Position: This page focuses on the latest developments in weighing, proportioning and feeding technology and equipment. It outlines several factors to consider when purchasing equipment for use in chemical process industries (CPI) including the accuracy and reliability, ease of use, and the ability to handle special materials. It features chemical equipment including the Milltronics BW500 weighing instrument from Siemens Energy Automation Inc., Pro-Flex C feeder from Schenck AccuRate Inc., and the new Manual Dump to Rigid Bin Weigh Batching System from Flexicon. Moreover, it notes that Spiroflow Ltd. has developed a Rhinoveyor range of flexible screw conveyors with stainless-steel contact parts for food, pharmaceutical and fine chemicals weighing applications.
Accuracy atid reliability, ease of use, the ability to handle special materials and compactness are all factors to consider when purchasing weighing, proportioning and feeding equipment for use in the chemical process industries (CPI). Because each CPI application differs, there's a host of new technologies available to suit a variety of needs. Presented here is a round up of the latest developments in proportioning, feeding and weighing technology and equipment.
cess vessels in the pharmaceutical and chemical industries with a high level of accuracy (0.5% of batch size). This system allows for greater control of product quality and inventory control of materials, which can be conveyed from drums, bags or super sacks. Massandmeasurement's OHAUS HH320, a new Also designed for process applibattery-powered, hand-held scale is ready to accurately weigh items anywhere. It features a cations that need reliable meter 320-g capacity with 0.1 g readability, and it autoing, registering or monitoring of matically calibrates from the keypad hulk material flows is the K-Tron (Pitman, N.J.) Smart Flow Meter. Op Ease ofuse erating on the principles of Newto- While users in the CPI know the imnian physics F = ma, the meter has portance of weighing accuracy, reliability and Accuracy and reliability When it comes to weighing and feed- no moving parts. The bulk material safety when it comes to weighing and ing materials for chemical processes, flows through two force-sensor sta- feeding applications, simplified operaaccuracy and reliability are must-have tions that have no mechanical effect tion to achieve these results is also weighing and feeding equipment characteristics. Recently, on the material. Bulk material flows highly desirable. Several equipment some new equipment has gone high- by gravity into the upper measuring manufacturers have stepped up and channel, an inclined chute mounted are working to provide ease of use, in tech to meet these needs. on a force transducer where the force, addition to accuracy. For instance, the Milltronics BW500 acting perpendicularly on the chute weighing instrument from Siemens Energy & A new development from Sartorius is measured as mass. The bulk mateAutomation Inc. (Aipharetta, Ga.) is AG (Gottingen, Germany) demonrial then flows into the lower, vertical a ftill-feature integrator for use with strates that batching and recipe manchannel, which determines velocity or both belt scales and weighfeeders. It agement can actually be simplified for acceleration rate. From the signals of processes belt load and speed signals to the user. The PHASE application kit these two sensors, the flowrate is deprovide accurate flowrate and totalized for the Sartorius Combics Pro weightermined per unit of time. weight of bulk solids. The integrator ing terminal enables manual and auhas the ability to take on lower-level For powder dosing and conveying, tomatic hatching and recipe managecontrol functions traditionally handled the Powderflex system developed by ment in a single device. by other devices, and it supports popu- Dietrich Engineering Consultants Batch management systems such as lar industrial communication buses. S.A. (Ecublens, Switzerland) allows ProBatch+ from Sartorius can be conIts patented load-cell balance function precise and continuous dosing (<lg) nected to Combics Pro over an OPC eliminates matching of load cells. witb an accuracy of 2-3Ti. The sys- connection with an S88-phase interface The PID function may be used for tem consists of two, variable dosing in accordance with the standards of the rate control on shearing weighfeed- chambers that are alternately filled WBF (Triangle Park, N.C.; www.wbf. ers -- where belt loading is constant and emptied by means of vacuum org). This means that users can operate but it can also control pre-feeding and pressure, allowing a continuous ProBatch+ functions easily and comdevices. Operating in tandem with product flow to develop. The size and prehensively via Combics Pro. These two or more weighfeeders, the BW500 capacity of the dosing chambers can functions include, among others, recipe unit may be used for ratio blending be adapted automatically to each control for up to 16 automatic scales on and controlling additives. Batching, particular process depending on what several production lines, as well as data load-out and alarm functions are also amount of product has to he dosed or management for raw materials, recipes, transferred. Bulk solids can be trans- production plans and reports. provided with tbe unit. Similarly, Mettler Toledo (Columbus, Vac-U-Max i Belleville, N.J. ) referred very gently under inert atmocently released a batch-weigh vacsphere, which allows a charging of Ohio) has released an online weight uum conveying system designed to inert process devices and a safe closed selector designed to ease confusion when selecting the right weight. deliver powders and granules to prohandling of explosive powders.
Siemens Energy A Automation
The Siemens Mllltronics BW500 Instrument is a full feature integrator for use with both belt scales and weighfeeders. It processes belt load and speed signals for accurate flowrate and totalized weight of bulk solids
The new Combics Pro PHASE from Sartorius connected to the ProBatch+ batch management system simpiifies automatic batching and recipe management
Designed for ease of use, the new ProFlex C feeder from Schenck AccuRate packs versatility into a spaceand costefficient machine that's easy to operate, reconfigure, clean and service
By selecting a current or legacy Mettler Toledo balance model number or a non-Mettler Toledo balance hased on unit capacity, the selector is able to recommend the correct weights for routine balance calibration. Weight recommendations are offered to improve weighing accuracy and to optimize the use of the weighing instrument
The latest generation of Graviblend, a feeding and blending system from Colortronic Systems (Hunzenshwil, Switzerland) now comes equipped with a fully integrated, material conveying system.
