Silicone Complete Production Line

Project Background
Hubei Xingrui Silicone Materials Co., Ltd. (a wholly-owned subsidiary of Xingfa Group) focus on new silicone materials, has a complete silicone industry chain. It has entered into a new stage of development. They wanted to customize an efficient and intelligent silicone production line to meet the processing needs of chemical raw materials and intermediate products to improve the drying and mixing effect, and promote the benefits of enterprise.

Project Overview
Project location: Yichang City, Hubei Province
Processing materials: aluminum hydroxide, two-component silica gel
Feed moisture content: 5000-6000 ppm
Discharge moisture content: <1000 ppm
Material viscosity: ≤500,000cps
Capacity: 2 tons/day

Process Flow
Based on the actual conditions of the customer's material characteristics and plant carrying capacity, we recommended vacuum drying and planetary mixing processes, and designed a Silicone Complete Production Line, which mainly includes: powder unloading system, feeding system, drying system, batching conveying system, mixing system, discharging system, control system, etc.
1）Powder Unloading System
Aluminum hydroxide powder is discharged through the Discharging and Feeding station for both small bags and ton bags. The interior is protected by a grid and coarsely filters out debris. Equipped with dust collector and backflush to maintain a clean working environment.
2）Powder Feeding System
The hose at the bottom of the cone-bottom structure of the feeding station is connected to the receiving hopper of the vacuum feeder to continuously transport the powder to the dryer. The outlet of the feeder is equipped with a rotary valve to effectively prevent material clogging.
3）Vacuum Drying System
After the material enters the vertical ribbon dryer, it is heated through the coil to heat and dry it. The ribbon agitator drives the powder to rotate along the conical cylinder and lift from bottom to top, making all-round irregular reciprocating motion. Heat diffuses into each other in materials, combined with a vacuum condensation system, reduces the volatilization hotspot of the liquid and the liquid content in the air, effectively shortening the drying time.
4）Batching Conveying System
The barrel of the dryer also serves as a silo. The dried powder is transported by a screw conveyor to the metering tank for incremental batching. A vacuum feeder is installed at the bottom of the metering tank to transport the finished powder to the intermediate metering tank for temporary storage; Then the vacuum feeder transports the powder in the intermediate metering tank to the planetary mixer.
5）Mixing System
After the liquid feeding is completed, the powder is gradually added. In view of the material's high viscosity and precise temperature requirements, two sets of double planetary dispersing mixers are used for mixing components A and B. According to process requirements, it can be used with a vacuum system.
6）Discharging System
A total of 4 sets of Extrusion Machine are configured, 2 sets are used for discharging components A and B; 2 sets are used for base gum production. The discharge port faces the feed roller of the tri-roller machine for redispersion to solve the problem of material trace agglomeration.
7）Control System
The whole production line adopts SIEMENS PLC + touch screen (including powder conveying in the unpacking station, control of the vacuum dryer, batching volume, powder-liquid batching corresponding to the A/B mixer, etc.), which is easy to operate and can realize automated program operations.

Equipment Advantages
Vertical Ribbon Vacuum Dryer is a functional drying equipment that completes mixing, reaction and drying in one step. It is widely used in food, adhesives, lithium batteries, pharmaceutical and other industries.

· High Drying Efficiency. Its conical structure and ribbon-type agitator allow the material to be heated and turned evenly during the drying process, avoiding the occurrence of material agglomeration and adhesion. Vacuuming is performed while heating and drying, which can effectively reduce the evaporation pressure of water on the surface of the material, thereby improving drying efficiency.

· Clean Discharge. The gap between the ribbon and the cylinder wall is small, which can effectively prevent materials from sticking to the surface of the cylinder wall. The tapered cylinder structure with a small angle makes the discharge speed fast, clean and without material accumulation.

· High Intelligence. The whole system can be designed with PLC intelligent control (such as temperature, vacuum degree, rotation speed, etc.), and has a signal interface for remote control.

· Eco-Friendly. The dust removal devices, condensation recovery devices, solid-gas separation devices, etc. can be installed at the front end of the vacuum device to minimize the loss of raw materials and environmental pollution.

Double Planetary Dispersing Mixer is suitable for medium and high viscosity products, with the highest viscosity up to 10,000 Pa.s. It is widely used in adhesives, silicone, high-end ink, putty and other industries, and is the core equipment of the glue industry.

· Heavy Duty Design. For high viscosity or ultra-high viscosity products, it can efficiently achieve mixing and dispersion.

· Agitators Precision Casting. CNC machined to minimize the gaps between the blades and the blades and the barrel wall and bottom. It has better kneading force, uniformity and mixing efficiency.

· Precise Temperature Control. It can be evacuated according to process requirements, and equipped with a jacket to control heating/cooling of the material. Combined with a top-mounted temperature measurement probe, it ensures that the temperature is accurate and stable, thereby achieving the ideal glue-making effect.

· Discharging Empty and Easy to Clean. The independent scraper rotates with the planet frame to completely scrape off the material so that there is no residue on the barrel wall.

Conclusion
This Silicone complete production line uses an intelligent control system to realize the automated production process from powder feeding, drying, batching, mixing to finished product output. It arrived at the customer's production base in early August and was successfully put into production, effectively improving drying efficiency and the mixing quality is improved, while energy consumption and production costs are greatly reduced, bringing significant economic and environmental benefits to the enterprise.