CHEMICAL EQUIPMENT UPDATE 


Accurate process weighing improves plant performance


 As chemical companies strive to reduce product give away and improve production yields, weighing is becoming an increasingly important part of the overall process. Eugene MCCarthy reports.


 Tandis que les industries chimiques s’efforcent d’améliorer les rendements de production, le pesage devient une étape primordiale dans le processus global. Selon Eugene McCarthy.


 Chemieunternehmen bemühen sich, die Produktionsausbeute zu steigern. Dabei gewinnt das Wiegen an Bedeutung im Gesamtprozess. Eugene McCarthy berichtet.


W


eighing technology and software from Avery Weigh-Tronix has reduced product giveaway and


improved the yield from a batch of chemicals for Schlötter Ireland by five per cent. Schlötter blends chemicals for a wide


variety of industries including automotive, microelectronics, metal finishing and medical devices. The cost of blended chemicals varies but can be up to €50/kg, so process efficiency was a key driver in the company’s lean manufacturing programme. The company would normally fill


25-1000kg containers, but also offers product in 1-10kg bottles of the blended chemical, depending upon customer requirements. Previously the operator would place the


drum or other container on to a floor scale and then fill it manually to the required level. In order never to short ship, the operator would overfill these containers so, for example, a 25kg drum could receive 1kg extra and sometimes as much as 2kg. Giveaway was even more extreme on the smaller four litre bottles - often up to 10 per cent extra. Typically, these


chemicals are higher value products. Another problem was that if there was


any spillage or product left in the filling tank, then the company has to pay for its proper disposal as a hazardous waste, in line with its IPC licence. Avery Weigh-Tronix installed and


programmed its Evolution E1110 indicator to control the pump and filling head from the filling tanks in response to the weight readings from the existing floor scales. This new semi-automated system has reduced product giveaway and improved the company’s margins. It has also freed up operator time to concentrate on more value added activities. “Moving from a manual to a semi-


automated system has seen a huge improvement in our packaging performance. It has improved our yield and enables us to use our workforce more constructively. All the operator has to do is press a button, there is no need to monitor the filling process of large containers anymore,” says Don Chaplin, engineering manager for Schlötter Ireland. “Avery Weigh-Tronix installed and


Fig. 1. The weighbridge is specifically designed for the weighing of liquids transported by rail.


7 ECE


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