Plant british antarctic survey - Lake Ellsworth

For 16 years, a British research team has been working on an ambitious project to drill the deepest hole ever made in Ellsworth Lake, a subglacial lake in western Antarctica, in search of evidence of primordial life.

During drilling, they were able to reach a depth of 300 metres. Caprari pumps were used to carry out the project. Water heated to 90°C was pumped into the borehole at a pressure of up to 138 bar. Approximately 210 litres of water per minute were introduced. This was a race against time because, despite the fact that hot water was being pumped in, the 360 mm drilling channel was freezing at a rate of 0.6 cm per hour.

Two drilling channels were created, at the ends of which it was necessary to establish a cavity the size of a container so as to compensate for the water pressure.
An industrial boiler with a capacity of 1.5 MW produced 90,000 litres of hot water, which was delivered gradually by means of three basins. The power supply was provided by a number of generators. In total, around 100 tonnes of equipment had to be flown in, even from over 16,000 km away in some cases. This included the Caprari submerged electric pump which, as highlighted by Project Director Martin Siegert, “worked without any problems” despite the most adverse operating conditions. The efficient stainless steel electric pump for submerged applications was coupled with a Caprari motor. With a power rating of 22 kW at 400 V, the pump provides a flow rate of roughly 300 l/min at the depth reached.

The unit, which is 2.5 m long and weighs 111 kg, was mounted on the head of a hot water jet drill, which itself weighs 200 kg and is 1.4 m long. A compact 3,200 m long supply pipe was manufactured to drive the unit.

With drilling of this magnitude, all the parties involved are proverbially venturing into uncharted territory. It is indeed an unusual project for Caprari, but it still falls within the scope of its product specifications.