Dedham, Mass., May 20, 2002 -- The use of a variable speed drive can make a standard pump into an intelligent pump for direct process control.
But, pumps are historically viewed as a component in the fluid handling system, and never mentioned in the same breath as process control instrumentation. Pump suppliers have their work cut out for them as they attempt to change this view and gain industry acceptance of intelligent pumps as a final control element.
"A pump as the final control device," according to ARC Senior Analyst Paula Hollywood ([email protected]), "is a radical departure from the traditional control valve as the final control element. This concept is so foreign that some suppliers view the traditional thinking as the biggest challenge to this emerging technology."
Continuous monitoring of the pump as well as the system in which it operates enables the pump to react to both sets of conditions for optimum performance and control. In addition to promises of increased pump life, improved process control, and reduced operating costs, suppliers are claiming separate starter panels, relays, switches, recirculation piping, and even the control valve may be eliminated. By all accounts the technology appears to have the potential to do all of these things, but the process market has yet to embrace it with open arms.
Intelligent pumps are best suited for applications that do not require constant full speed operation where a variable speed drive offers the prospect of reduced energy consumption. By controlling the pump motor with a VSD, pump output can match the process requirement. With the VSD the most expensive component of an intelligent pump, the adoption rate of intelligent pumps will be closely tied to that of variable speed drives.
To date acceptance of intelligent pumps varies widely according to region and industry. With promises of reduced energy consumption, intelligent pumps will be more readily accepted in countries that have signed the Kyoto Pact and are committed to reducing emissions thought to cause climate change. Intelligent pumps are well suited for HVAC applications in the BAS industry where wide ranges of demand for chilled water are common.
Overall centrifugal pumps present the greatest growth potential for intelligent pumps in the traditional process industries. Niche market pumps are also expected to experience significant growth. Specifically, peristaltic pumps have great potential in the food & beverage and pharmaceutical/biotech industries for their sanitary attributes. Dosing meters are designed to provide discharge specific amounts of additive per pulse or batch that can be used in any industry.
The newly released Intelligent Pump Worldwide Outlook - Market Analysis and Forecast through 2006 from ARC provides comprehensive details on the crucial trends in this market. In addition to providing strategies for suppliers on how to respond to these trends, the study also provides intelligent pump supplier market share information that is segmented by geographic region, industry, and price classes.
Five-year forecasts segmented by region, industry, communication protocol, and application are also included in the study. All leading intelligent pump suppliers are profiled.
For further information on this market analysis, please go to: http://www.arcweb.com/arcweb/advisory/Studies/DevNet/pumps.asp
