The pump industry in India will be driven by factors such as rising oil demand and rising investments in water and wastewater treatment projects, which will boost market demand. Agriculture, power generation, water and wastewater management, oil and gas, mining, petrochemicals, and construction all rely heavily on pumps. The power sector is the country’s largest user of pumping systems. Solar-powered pumps have also shown potential in the agricultural sector, which requires a lot of water. Several industry players have been concentrating solely on the needs of the domestic market, primarily the agricultural and construction services industries, owing to increasing consumption. In the years ahead, India’s pump market will witness the launch of intelligent pump systems and micro-disc pump technologies. Intelligent pump systems can control and regulate fluid flow or pressure, adapt to process changes, and have a fault-tolerant design, all of which should encourage various manufacturers to embrace these pumps, since they lower the total cost of ownership without sacrificing performance.
Indian Infrastructure takes a look at the requirements of pumps across various infrastructure sectors…
Power
Pumps and pumping systems are used in power plants for both primary and auxiliary applications, such as fuel oil processing and lubrication and cooling. A 300 MW combined cycle power plant, on average, comprises more than 100 pumps. Horizontal booster pumps, GSG radially split barrel casing pumps, high pressure temperature single-stage barrel casing boiler feed pumps, boiler feedwater pumps and concrete volute pumps are among the pumping systems utilised in power plants. Apart from these, positive displacement and centrifugal pumps are utilised in power generation applications, with the latter being the most prominent. An impeller is used in centrifugal pumps to propel the fluid through the application process. The revolving impeller’s velocity transfers energy to the liquid and creates a pressure rise proportionate to the fluid’s velocity. Positive displacement pumps, particularly rotary versions, are less common. These pumps, on the other hand, can be more cost-effective and provide more efficient fluid handling in a variety of applications.
Oil and gas
Pumps are utilised in the petroleum and natural gas industry for a variety of exploration and production activities, as well as transportation and refining of oil and gas. Crude oil transfer (truck loading or pipeline transfer), secondary recovery (well-water flooding via seawater or freshwater injection, chemical injection, glycol dehydration, produced water disposal, blowout prevention, hydraulic fracturing, well servicing, amine sweetening, water cooling, fire protection, lean oil circulation, water disposal for refineries and gas plants), etc., are all widely known pump applications. The entire extraction, shipping and refining process necessitates the use of high quality, dependable pumping equipment. Pumps in the oil and gas industry must function under harsh environmental circumstances (including high temperatures and pressures, as well as extremely low pressures and cryogenic temperatures), hence they must be made of materials that can endure these conditions. They must also be non-reactive with any chemicals they may come into contact with.
Water and waste management
The demand for pumping solutions in this industry has increased with expansion in the demand for improved water management with the newest technology, cost-effective ways and sustainable operations. Furthermore, as the number of desalination plants grows, so does the demand for water pumps. It’s difficult to transport wastewater since it contains a lot of rags, organic materials and other garbage. As a result, reliable pumping systems are required, as overflows and spills result in environmental damage and the enforcement of fines.
The sort of pumps available for dealing with raw sewage have also evolved significantly throughout time. Vertical turbine pumps, vertical volute pumps, multistage pumps, jet monobloc pumps, end-suction pumps, borewell, submersible motor, non-clog pumps and horizontal non-clog end-suction pumps are some of the pumps that have been deployed.
Solar pumps
There are three main solar water pumping configurations used in India, all based on solar photovoltaic technology. These are brushless direct current (DC) pumps, DC-positive displacement pumps and alternating current centrifugal pumps. Solar pumps have proven to be a feasible and non-polluting source of energy for agricultural users. Solar irrigation pumps account for 0.13 million (0.4 per cent) of the total 29.93 million agricultural irrigation pumps. Farmers have been encouraged to use solar pumps by the central government through programmes such as the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan (KUSUM). The state governments have also launched schemes to promote the installation of solar pumps in the irrigation sector, including the Atal Solar Krishi Pump Yojana in Maharashtra, the Saur Sinchayee Yojana in Himachal Pradesh, the Surya Raitha scheme in Karnataka and the Saur Pump Yojana in Bihar.
India has been a pioneer in the adoption of solar pumps at scale. The government has set a target of installing 1.75 million solar agricultural pumps and solar systems for another 1 million grid-connected pumps by 2022 under the PM-KUSUM programme with up to 60 per cent capital subsidy. It has been estimated that by 2023-24, 3.06 million solar pumps will be installed across the country. This translates into a growth rate of around 73 per cent from 2019-20 till 2023-24.
Mining
Pumps are used by mine operators to reliably remove mine water from operating zones. Pumping the accumulated mine water out of the working area is one of the most significant requirements for trouble-free extraction operations. For mining applications, single-suction and double-suction submersible pumps are installed in all areas of water procurement, distribution and dewatering. The various types of pumps deployed in this industry include piston/plunger pumps, radial pumps, piston diaphragm pumps, progressive cavity pumps, rotary lobe pumps, multi-screw pumps, dosing pumps and hose pumps.
The way forward
Higher agricultural growth, improved infrastructure development, promotion of water-intensive sectors, greater demand for energy efficient pumps, increased centrifugal pump exports and other factors will boost the Indian pump industry. The ability of the industry to make pumps that meet international requirements is gradually improving.
Pumps consume a percentage of the energy consumed by industrial motors, making energy efficiency a major priority in the Indian industrial sector. In the pump business, it is critical to use internet of things technology and automation to ensure efficiency. Smart pumps will become more popular in the subsequent years.