Small-scale sewage pumping is normally done by a

submersible pump A submersible pump (or electric submersible pump (ESP)) is a device which has a hermetically sealed motor close-coupled to the pump body. The whole assembly is submerged in the fluid to be pumped. The main advantage of this type of pump is that it ...

. This became popular in the early 1960s, when a

guide rail A guide rail is a device or mechanism to direct products, vehicles or other objects through a channel, conveyor, roadway or rail system. Several types of guide rails exist and may be associated with: * Factory or production line conveyors * Pow ...

system was developed to lift the submersible pump out of the pump station for repair, and ended the dirty and sometimes dangerous task of sending people into the sewage or wet pit. Growth of the submersible pump for sewage pumping since has been dramatic, as an increasing number of specifiers and developers learned of their advantages. Three classes of submersible pumps exist: *Smaller submersible pumps, used in domestic and light commercial applications, normally handle up to spherical solids and range from . *Larger submersible pumps, handle and larger solids and normally have a minimum of discharge. They are generally used in municipal and industrial applications for pumping sewage and all types of industrial waste water. *Submersible

chopper pumps A chopper pump is a centrifugal pump which is equipped with a cutting system to facilitate chopping or maceration of solids that are present in the pumped liquid. The main advantage of this type of pump is that it prevents clogging of the pump itsel ...

, which are used to handle larger concentrations of solids and/or tougher solids that conventional sewage pumps cannot handle. Chopper pumps are generally used in municipal and industrial waste water applications and provide clog-free operation by

macerating Maceration is the process of preparing foods through the softening or breaking into pieces using a liquid. Raw, dried or preserved fruit or vegetables are soaked in a liquid to soften the food, or absorb the flavor of the liquid into the food. I ...

those solids that might clog other types of submersible pumps. Submersible pumps are normally used in a

packaged pump station Pumping stations, also called pumphouses in situations such as drilled wells and drinking water, are facilities containing pumps and equipment for pumping fluids from one place to another. They are used for a variety of infrastructure system ...

where drainage by gravity is not possible. Vertical type sewage pumps have also been used for many years.

References

Sewerage infrastructure {{waste-stub

See also

References