Automated SLES Dilution Unit

Customer

The customer is a market leader in the distribution of raw materials for the production of chemicals and cosmetic products in Italy.

Project

The customer planned to increase the production of SLES diluted at 27% and therefore needed to install a new SLES dilution unit.

INOXPA offered a complete project with a fully automated, versatile SLES dilution unit.

Why INOXPA?

For this project, INOXPA provided the customer with a complete solution as a turnkey project. The ability of the work team to do this type of project and the competitive price offered convinced the customer to choose our proposal.

INOXPA solution

SLES (sodium lauryl ether sulphate) is a product supplied in concentrate (70%) and diluted to approximately 27% at the plant where it is to be used. This process saves storage space for concentrated SLES and reduces transport costs to the plant.

For use in the production of gels and shampoos, the concentrated SLES has to be diluted. In concentrations above 27%, this product becomes highly viscous and cannot be pumped.

The main purpose of this project was to use reverse osmosis water from a 30 t tank to dilute 70% SLES stored by the customer in two 30 t tanks to 24-27%.

To achieve this dilution, the product is mixed by a multitooth mixer to obtain a consistent mixture of water and SLES (70%). The mixture is controlled in the right proportions by adjusting the flow rates of both the SLES (70%) and the water.

Installation characteristics

For this purpose, the unit includes the SLES pump for each tank of concentrate and the reverse osmosis water pump; both pumps have a flow meter at the discharge side.

To check that the product has been diluted correctly, there are flow, conductivity and pH meters fitted at the outlet of the unit after the multitooth mixer.

This unit is fitted with an electro-pneumatic pump for dosing chemicals (acid, soda and 3 additives). There is also a filter for the diluted SLES at the outlet of the dilution unit.

The unit consists of the following components divided into 4 frames:

Two frames with a 70% SLES discharge pump, each located under the 70% SLES tanks.
Dilution frame: Reverse osmosis water discharge pump, multi-tooth mixer, filter with plugging control, mass flow meter for reverse osmosis water, mass flow meter for 70% SLES (2 units, one for each tank), conductivity meter, pH meter, temperature transmitter, mass flow meter for 27% SLES check.
Chemicals frame, which holds the IBCs of the 5 chemicals: metering pump with flow control (5 units), mass flow meter for controlled dosing of chemicals (5 units), suction lance with minimum level control.

The unit has automatic valves to control the flow of diluted SLES that can be sent to two diluted SLES storage tanks or to load a truck.

The electrical panel with PLC and display for the automated control of the entire system is located on the SLES dilution frame.

Special features

This SLES dilution unit is special in comparison to those normally manufactured by INOXPA. It is a versatile unit divided into different frames that allow to place the pumps under the 70% SLES tanks, outside the SLES unit.

The unit has a very high level of automation with constant indication of the status of the unit. It has temperature control for the reverse osmosis water and the diluted SLES, and it has discharge flow confirmation with a flow meter at the outlet. It also has pressure transmitters at each pump outlet, at the mixer outlet and at the filter inlet and outlet.

Chemical metering is controlled by mass flow meters and metering pumps with proportional flow rate variation.

The unit installed at the customer's plant for the preparation of recipes is autonomous: the PLC communicates with the customer's SCADA to replicate the recipe sent by the customer without the need for a direct handling by the operator.