the consequences would be dramatic: there are currently no alternative materials available that could replace PFAS seals. The impact on industry and society would be significant: it is estimated that around 80 % of industrial production would be affected. Not only that, but water and energy supplies, as well as the health sector, would also suffer massive problems. As a result, insiders expect the law to be watered down, if it passes at all. However, it is virtually impossible that ECHA will back down completely. Regardless of how the PFAS issue develops, the fluid handling industry cannot ignore it.

The only option for manufacturers is to take the bull by the horns: suppliers want to become less dependent on the chemical industry by offering a diversified range of products. But this will also require innovation and ideas that go beyond fluidics, which is already highly developed. This includes digital services as well as customised solutions to meet market and regulatory requirements close to the customer

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