Chances are your facility is using some combination of the following types of pumps:
Vertical Pumps have a motor mounted on a bearing frame that is attached to a vertical shaft which extends down to the pumping elements. Vertical column pumps, vertical cantilever pumps, and vertical turbine pumps are generally used for pumping clean or lightly contaminated liquids.
Self-Priming Pumps lift water by creating a vacuum at the pump suction. With a casing designed for recirculation, these pumps mix water and air inside the casing to create a pumpable fluid. Pump solids, cleaning solutions, and high temperature liquids can often interfere with the self-priming capability of this style of pump.
Air Operated Diaphragm Pumps shift compressed air back and forth between chambers to force liquid into the discharge pipe. These semi-displacement pump designs can pump higher pressures with lower flows and are useful for moving viscous fluids. There are limitations in size, amount of flow or gallons per minute, and ability to handle solids and abrasives.
