ALLWEILER Unveils AE‑RD/RE Hopper Pump for Reliable Handling of Highly Viscous, High‑Solids Media

Advanced hopper design cuts wear, maintenance and contamination risk

ALLWEILER is proud to announce the launch of its new AE-RD/RE Hopper Pump, a progressing cavity pump engineered to handle highly viscous, non-flowable and solids-laden media in demanding industrial applications. Designed for industries such as wastewater, paper, marine, chemical and process engineering, mining and power generation, the AE‑RD/RE Hopper Pump combines robust construction with advanced flow optimization to deliver reliable performance where conventional pumping and conveying technologies reach their limits.

The AE‑RD/RE is purpose-built to convey difficult media, including dewatered sewage sludge and other thick, high-solids products, through a closed piping system rather than open conveyor belts. Its two-part, large-scale casing design, optimized screw conveyor and vertical wall surfaces in the inlet hopper enable trouble-free operation without the need for separate bridge breakers, reducing equipment complexity and investment costs. The flow-optimized stuffing box between the inlet hopper and rotor/stator ensures the best possible filling of the conveyor elements and helps prevent partial dry running, increasing reliability in continuous-duty service.

At the heart of the value proposition is an optimized anti-bridging auger combined with vertical inlet hopper walls, which prevents bridge building and secures a consistent material flow into the pump. This design eliminates the need for separately driven bridge-breaking devices, lowers operating and maintenance costs and allows the pump hopper to be used as a storage tank by forming a sludge column directly in the hopper. A flow‑optimized stuffing box between hopper and rotor/stator with optimum overload of the feeding screw achieves almost 100 percent filling of the conveying chambers, even under conditions with a risk of partial dry running, which reduces wear on the rotor and stator and cuts downtime and spare-parts consumption.

Optional features further increase flexibility and uptime. Flushing connections or inspection openings in the inlet hopper and stuffing box allow secondary materials to be fed into the process or enable quick inspection without lengthy shutdowns, helping ensure high system availability. An optional Maintenance in Place (MiP) design permits quick replacement of wear parts without removing the pump from the pipeline, dramatically shortening mean time to repair; in combination with ALLDUR stators and their particularly long service life, users can achieve the best possible system availability without requiring extension pieces in the piping. Complementary ductile, hard-chrome plated rotors provide exceptional durability and abrasion resistance, supporting long intervals between maintenance events.

The AE‑RD/RE Hopper Pump also offers process and layout advantages for operators handling high-viscosity or non-flowing media. By pumping through a closed pipe system instead of open conveyor belts, the pump reduces contamination risk and spillage, helping improve workplace cleanliness and environmental protection. The pump can homogenize the product within the conveying chambers or allow chemicals and additives to be mixed in during pumping, giving processors additional flexibility to combine conveying and conditioning steps. Thanks to the pump’s capability for higher pressures than conveyor screws, it can directly feed drying machines and other downstream equipment while enabling more compact, space-saving plant layouts.

With a maximum flow rate of 1,000 l/min, differential pressure up to 24 bar, temperature capability up to 135°C, solids content up to 85 percent, dry substance content up to 35 percent and viscosity handling up to 850,000 mPas, the AE‑RD/RE Hopper Pump is designed for some of the most challenging media encountered in modern plants. These technical capabilities, combined with flexible hopper design and adjustable hopper length, allow the pump to be tailored to a wide range of feed situations while ensuring consistent filling behavior and reliable operation.

With its optimized hopper geometry, advanced stuffing box design and maintenance-friendly options, the AE‑RD/RE Hopper Pump delivers a robust, efficient solution for transporting highly viscous, solids-rich media while reducing the need for auxiliary equipment and minimizing unplanned downtime. By combining reliable handling of challenging products with cleaner, closed-pipe conveying, long-wear components and flexible configuration for a wide range of feed situations, the pump helps operators enhance process stability, protect their environment and achieve greater overall productivity in demanding industrial applications.

For more information on ALLWEILER’s AE‑RD/RE Hopper Pump, visit pumps.circor.com/allweiler. 

About ALLWEILER

ALLWEILER is a pump manufacturer with a long history in industrial pump engineering. The portfolio includes centrifugal, three-screw, progressing cavity, and twin-screw pump technologies used under demanding operating conditions. The technologies are applied in various sectors such as industrial applications, power generation, oil and gas, commercial marine, and navy. For more information, please visit our website pumps.circor.com/allweiler.

About CIRCOR International, Inc.

CIRCOR International, Inc. designs, manufactures and markets differentiated flow control products and sub-systems for Aerospace & Defense and Industrial customers. The Company has a diversified product portfolio of recognized, market-leading brands (Allweiler®, Imo®, Hale Hamilton, Aerodyne Controls, RTK®, Schroedahl®, Warren® and Zenith®) that fulfill its customers’ mission critical needs. For more information, visit the company’s website at www.circor.com.