A Drum Decanting Unit, or DDU, is a mechanized
and automated means to add drummed additives to the blending
system. The mechanization of drum decanting promotes safety
and resource utilization while decreasing blending variation
and labor costs. The unit's automation simplifies recipe management
and production planning while limiting waste generation.
In today's competitive marketplace recipes are becoming increasingly
complex requiring more specialized additives to enter into
the formula. These unique additives, delivered in drum containers,
involve up to 20% of the recipe. With the available number
of additives for various products increasing, the efficient
handling of drummed additives becomes an important aspect
of a blending process. To speed up production,Wei-Pack designs
Drum Decanting Units (DDU) to automatically drum additives.
With the DDU, emptying even the most viscous drummed additives
is possible due to the systems unique design. These are some
of the unique features you can expect:
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Drum Weighing Platform
A typical DDU skid system employs
roller conveyors to feed and discharge the drums, one drum
at a time into the drum weighing platform. The platform is
mounted on load cells and comes with
a tilting device to slant the drum and allow for maximum removal
of product. Optionally, bar code readers may be used to positively
identify the additive and prevent from blending an incorrect
component.
Drum Emptying
The decanting mechanism consists of
a swivel lance assembly inserted into the drum. A remotely
operated two-stage dosing valve on the outlet of the lance
typical controls the drummed additive
dosing. Once a set amount is reached, the lance is removed,
squeegee cleaned, and ready for the next drum in sequence.
Drum Cleaning
A rinse tank is included with the
decanting system to rinse all the drums with hot base oil
using the lowest viscosity base stock of the blend. Thus the
amount of residual additive in the
drums can be minimized. Additionally, the rinse tank sends
hot oil to flush the lance of any remaining additive. This
step can occur either between each
drum or at the end of the entire drum discharge procedure,
whichever is preferred.
Pipe Cleaning
After the last additive is emptied
from the drum, the lines are cleaned with the remaining hot
oil in the rinse tank.
Local Operator Station
A local operator station, linked to
the main control system, is installed at the weigh platform.
It assists the operator by providing step-by-step instructions
and verification as each step is completed.
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