Precision Gear Metering Pump Provides Scented Plastic Bag Manufacturer Accurate and Consistent Continuous Pulse-Free Process
24/07/2023 CIRCOR
Pump purchase return on investment can be measured in days
By Mike Libbey, Area Sales Manager CIRCOR and Bob Limper, Business Development Manager CIRCOR
A global manufacturer of scented plastic garbage bags was looking for an alternative to the use of pre-scented plastic pellets. A serendipitous encounter at a tradeshow led them to a precision gear metering pump solution that gave them accuracy and consistency at the low flow rates required, while also reducing their costs and improving worker health. Yearly savings are so high that the return on investment for the pump system can be measured in days.
Seeking an alternative for costly pre-scented plastic pellets
A global manufacturer of scented plastic garbage bags was looking for an alternative to the use of pre-scented plastic pellets, which required a dedicated silo for each of the 20 available fragrances. The pellets are pneumatically conveyed to each silo from either tanker trucks or rail cars and the manufacturer was experiencing logistical issues associated with keeping the silos filled. They also had to carry high costs for maintaining the inventory of the pre-scented pellets.
In addition, the heavily concentrated scents had been causing health concerns for the workers who complained of headaches. To mitigate this issue, each extruder line was fitted with a vacuum exhaust hood to expel the fumes to the outdoors. On occasion, these emissions led to complaints from neighbors and citations from the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
The company was seeking a way to use plain plastic pellets and apply scented oil directly to the plastic sheet immediately after the extrusion process to reduce costs, logistical challenges, and energy use. They had tried to build such a system in-house but had struggled to achieve accuracy and consistency at the low flow rates they required. They decided to seek a pump-based solution that could directly spray fragrance on the warm melted sheet plastic because the in-house solution could not meet rigorous quality control standards requiring the spray-on scent to exactly match that of pre-scented pellets.
Finding a solution on a tradeshow floor
Design engineers from the plastic bag manufacturer attending the PackExpo show observed a working demonstration of precision gear metering pumps made by Zenith and asked application experts if the pumps might be a fit with their application. After collecting information on the application, an area manager for the pump manufacturer with extensive experience in dosing and blending systems visited the plant to get a firsthand view of current operations and gather additional information.
Working with the pump manufacturer’s design group they developed a system solution utilizing a Zenith B-9000 Series rotary positive displacement pump specifically designed for single stream chemical duty applications. The pump features an accurate, repeatable, pulse free flow in a compact design ideal for dosing additives such as colors, flavors, and fragrances.
Design engineers from the plastic bag manufacturer attending the PackExpo show observed a working demonstration of precision gear metering pumps made by Zenith and asked application experts if the pumps might be a fit with their application. After collecting information on the application, an area manager for the pump manufacturer with extensive experience in dosing and blending systems visited the plant to get a firsthand view of current operations and gather additional information.
Working with the pump manufacturer’s design group they developed a system solution utilizing a Zenith B-9000 Series rotary positive displacement pump specifically designed for single stream chemical duty applications. The pump features an accurate, repeatable, pulse free flow in a compact design ideal for dosing additives such as colors, flavors, and fragrances.
The new Zenith pump system gave the scented bag manufacturer a continuous, pulse free process, which guarantees equal and uniform fragrance distribution. By adding the scent directly to the bags after leaving the extruder, the plastic bag manufacturer not only eliminated the need to have separate pellet silos for each scent, but also eliminated the need to vent the fumes that come from the pellets as they travel from the silos to the extruders.
The manufacturer purchased the first system and after successful trials, ordered six additional systems. Over the past two years they have purchased more than 30 systems, with plans to order more. The manufacturer is also interested in having Zenith conduct annual field calibrations of each system.
After two years of operation, the manufacturer estimates a yearly savings of approximately $480,000 per skid in operation. With 30 skids now running, the return on investment for each system purchase can be measured in weeks.
To date, there have been no odor complaints since the customer installed the Zenith systems.
The manufacturer purchased the first system and after successful trials, ordered six additional systems. Over the past two years they have purchased more than 30 systems, with plans to order more. The manufacturer is also interested in having Zenith conduct annual field calibrations of each system.
After two years of operation, the manufacturer estimates a yearly savings of approximately $480,000 per skid in operation. With 30 skids now running, the return on investment for each system purchase can be measured in weeks.
To date, there have been no odor complaints since the customer installed the Zenith systems.
Print this articleFor more information, please contact:
CIRCOR
30 Corporate Drive
Suite 200
Burlington
MA 01803
USA
Tel: +1 781-270-1200
Email:
Web: https://www.circor.com
Share article:
Process and Control Today are not responsible for the content of submitted or externally produced articles and images. Click here to email us about any errors or omissions contained within this article.