Liquids

Our application engineers would like to extend their experience in troubleshooting and product alignment to you through our liquids list below. Though this is not a complete listing of the broad range of liquids that Viking pumps can manage, this is an overview of frequent liquids. Do you have a unique application? Reach out to your local stocking distributor. We can work together to find a solution that best suits your pumping needs.

Select Liquid
acids-bases

Acids / Bases

Extremes on the ends of the pH scale that can result in severe corrosion and chemical attack of the pump body, gears, bushings, and elastomers. Pump construction will ultimately be driven by the specific liquid being handled and the construction that offers the greatest chemical resistance.

glue on a board

Adhesives

Adhesives are a group of substances, such as cement, glue, mucilage, and paste that are capable of holding materials together by surface attachment. Adhesives are made from many different basic materials, among them dextrin, latex, silicones, liquid rubber, resin, sodium silicate, and starch. 

Alcohols plant

Alcohols

Chemical compatibility ranges greatly based on the alcohol and the subsidiary branch chains attached to it, resulting in potential chemical attack of the pump body, gears, bushings, and elastomers. Pump construction will ultimately be driven by the specific alcohol being handled and the construction that offers the greatest chemical resistance.

laying asphalt

Asphalt Cement

Clean asphalt contains no fillers and is an oil based liquid. It is primarily used in paving roads, waterproofing liquids, and paints. Typically they are handled at elevated temperatures to reduce the viscosity of the asphalt. The pump needs a source of heat like jacketing or electric heat to prevent the product from solidifying in the pump.

laying asphalt

Asphalt Emulsions

Emulsions are asphalt suspended in a mixture with water or other liquids. This is done to ease the application of the asphalt. Uses would be crack filling, coating roadways, or waterproofing. These emulsions are shear sensitive and must be handled with care.

Trucks with logs on their way to a pulp mill

Black Liquor Soap

A natural intermediate byproduct of kraft pulping, black liquor soap is the rosin and fatty acid content that floats to the top as black liquor is left to settle. It is skimmed off and can be used as a raw material for tall oil production. Black liquor soap can be somewhat abrasive and range in viscosity from 22 to 5500 cP, depending on the temperature it is handled at.

Person caulking an object

Caulks

Caulks can be silicone, acrylic, or latex based adhesives and sealants used in industrial and home construction. Typically high viscosity & shear sensitive.

sodium hydroxide tanks

Caustic (Sodium Hydroxide)

Sodium hydroxide is soluble in water, alcohol and glycerol. It is used in the manufacture of other chemicals, rayon and film, petroleum refining, pulp and paper, making of aluminum, refining vegetable oil, in detergents, soaps, textile processing, in reclaiming rubber and as an alkali in foods. The viscosity ranges from water-thin to 40 cP depending on concentration and temperature.

chocolate bars

Chocolate

Cacao beans are roasted, ground up, and mixed with oils to get a semi-liquid which is the beginning point in the making of chocolate. Early stage chocolate is known as bitter chocolate. Add sugar and it is known as sweet chocolate. Add milk for milk chocolate. If the chocolate has been thinned down it is chocolate liquor. It can be diluted with fats like palm nut or coconut oils.

Olive oil bottling

Cooking Oils

Hot cooking oils are used primarily for deep fat frying of vegetables and meats. Some cooking oils or fats will become solid at room temperature, however the pumps are typically located close enough to the supply that it keeps the pump warm. The viscosity is typically water-thin at normal operating temperatures.

Jar of cosmetic cream

Creams (Medicinal, Cosmetic)

Creams are typically for personal use by consumers for cosmetic and surface medical treatments. Physical properties and chemistry can vary greatly depending on the cream base and added substituents. Some creams will be petroleum based like Petroleum Grease, while others may be emulsions suspended in water. They typically are shear-thinning mixtures.

Oil rig in a field

Crude Oils

This is a very generic term for unrefined oils typically being recovered from the ground. Some crude oil may contain particulates from the oil well or recovery method. They are considered to be flammable liquids. Crude oils are later refined and used for everything from making plastics to gasoline.

Dye machine

Dyes

Liquid based colorants are used in the chemical, petroleum, and industrial processes as a color indicator for identifying batch processes and what stage they are at in production. These dyes can be corrosive, such as "Red Dye" commonly used in Diesel Fuel production. When handling concentrated or pure dye, construction materials with high level corrosion resistance may be needed.

Fries frying in oil

Edible Oils

This group of oils may consist of olive, palm, soybean, canola, pumpkin seed, corn, sunflower, safflower, peanut, grape seed, sesame, and rice bran or a blend of these oils that is typically referred to as vegetable oil.

organic ethanol in a bottle

Ethanol (Cold Ethanol Extraction)

Cold ethanol extraction is a common method for removing oils from plant material. Due to its polarity, ethanol is chilled to subzero temperatures to avoid extracting additional, less desirable water-soluble molecules. Pumps in this application may be used for circulating or transporting solvents at temperatures as low as -100F. 

shingles on roof

Filled Asphalt

Filled asphalts contain particulate used in the liquids’ end applications. Examples of this would be roofing materials and hot mix plants. Typically they are handled at elevated temperatures to reduce the viscosity of the asphalt mixture. The pump needs a source of heat like jacketing or electric heat to prevent the product from solidifying in the pump.

Hand sanitizer

Glycerol/Glycerine

This chemical is typically produced in the same process as soaps and surfactants. It is used in a wide variety of products ranging from food and beverage to personal care and disinfectants.

Injecting grease

Greases

Commonly referred to as lubricating, automotive, or bearing grease. Generally mixtures of a mineral oil with one or more metallic soaps; the most common are those of sodium, calcium, barium, aluminum, lead, lithium, potassium and zinc. The texture of grease may be smooth, buttery, ropy, fibrous, spongy or rubbery and have a variety of viscosities.

Heat transfer system in plant

Heat Transfer Liquids (Hot Oil)

Heat transfer liquids, heat transfer oil (HTO) or hot oil, are generally made from one of the following: mineral oil, diphenyls, modified terphenyls or polyalkalene glycols. Heat transfer liquids are used for transferring heat from a source to a point of use such as dies, presses, cooking vessels, processing equipment, etc. Most are handled at temperatures up to 600°F.

High fructose corn syrup in bottles on conveyer belt

High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS)

High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) is usually followed by the percentage of fructose in the liquid, ranging from 42 to 55%. It is most commonly used in soft drinks, jams, and jellies as a sweetener. Temperature regulation is relevant because discoloration of the liquid could occur at elevated temperatures.

Glue gun ejecting hot melt

Hot Melt

Hot Melt adhesives are thermoplastic polymers that soften (become less viscous) when heated. Applied by a local system that melts the adhesive and adjusts pump speed to match the speed of the converting machine.

ink roller

Inks

Inks for flexible packaging are shear sensitive liquids that can have a variety of solvents, waxes, surfactants, and semi-solid resin particles, and pigment load concentrations that bring with them abrasive wear and chemical compatibility concerns.

Isocyanate in a lab

Isocyanate

Also known as TDI, MDI, or diisocyanate. Isocyanate is used as a hardening or curing agent in polyurethane foams, industrial coatings, elastomers, inks, and resins. It is extremely sensitive to moisture in the air and hydrocarbons making air-tight seal options extremely critical.

Latex gloves on a conveyer

Latex

Latex is the generic term for emulsions of polymer in water that is stable. These emulsions can be natural or be synthetically made. This liquid is typically very shear sensitive and requires care when pumping.

Tech working on lecithin in lab

Lecithin

Lecithin is a mixture of triglycerides, fatty acids, and carbohydrates that typically ranges in viscosity up to 5000 SSU, but may be more viscous depending on make-up and temperature. It is typically derived from soybean oil but may also be obtained from egg yolks, corn, or other vegetable seeds.

Liquid gas tanks

Liquefied Gases

Liquefied gases are under high tank or system (inlet) pressure and lower temperatures to prevent them from vaporizing under atmospheric pressure and ambient temperature conditions. This includes Butane, Propane, Liquid Nitrogen, Methane, etc. The high system pressure keeps the gases in a liquid state and helps propel the liquid through the system under low differential pressure.

Pigs in a pen

Liquid Fats

Recycled animal fats and vegetable oils are used in the production of animal feeds for many reasons including the acceleration of growth rates, improved taste, providing essential fatty acids and to act as a binder for producing feed pellets. Typical products include oils derived from corn, soybeans, peanuts as well as animal fats.

Hand lotion

Lotions

Lotions are typically for personal use by consumers for cosmetic purposes. Most lotions are used for softening or moisturizing skin. Some lotions are used to deliver medicine to unbroken skin as well. Typically these are emulsions with oil suspended in water and shear-thinning.

Oil being poured into vehicle

Lube Oil (Machinery Lubrication)

Machinery lubrication pumps are used in everything from small backup generators to naval ships. Lube oils, as the name implies, are the liquids used to lubricate rotating and reciprocating machinery. Lube oils may be handled at higher pressures to ensure their penetration of the equipment.

Oil being poured into vehicle

Lube Oil Blending

Local blending plants take bulk petroleum or synthetic base oils and mix them together with additives to create unique oil blends for specific applications and customers.

Massecuite processing plant

Massecuite

Massecuite is the mixture of raw sugar crystals and molasses, made by seeding supersaturated cane or beet juice, prior to the removal of the molasses by centrifuging.  It contains a high concentration of abrasive sugar crystals.

mill oil plant

Mill Oil

Is a lubricating oil used in the processing of steel. Various formulations are utilized depending on the process such as hot rolling, cold rolling and tubular rolling of steel.

Cows in a dairy

Molasses

Molasses is defined as the syrupy mother liquor left after sucrose has been removed from the cane juice by concentration. If only one crop of crystals had been removed, it is called First Molasses. If the second crop has been removed, the product is termed Second Molasses, and so on. When no more cane sugar can be extracted it is called Final Molasses or Black Strap Molasses.

Sulfur being mined

Molten Sulfur

Molten Sulfur is a difficult to pump liquid due to the very narrow temperature range that it can be handled. Molten Sulfur is typically solid up to 240°F, and then re-solidifies again around 370°F. The suggested handling range is 270°F - 310°F, where the viscosity is 6 - 9 cP. The pump needs a source of heat like jacketing or electric heat to prevent the product from solidifying in the pump.

Glass of orange juice

Orange Juice

Orange juice is the juice squeezed from the fruit of the orange tree and can be of many varieties such as blood orange, navel, Valencia, clementine and tangerine.  Can be smooth or with the inclusion of fruit cells. Often produced and then concentrated to aid transport and storage then rehydrated at the point of use.

Peanut Butter

Peanut Butter

Peanut butter is made from mixing ground up peanuts with various additives and fillers. From the mixer, peanut butter is pumped through a deaerator and/or heat exchanger to remove entrained air and drop the temperature prior to being pumped to the jar filling machines. 

Pitch being processed in a factory

Pitch

Is the liquid that remains after the distillation of coal tar or refining of petroleum. It is used in paints, roofing and paving materials. It is also used in the production of anodes for aluminum smelting and graphite electrodes in steel production.
 

Polyol factory

Polyol

Alcohols having many hydroxyl radicals are called polyols. Many companies market polyols under their own trade names. Product viscosity varies greatly depending on the specific polyol, but can be as thick as 40,000 cP. Polyols are often blended with isocyanates, so pumps handing polyols are often requested to be built using isocyanate compatible lubricants.

insulation foam blocks

Polyurethanes

Polyurethane foam is produced when a polyether is treated with a isocyanate in the presence of water and a catalyst, as well as fillers, dispersing and emulsifying agents, etc. The water reacts with the isocyanate group to cause cross linking and curing, and also produces carbon dioxide which causes foaming. May also be known as Isocyanate liquid.

white glue in glue bottle

Polyvinyl Acetate (PVAC)

Poly Vinyl Acetate, or PVAC, is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic, transparent, thermoplastic solid. It is used in latex water paints, in hot melt and other types of adhesives, for coating and finishing fabrics, as a component of lacquers, inks and in caulking compounds and chewing gum. PVAC is insoluble in water, oils and fats, but soluble in alcohols, esters, benzene and ketones.

Cleaning chemical being sprayed onto table

Quaternary Ammonium Compounds

Quaternary ammonium compounds, also known as quats, are used as disinfectants in restaurants, hospitals and homes. They are also used as surfactants, fabric softeners, and antistatic agents in products like shampoo.

Asphalt being reclaimed

Reclaimed Asphalt

Reclaimed Asphalt is typically a dirty or filled asphalt containing a bitumen blend with solids that could be limestone or rubber based. These solids result in very high viscosities and abrasive nature, resulting in the need for extra clearances, low run speeds, and the inclusion of hardened parts.

Resin being applied to floor

Resins

Resins are high viscosity liquids with potentially shear sensitive (thinning) components, and made up of solvents, waxes, surfactants, and semi-solid resin particles all with various chemical compatibility concerns. These resins can be used in polyurethanes, epoxies and other adhesives. In some cases, resins contain pigments that bring with them abrasive wear concerns.

Tires made from rubber cement

Rubber Cement

Rubber cement, also referred to as contact cement covers a wide range of materials; some may be emulsions sensitive to shearing; others may be flammable because of the solvent carrier; others may be water solutions, which are used in a variety of adhesive-type applications. Due to the variance in material and solvent used, the viscosity varies greatly.

Bottles of soap on a conveyer belt

Soaps

Kettle soap, soap stock, soap skimmings, and liquid soap are a mixture of sodium salts of various fatty acids of natural oils and fats. Common soap is largely a mixture of the sodium salts of palmitic, stearic and oleic acids. Rosin soaps for laundry purposes are made by adding a soap made from rosin or rosin itself to an ordinary soap.

Person spraying solvent on a wheel

Solvents

The wide range of viscosity of various solvents plays a key role in determining the best pump for handling the application. Pump construction will ultimately be driven by the specific liquid being handled and the construction that offers the greatest chemical resistance and is the most viscosity appropriate.

Stack of corrugated cardboard boxes

Starch Adhesive

Starch based adhesives are used in the paper and corrugating industries. The raw starch is derived from a variety of plants such as corn, wheat, and potatoes. They tend to be shear sensitive (thickening) and are mixed in equipment commonly referred to as a starch kitchen.

Various raw sugars

Sugar Magma

Sugar magma is a mixture of sugar crystals and liquid.  It has a high viscosity and is abrasive.  The crystals within the magma can be damaged, so need to be handled with larger, slower running pumps.

Bubbles

Surfactants

Surfactants reduce the surface tension of the liquid in which they are dissolved. Commonly used in cleaning products to emulsify oils and hold dirt or other particulates in suspension. Also used in chemical processing like ethanol production.

Tall Oil soap factory

Tall Oil Soap

A natural intermediate byproduct of kraft pulping, tall oil soap is the rosin and fatty acid content of black liquor that is skimmed off and used as a raw material for tall oil production. Tall oil soap can be somewhat abrasive and range in viscosity from 22 to 5500 cP, depending on the temperature it is handled at.

teg plant

Triethylene Glycol (TEG) for Gas Dehydration

Triethylene Glycol is used as a liquid desiccant to remove the water from natural gas. The hot glycol is injected into the gas pipeline at high pressures to dehydrate of the natural gas coming out of the ground.

Candles drip drying

Wax

Waxes can be natural secretions of plants or animals, such as beeswax, or by-products of petroleum refining. Wax is commonly used in the paper and boxboard industries to make products such as cartons and paper packaging moisture resistant. Wax can also help prevent food products from sticking to paper packaging.