MechChem Africa August 2019

⎪ Products and industry news ⎪

Fibre drum dumping system conditions, discharges

eliminating the dust, spillage, labour costs and potential injury associated with manual drum handling. Apowered roller conveyormoves each full drumintoa conditioning stationwhere hydraulic rams press and release it on opposite sides. A turntable then rotates the drum in user-selected increments for subsequent press-and-release cycles suf- ficient to loosen the material. The conveyor automatically sends the

conditioned drum to a TIP-TITE ® dump- ing station that hydraulically raises and seats the drum rim against a discharge hood equippedwith a slide gate. A second hydraulic cylinder lifts and tips thedrumto anangleof 45, 60or 90degreeswithamo- tion-dampening feature. At full rotation, the slide gate opens to allow controlled discharge of material into downstream process equipment. Once the empty drum is returned to its upright position, the rollers are reversed, sending the drum to a pneumatically-ac- tuated ram that pushes it onto a separate roller conveyor where empty drums are accumulated for removal. Photoelectric sensors located along the roller conveyor relay the position of empty and full drums to the system controller, which powers the rollers to advance and stop drums as desired during each phase of the process. The system is designed to accommo- date fibreboard drums of all popular sizes weighing up to 340 kg, and is also offered inhigh-lift configurations for dumping into elevated receiving equipment. www.flexicon.co.za while this doesn’t happen often, users of Handigas must still be vigilant to prevent any incidents and injurieswhileusing LPG. “We already have the Afrox red seal on the valve of Handigas cylinders, which lets the public know our cylinders have been checked, tested and filled correctly, and are safe for use. We have rolled this poster campaignout across SouthAfrica in time forwinter (????)whenwe canexpect a spike in consumer demand,” he adds. The poster gives practical advice on what to do if the smell of gas detected and what to do in the event of a gas fire. Moran also urges the public to avoid a possible last-minute rush demand trig- gered by sudden cold spells depleting available stocks at Afrox Gas & Gear out- lets and accredited distributors. He rec- ommends that consumers exchange their empties for full Handigas cylinders now while stocks are high andwidely available. www.afrox.co.za

Flexicon has released a new TIP-TITE™ DrumDumpingSystemthat automatically conditions fibreboard drums containing bulk solid material, dumps the material into downstream equipment, and accu- mulates empty drums on a roller conveyor for removal. The system is intended for low- to high-volumehandlingof drums containing material that has solidified or agglomer- ated during storage or shipment, while

TIP-TITE™ Drum Dumping System from Flexicon.

Afrox continues to put gas safety first

As one of the largest suppliers of LPG into the domestic and hospitalitymarkets

this winter and are currently ramping up prefilling operations to ensure stocks are ready for distribution when the cold weather hits,” saysHead of SHEQat Afrox StephenMoran. (is this seasonally correct – winter is almost over in SA?? Last year Afrox LPG distributor, Ulula Energy, launched Afrox’s lightweight 5 kg SafetyGas cylinders in theWesternCape. The new cylinders, thousands of which have been imported into the region by Afrox,willcomplementthe6kgHandipack cylinders already offered for sale to the public in low-income housing, residential sectors and light industry. Moran says that with the domestic use of Handigas growing each year, the company needs to ensure that people think about safety on a constant basis. “To this end, we have developed a poster around LPG leaks and fire emergencies;

in South Africa, Afrox has negotiated long-term import agreements that have result- ed in more cost-effective imports and ensured se- curity of supply. “We have imported a substantial number of new

LPG cylinders to meet demand

36 ¦ MechChem Africa • August 2019