Pumps for Thermoelectric, Hydroelectric and Biomass Power Plants: Brazilian Balance-of-Plant Guide

1. The three plant types and their pumping footprint

Thermal plants, hydroelectric plants and cogeneration facilities have distinct auxiliaries. Cogeneration combines electricity production with the use of heat; it may use biomass, but it is not a category that excludes thermal plants. The process diagram defines which water, oil and condensate circuits exist.

Use the table to organise the enquiry, not as a closed list of equipment. Flow, head, suction pressure, temperature, composition and criticality must be provided for each duty.

FB describes its series by fluid, not by the power sector. The FBCN and FBME are designed for clean or turbid liquids (MTEC-03/00 and MTEC-08/01, p.1); the FBE, for viscous fluids (MTEC-01/01, p.1), with oils among the applications of the FBE 2026 catalogue (p.3); and the FBOT, for organic thermal oils, free of abrasive particles and of materials that chemically attack the pump (FBOT 2026 catalogue, p.2).

Each plant circuit is therefore matched to a series by its liquid and by the configuration limits, as in the list below.

• FBCN, normalized centrifugal pump: DN25 to 300 mm, up to 2,200 m³/h, 135 m, 260 °C and 3,500 rpm, non-simultaneous maxima (MTEC-03/00, p.1). Cooling water, service water and utilities.
• FBME, multistage centrifugal pump: DN 80 to 150, up to 400 m³/h, 300 m and 140 °C (MTEC-08/01, p.1). Water duties above the FBCN’s head, as can occur in boiler feed.
• FBE, external gear pump: viscosity from 30 to 100,000 SSU and discharge pressure of up to 22 kgf/cm² for the line (FBE 2026 catalogue, p.3), with 100,000 SSU only from 3″ to 6″ (p.5). Oil transfer and circulation.
• FBOT, thermal oil pump: DN 25 to 300, up to 2,200 m³/h, 135 m, 350 °C and 3,500 rpm, non-simultaneous maxima (FBOT 2026 catalogue, p.2). Heat-transfer-fluid loop, where one exists.

2. Thermal plants: map auxiliary duties

The list below distinguishes twelve possible duties; it does not establish that every thermal plant has these same points. Replace generic ranges with project data and measured conditions. The plant’s electrical output alone does not select a pump.

On the FBCN, the seal-chamber arrangement follows the duty’s water (item 10 of MTEC-03/00, p.11). The standard ST arrangement is lubricated by the pumped fluid and serves clean, non-aggressive liquids up to 160 °C.

S1 seals with clean liquid from an external source and also serves a pump drawing from a tank under vacuum or below atmospheric pressure; S2 receives liquid from an external source for suspended solid particles or small fibres; and S3 flushes with clean liquid from an external source when there are abrasive particles or a tendency to crystallise, all three up to 105 °C; with an external source, a cooling chamber cannot be used.

With a mechanical seal, the arrangement follows the S line, according to the application.

Raw water intake, blowdown with sediment and ash sluicing carry solids. For fluids with suspended solids, the FBCN manual requires consulting FB (item 2.3, p.7), and the table does not assume the FBCN for slurry.

3. Pumps for hydroelectric plants: service water and oil circuits

The Bureau of Reclamation auxiliary-equipment manual distinguishes cooling, drainage and oil systems. These functions have different conditions; full coverage should not be attributed to the FBCN and FBE merely because there is no steam-water cycle.

State the equipment served, the normal condition and the contingency. For generator and bearing cooling, the manufacturer’s requirements and the seasonal water temperature are selection inputs. For drainage, include minimum level, solids, priming and maintenance access.

Reservoir oil transfer, lubrication and governor actuation are not the same duty. For the FBE line, the 2026 catalogue publishes a discharge pressure of up to 22 kgf/cm² (p.3), with lower limits by configuration in the selection table (p.6); a hydraulic control at a higher pressure is outside that range. Cleanliness, filtration, redundancy and pressure must follow the equipment served, without a universal ISO 4406 code.

On the FBE, viscosity sets the speed. The FBE 2026 catalogue (p.5) recommends 1,750 rpm in direct drive from 30 to 250 SSU, 1,150 rpm from 250 to 2,500 SSU and 850 rpm from 2,500 to 7,500 SSU; above that, from 700 to 150 rpm with a pulley or gear reducer, up to 100,000 SSU on the 3″ to 6″ models.

The pump has no impeller and no rolling bearing: the shafts turn in bushings, which the catalogue (p.3) lists in self-lubricating bronze, cast iron, PTFE, graphite or babbitt metal, and a rolling bearing exists only in the optional external bearing. Sealing is by packing, mechanical seal or lip seal, and the internal relief valve is among the accessories (p.3).

For generator and bearing cooling water and for service water, the FBCN is assessed against its curve, with the maximum discharge pressure as a function of temperature in Figures 1 and 2 of the manual (p.6). The FBCN has back-pull-out construction, which lets the bearing assembly be removed from the volute without disconnecting or misaligning the piping (MTEC-03/00, p.1).

Drainage with a submersible pump is not a configuration documented in the FBCN manual, and the technology is confirmed with the sump data.

4. Biomass and cogeneration: separate energy and process

EPE’s 2026 Statistical Yearbook of Electricity records 66.1 TWh of bioelectricity in 2025 and an 8.5% share of the generation mix. The total mainly includes sugarcane bagasse and black liquor; it is not equivalent only to the electricity exported by sugar mills.

In a steam cycle, identify boiler feed, condensate, cooling and process steam uses. Pressures and temperatures come from the boiler and turbine design, not from a fixed range attributed to every biomass plant.

In boiler feed, the discharge pressure must exceed the boiler pressure plus the level difference and the losses, and the water arrives close to saturation. Above the FBCN’s 135 m, the FBME multistage pump, with up to 300 m and 140 °C in the general data of MTEC-08/01 (p.1), can be compared within its curves and limits. The step-by-step calculation is on the industrial hot water page, in the next steps.

The FBOT should be considered when there is a heat-transfer-fluid circuit, with documented product and conditions. The presence of cogeneration does not prove that juice, must or distillation are heated by thermal oil.

According to the FBOT 2026 catalogue (p.2), the FBOT pumps organic thermal oils at high temperature without the need for external cooling, has back pull-out construction and seals the bearing with a dual safety system: graphite packing and a mechanical seal immersed in the thermal oil itself, operating at low temperature. The line data go up to 2,200 m³/h, 135 m, 350 °C and 3,500 rpm, and the maxima are not reached simultaneously by a single model or operating point.

The maximum discharge pressure varies with temperature (manual MTEC-16/00, Figure 1, p.5).

Water, vinasse and juice must be analysed as different streams. For vinasse, send composition, temperature, solids and suction conditions; do not presume material, impeller or seal plan from the fluid’s name. Fire protection also needs its own sizing and documentation.

5. Technical challenges: chemistry, NPSH and materials

In cooling towers, evaporation and blowdown change the salt concentration. DOE recommends monitoring water chemistry and controlling cycles according to the treatment and local conditions. This must be considered together with the hydraulic demand.

FEMP’s BMP #10, a US Department of Energy programme, gives the balance: make-up = evaporation + blowdown + drift, and the cycles of concentration are the ratio of dissolved solids in the blowdown to those in the make-up, checked by the conductivity of the two waters. Many systems operate at two to four cycles, and six or more may be possible, depending on the make-up water and the treatment.

The water reaching the circulation pump is the concentrated water, and it is this water that defines material and sealing.

The compatibility analysis must cover make-up water, the concentration during operation and the treatment chemicals. The FBCN manual lists cast iron, WCB and CF8M constructions; it does not publish a bronze B62 rule for every tower or universal approval for seawater.

Calculate available NPSH at the lowest water level and the highest expected temperature, including vapour pressure and actual losses. Compare it with the configuration curve and a margin appropriate to the application. There is no universal NPSHr below 4 m or fixed 1 m margin for every FBCN. Debris and air entry also need assessment.

Vapour pressure rises with temperature: according to NIST’s water saturation table, it is 4.25 kPa at 30 °C, about 0.43 m of column, and 7.38 kPa at 40 °C, about 0.76 m. The calculation therefore uses the warmest water expected in the basin or intake, not the annual average.

For oil, state startup and operating viscosity, differential pressure, cleanliness and the equipment’s requirements. For drainage sumps, describe solids and the need for priming. The documented FBCN should not be treated as a submersible, chopper or slurry pump without a proven specific construction.

6. FBCN materials for power plant applications

Material must be identified by component and by compatibility with the fluid. The table separates constructions described in the manual from special requirements that depend on confirmation. No alloy, on its own, covers every auxiliary application.

The FBCN manual documents the casing in cast iron (Figure 1) and in A216 WCB carbon steel and A743 CF8M stainless steel (Figure 2), each with the maximum discharge pressure as a function of temperature (p.6). The impeller material limits peripheral speed (item 6, p.8): up to 40 m/s in cast iron, 60 m/s in ductile iron and carbon steel and 80 m/s in stainless steels.

On a stainless impeller, the curve efficiency is reduced by 3 points with a passage width up to 12 mm and by 2 points from 12 to 15 mm, with no reduction above 15 mm (item 7, Table 4).

7. FBCN recommended models for power plants

The models below are enquiry points, not ready-made selections. Nozzles identify interfaces; they do not prove flow, head or efficiency. Use the curve of the proposed impeller and speed, plus the pressure, material and sealing limits. The manual publishes general series limits of 2,200 m³/h and 135 m.

The designation comes from the manual (p.1): in FBCN 150-400, 150 is the nominal diameter of the discharge flange and 400 the nominal impeller diameter, in millimetres. The suction size varies by model: on the 150-400, it is DN 200, as in the table below. The series speed goes up to 3,500 rpm.

8. Brazilian power sector context

EPE published BEN 2026 with 2025 as the base year. The renewable share of the electricity matrix was 86.8%; wind and solar together accounted for 26.4% of generation. These indicators describe national energy, not the quantity of pumps demanded or FB Bombas’s commercial share.

In a commercial enquiry, identify the owner, site, duty and project stage. A generator’s presence in the market does not prove FB Bombas registration or previous supply; required references must be verified in the procurement process.

ANEEL regulates and supervises the electricity sector; ONS coordinates and controls the operation of generation and transmission in the National Interconnected System (SIN). The pump specification must bring together the owner’s, design, safety and applicable-standard requirements, without turning these institutional roles into a product certificate.

To compare proposals, ask for an identified configuration, curve, materials, operating limits, motor, sealing, tests and documentation. Delivery, spares and support must have a confirmed scope. Technical coverage is established duty by duty, without generic percentages of plant coverage.

The FBCN, FBME, FBE and FBOT are manufactured in Cabreúva, São Paulo, where FB has CNC machining, assembly and a performance test bench conforming to ANSI/HI 14.6, the test standard for rotodynamic pumps such as the FBCN, FBME and FBOT. A certified curve and FAT are included when they are part of the contracted scope.