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Pumps & Systems, March 2008

A grinder pump station stores, grinds and pumps wastewater under pressure to a treatment site or central sewer, depending on the location. Because the output is pressurized, the wastewater can typically be transported horizontally over two miles, or uphill 185-ft vertically. Because the system does not rely on gravity to carry the waste, it provides more options for siting and building, as well as system renovations in geotechnically challenging conditions.

The geometry of the pump not only produces a near vertical pump curve, but also allows passage of ground solids without clogging. The progressing cavity pump itself is based on the Moineau principle. A rotor turns within a stator, creating a sequence of sealed chambers. The rotor moves wastewater through these chambers at a nearly constant flow, over a wide range of conditions-from negative to abnormally high heads.

Basic Characteristics of SPD Grinder Pumps

The significance of a semi-positive displacement (SPD) pump is not immediately apparent except to those experienced and skilled in the art of pump design and application. The SPD characteristic means that the flow (Q) from the pump is very nearly constant, no matter what the back pressure (H).

In practical terms, in a pressure sewer system, it means that when a pump is turned "on," it will deliver a useful amount of flow into the system, no matter where it happens to be within its allowable range of operating pressure. The flow volume will be, for all practical purposes, independent of pressure in the system. The maximum pressure may temporarily exceed the steady state normal rating by up to 50 percent with no harm to the pump or piping. 

This reserve capability offers great advantage in handling intermittent or abnormal hydraulic conditions, including:

• More pumps "on" simultaneously than planned (design assumptions non-critical)
• Temporary, greater-than-planned resistance to flow (obstructions or gas pockets)
• Fewer than planned number of pumps connected (oversized pipelines)
• Additional pumps added to an existing system (planned or unplanned growth)
• Undersized pipelines (unexpected growth in customers connected)
• Lower than planned velocities in pipes (fewer customers than planned)
• Scouring pipelines that are temporarily oversize (auto-sizing phenomena)
• Ability to operate far above the point where centrifugals shut off

The choice of the semi-positive displacement principle was made with input from the ASCE Staff and Steering Committee more than 35 years ago based on these irrefutable hydraulic fundamentals. The development of the wastewater pump began with no vested interest in any particular technology, so the developers were free to start from the "ground floor" and devise a unique class of pump, tailored in every respect to the specific needs of pressure sewer systems. The wisdom of that decision has become more evident with each passing year of successful operation.

None of these advantages can be attributed to centrifugal pumps. As a class of hydraulic machinery, centrifugals accomplish perhaps 80 percent of the world's pumping tasks, but they work satisfactorily only in the simplest, smallest pressure sewer systems. Centrifugal pumps have been "forced" into low-pressure sewer (LPS) applications, whereas the SPD pump was adapted specifically for this purpose.

Pump Selection and System Design

In evaluating the equipment for use in pressure sewer systems, the designing engineer should begin with two main choices: first, select the pump characteristic (H-Q curve)-either centrifugal or semi-positive displacement; second, select the equipment manufacturer based on additional pump characteristics, including:

• Performance features
• Reliability and track record in the "field"
• Ease of installation
• Serviceability
• Preventive maintenance requirements
• Real estimates of operating and maintenance costs
• Initial cost

A rational "system" design cannot proceed beyond the crudest preliminary stage until the pump characteristic is selected. Indeed, neither pumps nor piping network alone constitute a system. Only when they are considered together can an integrated harmonious design be created.