Free worksheet / Sulfate-route leach circuits
For the acid feed system on a sulfate-route leach circuit — bulk unloading, bulk storage, transfer piping, and metering/dosing into the leach step. Fill it in before a tank is ordered or a pump is sized, and you'll have the numbers a supplier needs to quote the package in one pass.
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A certificate of analysis tells you the concentration, not the flow, head, or volume your equipment needs. Those come from the real delivery logistics and consumption profile at your site. The worksheet runs the sizing math in order, each step feeding the next:
Minimum bulk storage volume
Vmin = (R × T) + Dload
R = daily consumption rate (gal/day) · T = days between deliveries · Dload = one full delivery load. Check the result against the tank manufacturer's published size/height limit for your certificate-of-analysis concentration.
Transfer pipe diameter from target velocity
d = √( (4 × Q) ÷ (π × vmax) )
Q = design flow · vmax = the piping manufacturer's published maximum velocity for the exact material and concentration. There is no single universal velocity number — confirm it before sizing the line.
Transfer/unloading pump head & NPSH check
H = Hstatic + Hfriction + Pdischarge ÷ (SG × 2.31)
Confirm the result against the pump's rated head at that flow, and separately confirm the available NPSH clears the pump's rated NPSHr — a sealless mag-drive pump has its own manufacturer-specific NPSH margin.
Metering/dosing pump range check
Fpeak ≤ Pmax and Fmin ≥ Pmax ÷ TD
Pmax = rated maximum output at your discharge pressure · TD = the manufacturer's published turndown ratio. A batch leach step needs the real batch profile, not a textbook peaking factor.
Materials, quick reference. Up to ~93%, PVDF piping/valves and a passivated carbon-steel or purpose-built poly bulk tank are common. From ~93–98.3%, purpose-built XLPE/HDLPE bulk tanks (sized to the manufacturer's own gallon/height rule) and PVDF piping remain in play, but confirm the exact temperature rating. Above ~98.3%, free SO3 becomes a real consideration — the worksheet steps you to Halar/ECTFE, one-piece flanged PTFE, or Alloy 20. For the full tank-vs-piping material breakdown — including the published ProTank/Poly Processing XLPE-at-98% conflict — see the 93-98% material selection guide and the Concentrated Sulfuric Acid Materials Field Guide.
Elastomer limits ahead of body limits. A diaphragm or seal elastomer can cap out well below the pressure-boundary rating of the valve body it sits in. Confirm the specific elastomer/diaphragm manufacturer's published maximum temperature for your acid service, then use that number — not the body rating — as the real limit. Read the full acid feed system equipment guide.
Draft Proposal Worksheet, not a procurement-ready specification. Final sizing, materials and dose point are the engineer of record's call and must be confirmed against the project's design documents and each manufacturer's published data.
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James Riggins
LibertyCES — Liberty Chemical Equipment & Supply
One supplier for the acid unloading, storage, transfer and metering package, with submittal-ready cut sheets and "or equal" comparisons. No charge to review a spec before it's issued.
(559) 395-5500 ·[email protected] ·[email protected] ·libertyces.com