Pumps serve many purposes in wastewater collection systems and treatment plants. They are classified by the character of the material handled; raw wastewater, grit, effluent, activated sludge, raw sludge, or digested sludge. Or, they may relate to the conditions of pumping: high lift, low lift, recirculation, or high capacity. They may be further classified by principle of operation, such as centrifugal, propeller, reciprocating and turbine. The operation and maintenance of these pumps are some of the most important duties for many wastewater utility operators. The two most common type of pump are the centrifugal pump and the positive displacement pump.

Pumps are rated by the flow they produce and the pressure they must work against. Centrifugal pumps are used for high flow and low head pressure applications. Booster pumps or primary service pumps are required to move high volumes of water and usually operated at low head pressures (200-300 feet of head for water and as little as 50 feet of head for wastewater applications). Centrifugal pumps are ideally suited to these types of applications and are much more efficient than positive displacement pumps of comparable size. Positive displacement pumps are used for low flow and high-pressure applications. High pressure water jet systems like those used for well screen or sewer line cleaning use positive displacement pumps since pressure in excess of 2500 feet of head are needed and the flows seldom exceed 100 gpm. Sludge pumps and chemical feed pumps are also likely to be positive displacement pumps. Piston pumps, diaphragm pumps, and progressive cavity screw pumps are the most common types of positive displacement pumps.

Another difference between centrifugal and positive displacement pumps has to do with how they react to changes in discharge pressure. When the pressure that a centrifugal pump has to work against changes, the flow from the pump changes. As the pressure increases, the flow from the pump will decrease, and when the pressure drops the flow will increase. Positive displacement pumps do not react this way. The flow does not change when the discharge pressure changes. This is the main reason that positive displacement pumps are used for chemical feeding and sludge pumping. The operator knows that every time the pump strokes, it is pumping the same amount of fluid. This is important if accurate records are to be kept of chemical dosages and pounds of solids that are moving through the system.

Centrifugal Pump: Low Pressure/High Flow : Flow changes when pressure changes
Positive Displacement: High Pressure/Low Flow : Flow doesn’t change when pressure changes