Xylem’s Flygt Bibo Cuts Maintenance Costs with Integrated Intelligence

Posted by Brooke Just

Global water technology company, Xylem has unveiled Flygt Bibo – a breakthrough dewatering pump that reduces energy, wear and tear, and maintenance costs. As the latest addition to Xylem’s portfolio of smart solutions, Flygt Bibo brings built-in intelligence to industrial dewatering.

Applying Decision Intelligence, Flygt Bibo automatically adapts to its environment and only operates when needed, delivering energy savings of up to 60 percent when compared to traditional dewatering pumps, Xylem said. Operational wear and tear is also reduced by up to 70 percent as instances of snoring and dry running are minimized, leading to as much as a 50 percent reduction in repair and maintenance costs. Additionally, because of its compact and stable design, Bibo breaks the mold of traditional dewatering pumps with 30 percent fewer components, reducing the amount of inventory needed.

Commenting on the launch, Anders Casselbrant, global product manager, Submersible Dewatering Products at Xylem said, “At Xylem, we work with customers and communities across the world to bring digital transformation to the water sector. That includes the delivery of digital solutions that can optimize business processes to create more efficient and sustainable operations. As the latest addition to our arsenal of smart pumps, Flygt Bibo is set to transform dewatering practices across the mining and construction industries.

“By bringing this new, innovative technology to market, we can offer our customers an extremely reliable, compact and easy to use pump. The pump’s plug-and-play capability means no configuration is needed — the pump can easily slot into existing operations. Additionally, by adapting its speed and performance, the pump creates a future standard of flexibility and improved asset management. That intelligence together with the pump’s robust design will allow our customers to enjoy uninterrupted pumping so that they can focus on their key operations.”

Flygt Bibo offers two different running modes which can be interchanged depending on the application and operating environment. Adaptive mode is typically used when there is a requirement to maintain a constant low water level in the sump – the pump will never stop running, though it will regulate its speed after inflow. If snoring is detected, the pump will slow down to reduce wear, but when water re-enters the sump, the pump will increase its speed until the water level is low again.

By letting the pump run continuously, there is no need for any additional sensor. The incoming water triggers the pump to run, so it will always be ready to respond to changeable conditions in the field.

Level mode consists of two pre-set levels, a start level that is controlled with a built-in-pressure sensor to detect water levels, and a stop level that is triggered when the pump detects snoring. As the pump only operates when needed, for example, when water is above the set level, it optimizes efficiency and reduces both energy consumption and operational wear.

Built on the same integrated power electronics and systems platform as Xylem’s renowned wastewater pump, Flygt Concertor, the new Flygt Bibo automatically adapts to the speed and performance in a field instead of a static curve, meaning that the compact 8kW pump can deliver QH-performance that spans the range of a 2kW standard pump, right up to a 10kW standard pump.

The launch of Flygt Bibo follows rigorous field testing at the Renström mine in Sweden, one of Europe’s deepest mines. After three years of continuous collaboration and testing with mine operator New Boliden, Flygt Bibo has delivered product and repair savings of 40 percent, and New Boliden has reduced the cost of its dewatering processes by almost 30 percent.

Flygt Bibo is now available for purchase or rent in the Netherlands, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden, and Africa. The pump is expected to be available to customers globally later this year.