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.

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.

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
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.

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.

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.

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
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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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 (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.

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.