Process pumps

Buying guide

Flow rate settles most purchases here before anything else, because a pump chosen for the wrong volume range is simply the wrong pump. A peristaltic head dosing microlitres per minute into a fermenter has nothing in common with a process unit shifting litres per minute through a filtration loop, and the two do not substitute for one another. Fix the flow window the application needs first, then read everything else against it: pressure capability, the materials that touch the fluid, and whether the duty is continuous or intermittent.

Pressure and fluid chemistry follow directly from that flow decision. An HPLC pump has to hold a steady flow against high back-pressure, so its specification lives in bar and in pulsation, not in litres. A peristaltic pump isolates the fluid inside a disposable tube, which decides tubing material and service life rather than wetted-part metallurgy. Where the liquid is aggressive, solvent-laden or shear-sensitive, the wetted materials and the pump principle matter more than headline throughput, and a buyer who skips this ends up with a unit that meets the flow figure and corrodes or shears the product.

On a used unit, condition work centres on the parts that wear. Peristaltic heads need their rollers and occlusion checked and fresh tubing fitted as a matter of course. Diaphragm and HPLC pumps need their seals, check valves and pistons inspected, since these are consumables and a listing described as working may still want a seal kit. Ask what has been replaced and when, and treat recalibration of the flow or the pressure output as expected rather than optional. Where a manual or documentation is missing, that can be requested through Questpair, and specialists respond within an hour.

What a unit costs spans the whole catalogue, from entry-level dosing heads near EUR 1 to complete process systems approaching EUR 236.745, with an average around EUR 7.308. The lower end suits a tight budget and covers most bench peristaltic and metering work; the upper end carries bioprocessing skids and tangential flow systems from Cytiva, Millipore, Thermo Scientific, Agilent, Cole-Parmer. Used and refurbished units listed for sale sit below the price of new equivalents, which is where the saving on this class of equipment comes from. Where a warranty matters, that is arranged in consultation against the specific listing.

Types of Process pumps

Which process pump types are listed?

Among the listings that specify a type, the catalogue divides along how the fluid is moved and what it is moved for. Peristaltic pumps are the most common: a roller compresses a length of tubing, so the liquid never touches the pump body and the only wetted part is a disposable tube. That isolation makes them the default for sterile dosing, media transfer and sample preparation, and it is why they dominate cell culture and bioprocessing benches. Laboratory pumps cover the general-purpose metering and transfer units that sit on a bench without a dedicated process role. HPLC pumps are built for a different job entirely, delivering a precise, pulse-controlled flow against high back-pressure so a chromatography column runs reproducibly, which places them in analytical chemistry, molecular diagnostics and protein purification workflows. Bioprocessing pumps and bioprocessing equipment are sized and specified for scale-up, where throughput and sterility carry more weight than micro-volume precision.

Tangential flow filtration systems also appear under this heading, and they are where a pump becomes part of a larger process. In tangential flow filtration the feed runs parallel to a membrane while a pump maintains the crossflow, concentrating or exchanging buffer without clogging the filter. That work is central to biomanufacturing and to protein purification: it is how a monoclonal antibody stream is concentrated, how a cell culture harvest is clarified, and how buffer is exchanged ahead of a final fill. A buyer searching for a peristaltic pump for cell culture, an HPLC pump for protein purification, or a tangential flow filtration system for antibody concentration is describing three different jobs, and the type that fits one rarely fits another.

The brands behind the process pump listings

The names that recur are Cytiva, Millipore, Thermo Scientific, Agilent, Cole-Parmer. For a buyer, that concentration is useful in three practical ways. Parts and tubing for established peristaltic and bioprocessing lines are easier to source when the maker has a wide installed base, which several of these do. Price level tracks the brand too: analytical and bioprocess names sit higher, general laboratory pump makers lower, so the brand gives a quick read on where a listing will land in the range. And a well-represented brand is easier to compare, because multiple units of the same model appear across the catalogue, letting a buyer judge condition and price against like for like rather than guessing. All of these come from verified suppliers and distributors.

What a used process pump costs here

Condition is heavily weighted toward used equipment: 1914 of the listings are used against 119 new, so 94 percent of the catalogue is pre-owned. Prices range from EUR 1 to EUR 236.745. That spread covers everything from a bare peristaltic head to a complete tangential flow or bioprocessing skid, which is why the figure stretches so far, and it is the reason used and refurbished pumps are listed below the cost of new equivalents.