4 TYPES OF INDUSTRIAL VACUUM PUMPS There is a wealth of industrial vacuum pump products on the market, each with a specific application, but most industrial vacuum pumps fall into one of four main types: gas transfer, positive displacement, kinetic, and entrapment. Here’s a simple overview of how each type of industrial vacuum pump works.
GAS TRANSFER VACUUM PUMPS A gas transfer vacuum pump is any type of vacuum pump that transfers air or gas molecules by momentum exchange or positive displacement. In these types of vacuum pumps, the same number of molecules that enter a pump, leave the pump, though they are slightly compressed. Both kinetic and positive displacement vacuum pumps are types of gas transfer vacuum pumps.
POSITIVE DISPLACEMENT VACUUM PUMPS Technically, positive displacement vacuum pumps are a sub-type of gas transfer vacuum pumps. They work by trapping a volume of gas mechanically and moving it through the pump. Positive displacement vacuum pumps are some of the most commonly used types and are employed in multiple stages of a vacuum system.
ENTRAPMENT VACUUM PUMPS
KINETIC VACUUM PUMPS
The fourth type of industrial vacuum pump is unique in that rather than transferring gas molecules, it captures them. Using cryogenic condensation, ionic reaction, or chemical reaction, capture pumps can provide extremely high vacuum, though they do operate at lower flow rates. Because most entrapment pumps use a reaction of some sort, they are able to successfully create an oil-free vacuum.
Kinetic, or kinetic transfer pumps, use momentum transfer to direct gas towards the pump outlet. These vacuum pumps use either high-speed blades or an introduced vapor to direct gas towards the outlet. Kinetic vacuum pumps are unique in their ability to achieve high compression ratios at low pressures, but they typically don’t have sealed volumes.
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