A slurry pump is designed to move mixtures of liquid and solid particles where the liquid component helps the material flow. It is built with abrasion and corrosion resistant materials and a robust design to handle the wear from suspended solids.

A sludge pump is designed to handle much thicker and stickier material known as sludge which has a higher solid content. These pumps often use positive displacement or slow moving mechanisms to avoid clogging and manage dense viscous fluids.