High-Viscosity Liquid Feed Hopper Pump

The High-Viscosity Liquid Feed Hopper Pump is a hopper-fed progressive cavity pump developed for transferring thick, low-flowability and solids-containing feed mixtures in automated livestock feeding systems.

Its open inlet hopper incorporates a feed screw that continuously moves viscous material toward the pumping elements. A compression section helps improve filling of the rotor-stator cavities, making the pump suitable for materials that cannot reliably enter a conventional suction pump by gravity alone.

The progressive cavity pumping principle provides controlled, low-pulsation and relatively low-shear transfer. This is useful for liquid feed recipes containing cereal mash, wet feed ingredients, food-industry by-products, fibrous fractions or other pumpable mixtures where consistent delivery and gentle handling are important.

The pump can be integrated into commercial pig farm feed kitchens together with mixing tanks, intermediate tanks, weighing systems, pipelines, valves and automatic feeding controllers. Pump size, hopper geometry, materials, drive configuration and connection standards can be selected according to project requirements.

• Designed for High-Viscosity Media: Suitable for thick and minimally flowable feed mixtures that are difficult to handle with conventional centrifugal pumps.
• Integrated Feed Screw: The hopper-mounted screw actively feeds material toward the pumping section for reliable chamber filling.
• Compression Zone: Helps compact and continuously supply difficult-to-flow material to the progressive cavity pumping elements.
• Progressive Cavity Technology: Rotor and stator geometry provides steady volumetric transfer with minimal pulsation.
• Low-Shear Conveying: Gentle pumping helps preserve the physical characteristics of sensitive feed ingredients and mixtures.
• Handles Pumpable Solids: Suitable configurations can transfer heterogeneous feed mixtures containing suspended or soft solid particles.
• Controlled Feed Delivery: Pump speed can be matched to process demand and integrated with compatible frequency control.
• Hygienic Configuration Available: Food-contact materials, hygienic joints and cleanable construction can be supplied according to application requirements.
• Corrosion-Resistant Construction: Stainless steel wetted components are available for demanding liquid-feed environments.
• Project-Specific Engineering: Flow capacity, discharge pressure, hopper dimensions and pipeline interfaces are customizable.

• Open Feed Hopper: Receives viscous liquid feed, mash or other pumpable raw materials from the upstream process.
• Feed Screw Conveyor: Actively transports material from the hopper toward the pumping elements.
• Compression Housing: Promotes continuous filling and reduces bridging or poor material intake.
• Rotor: Precision helical rotating element that forms moving pumping cavities inside the stator.
• Stator: Elastomer-lined stationary element matched to the rotor geometry to provide progressive displacement.
• Coupling Rod and Joint Assembly: Transfers torque from the drive shaft to the eccentric rotor.
• Shaft Seal: Mechanical or project-specific sealing arrangement helps control leakage around the rotating shaft.
• Gear Motor: Supplies the torque required for the feed screw and progressive cavity pumping elements.
• Discharge Connection: Connects the pump to the downstream liquid-feed pipeline.
• Base Frame: Provides rigid support and alignment for the complete pump and drive assembly.

High-viscosity feed enters the open hopper from a mixing tank, ingredient preparation system or other upstream equipment. The integrated screw conveyor moves the material toward the compression section instead of relying only on gravity flow.

The compression zone promotes reliable filling of the progressive cavity pumping chamber. The motor-driven rotor then rotates eccentrically inside the elastomer stator, creating a sequence of sealed cavities.

As the rotor turns, these cavities move continuously from the inlet toward the discharge side, transporting the feed at a controlled volumetric rate. This operating principle generates relatively low pulsation and is suitable for viscous, shear-sensitive and solids-containing media.

Pump output can be coordinated with tank weighing, valve positioning and feeding schedules through the central liquid-feeding controller, allowing automated transfer between feed preparation and distribution stages.

• Commercial pig farm liquid feeding systems
• Growing and finishing pig farms
• Sow and breeding units using liquid feed
• Centralized liquid feed kitchens
• High-dry-matter liquid feed transfer
• Cereal mash and wet feed mixtures
• Food-processing by-products used as livestock feed ingredients
• Intermediate tank discharge
• Mixing tank transfer and circulation
• Feed recipe preparation systems
• New pig farm construction projects
• Existing liquid feeding system upgrades
• Integrated livestock equipment and steel structure farm projects

• Required pumping capacity
• Discharge pressure and pipeline length
• Rectangular hopper length, width and volume
• Feed screw diameter and pitch
• Compression-zone geometry
• Rotor and stator configuration
• Stainless steel wetted components
• Food-contact elastomer selection
• Open or protected joint design
• Mechanical seal configuration
• Inlet and discharge connection standards
• Motor power, voltage and frequency
• Variable-frequency drive
• PLC and liquid-feeding controller integration
• CIP connection and cleaning arrangement
• OEM configuration available upon request
• Designed according to local climate and farm conditions

Installation Position: Install the pump close to the mixing or intermediate tank wherever practical. The hopper should receive feed freely from the upstream equipment without unnecessary restrictions.

Foundation and Alignment: The base frame should be mounted on a level concrete foundation or engineered steel support. Correct alignment helps protect the drive, shaft and pumping components from unnecessary mechanical stress.

Pipeline Design: Discharge pipe diameter, length, elevation and number of bends should be considered during pump selection. Excessive pipeline resistance can increase operating pressure and component wear.

Dry-Running Protection: Progressive cavity pumps should not be operated without suitable product lubrication in the stator. Level monitoring or other dry-running protection is recommended for automated installations.

Overpressure Protection: The discharge side should incorporate suitable pressure monitoring or protection according to the process design.

Cleaning: The hopper, screw, rotor-stator section and feed-contact surfaces should be cleaned according to the farm hygiene program. Hygienic versions can be configured for suitable CIP or other cleaning procedures.

Routine Maintenance: Periodically inspect the rotor, stator, coupling components, shaft seal, feed screw, gearbox and bearings. Wear intervals depend on feed abrasiveness, operating pressure, speed and daily running time.

In a commercial finishing farm, the hopper pump can be positioned beneath or beside a liquid feed preparation tank to transfer high-dry-matter recipes into the distribution circuit. The feed screw assists mixtures that do not flow readily into a conventional pump inlet.

For farms using brewery, dairy, cereal-processing or other suitable agricultural by-products, the pump can be incorporated into an ingredient receiving or intermediate transfer system before final recipe mixing.

Large livestock projects can combine multiple pumps with weighed tanks, automated valves and centralized PLC control. Final equipment selection should be based on feed viscosity, solids content, particle characteristics, required capacity, pipeline pressure loss and cleaning requirements.

Q: Why use a hopper pump instead of a standard centrifugal pump?

A: High-viscosity or poorly flowing feed may not enter a centrifugal pump reliably. The hopper and feed screw actively move the material into the progressive cavity pumping section.

Q: What type of pump is used inside this system?

A: The main pumping section uses the progressive cavity principle, with a rotating helical rotor operating inside a matching elastomer stator.

Q: Can it pump feed containing solid particles?

A: Suitable configurations can handle pumpable mixtures containing suspended or soft solids. Maximum particle characteristics should be confirmed for each project.

Q: Is the pump suitable for very thick feed mixtures?

A: Yes. The open hopper, feed screw and compression zone are specifically suited to viscous materials with limited natural flowability.

Q: Can the pumping rate be adjusted?

A: Yes. Progressive cavity pump capacity is closely related to rotational speed, so suitable systems can use variable-frequency control for adjustable flow.

Q: Is a hygienic version available?

A: Yes. Hygienic configurations can use stainless steel feed-contact components, appropriate joints, sanitary connections and cleaning provisions according to project requirements.

Q: Can the pump be connected to an automatic liquid feeding controller?

A: Yes. The motor, frequency converter, valves and sensors can be integrated with a compatible PLC or livestock liquid-feeding computer.

Q: What information is required for pump selection?

A: Please provide feed ingredients, approximate viscosity or dry-matter content, solid particle characteristics, required flow rate, pipeline length and elevation, required discharge pressure, operating temperature, cleaning requirements and electrical supply.