Main benefits
  • High efficiency
  • Perfect pump configuration
  • Low dead height of molten salt in the tank
  • No external consumption
  • Long lifetime and reliability
  • Extensive references and wide experience
Main applications

The VEY and VNY molten salt pumps are used as:

  • Cold and hot molten salt circulation pumps in parabolic trough concentrated solar power plants
  • High-pressure cold molten salt feed pump in central tower concentrated solar power plants
  • Hot molten salt circulation pump in central tower concentrated solar power plants
  • Cold molten salt attemperation pump in central tower concentrated solar power plants
  • Cold molten salt melting and drainage pumps in parabolic trough and central tower concentrated solar power plants
Features and benefits
Vertical pump vey cutaway
1. Engineered suction design for optimized submergence

2. First-stage impeller:

Inducer or high suction specific speed (Nss) impeller for reduced NPSHR

3. Engineered bearing bushings

Better shaft alignment and adaptation to the thermal expansion

4. Main shaft sealing by throttle bushing

Permanent leak-off recirculation to the molten salt tank

5. Auxiliary shaft sealing deflector

Prevents leakage of molten salt to the atmosphere

6. Shaft fans/radiators and efficient thermal barrier

  • Reduces temperature, protects and increases lifetime of the pump bearings
  • Heat barrier between hot/cold sections
7. Muff coupling

To ease dismantling

8. Special design to allow thermal expansions

  • Extended wear ring zone
  • Clearances calculated considering all the relative expansions    
Operating data
50 Hz 60 Hz
Pump bowls Up to 914 mm Up to 36 in
Capacities Up to 4,000 m3/h Up to 17,600 US gpm
Heads up to 380 m up to 1,250 ft
Pressures up to 100 bar up to 1,450 psi
Temperatures up to 600°C up to 1,100°F
Performance range
VEY_rangeChart_50Hz_2017
Performance range 50 Hz
VEY_rangeChart_60Hz_2017
Performance range 60 Hz
Materials
Pump part Material
Bowl HT carbon steel, chrome steel, HT stainless steel
Impellers HT carbon steel, chrome steel, HT stainless steel
Shaft HT chrome steel, HT stainless steel
Column and discharge head HT carbon steel, HT stainless steel
Optional designs
VEY molten salt pump bowls and impellers
VEY molten salt pump bowls and impellers
Design Standards

  • Suction inducer for very low NPSHR
  • All the impellers and bowls are provided with draining holes
  • Efficient heat shield to limit the heat loss
  • Shaft fans/radiators to reduce temperature, protect and increase lifetime of the pump bearings
  • Nitrogen/air quench connection to allow tank blanketing
  • Thrust bearing located in the pump
VEY molten salt pump discharge head and thrust bearing
VEY molten salt pump discharge head and thrust bearing
Design Options

  • Wide mesh suction strainer
  • High Nss mixed-flow first-stage impeller for reduced NPSHR
  • Interchangeable sleeves under the line shaft bearings
  • Thrust bearing located in the motor
Applications
  • Molten salt circulation pump
    The main characteristics of the molten salt pumps is the extremely high temperature of the liquid handled. They are vertical line shaft pump type. Sulzer provides vertical pumps as molten salt circulation pump for the following two applications: Molten Salt Circulation Pump for Heliostat Central Tower with Molten Salt and Heat Storage
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