Feeding system having pumps in parallel for a continuous digester

A feed system for a continuous digester wherein wood chips are continuously fed into a top of the digester and fed out from a bottom of the digester, comprising:

• a vessel having a bucket-shaped outlet defined therein, the bucket-shaped outlet containing a chips suspension and being disposed at a bottom of the vessel, the bucket-shaped outlet having an upper inlet defined therein and a cylindrical mantle surface, and a bottom, the cylindrical mantel surface of the bucket-shaped outlet having at least two outlet openings defined therein,
• a first single pump and a second single pump, each pump having a pump inlet and a pump outlet defined therein, the first and second single pumps having no pump serially connected thereto upstream or downstream thereof, the first and second single pump being in parallel,
• the pump inlets being connected to the outlet openings of the cylindrical mantle surface,
• each pump outlet being connected to a transfer line that extends to the top of the digester for pumping the chips suspension disposed in the bucket-shaped outlet to the digester,
• a stirrer disposed at the bottom of the vessel and arranged to rotate in the bucket-shaped outlet, and
• the stirrer having at least two scraper arms that are adapted to sweep over the pump inlets arranged in the mantle surface of the bucket-shaped outlet.