Filling machines for flammable products and solvents
What has to be kept under control when filling a flammable product is not the liquid. It is the atmosphere above it, the charge that builds up as the container fills, and the spark that nobody planned for.
We build explosion proof filling lines for solvents, alcohols, adhesives, resins and fuel products, in jerrycans, drums, barrels and IBCs (totes), designed and supplied as a whole assembly and not machine by machine. Our engineering team checks every project against the regulations of the country of installation — ATEX in Europe, NEC in the United States, IECEx or the local scheme elsewhere — so it can be commissioned without surprises.
It is rarely the whole plant
Most of the explosion proof machines we have installed are not in flammables companies. They are in chemical and agrochemical plants that run both: a standard line for the aqueous formulations and an explosion proof line for the solvent-based ones, often in the same building, sometimes filling the same container format on the same day.
BASF, SYNGENTA, NUTRIEN and VALAGRO all have both versions installed on AiCROV machines.
That matters when you are buying. You do not need one supplier for the safe area and a specialist for the classified one, and you do not end up with two machines that work differently, are operated differently and are maintained differently. It is the same machine, the same control philosophy and the same spare parts — built to the regime of the zone it stands in.
Static is what actually starts the fire
A drum being filled is, electrically, a capacitor being charged. Product flowing through a hose and falling into the container separates charge, the charge accumulates, and it discharges at the first opportunity — usually at the bunghole, exactly where the vapour is richest.
That is why, for these products, we do not fill from above:
- Immersion filling. The nozzle goes down to the bottom of the container and rises with the product, staying below the surface as the level comes up. No free fall, no splashing, no spraying. It is not a refinement, it is the safety measure.
- Electrostatic grounding control. The machine verifies the bonding of the container before authorizing the fill, and stops if continuity is lost during it.
- Nitrogen inerting. Before, during and after filling, where the product requires displacing the oxygen in the headspace.
- Gas hood and fume extraction, to stop vapour accumulating in the filling area.
- Closed cabin, for the products that need the operation confined.
- Overfill detection, because an overflow in a classified zone is not a cleaning job.
Explosion proof as a whole, not machine by machine
This is where most of the arguments we hear from the market fall apart.
A filling machine can carry a certificate while the conveyor that brings the pallet in does not. Or the tool holder does. Or the tools do not. The zone does not care how the supply was split: what has to be safe is everything inside it.
When we supply an explosion proof version, the certification covers the whole assembly: machine, weighing conveyor and line conveyors, tool holder, and every tool fitted. Under ATEX 2014/34/EU, under IECEx, or under the scheme applicable in the country of installation. It is what we supplied for a four-line, sixteen-robot propylene derivatives plant in India — see the BPCL project.
If your plant is in the United States, the term you will see on the documentation is explosion proof, not ATEX: ATEX is European legislation and does not apply there. We prepare the documentation to the regime of the country where the machine will run, and we tell you which one applies to you before you order.
The documentation is part of the machine
An explosion proof line that arrives without its paperwork in order is a line that cannot be started up.
The supply includes the declaration of conformity, the equipment marking, the certificates of every component in the classified zone, and the risk assessment carried out on the configuration actually supplied — not on a generic model. Depending on the country, we either arrange certification in our own workshop before shipping, which makes approval on site faster, or we supply the complete technical file so that the competent body or your own compliance team can approve the installation locally.
Proven designs. You are not the experiment.
There is no room to learn on the job with these products. Our explosion proof machines are not adaptations invented for one order: they are designs we have built and tested many times, adjusted to the electrical and safety regime of each country.
Products in this group
Solvents and thinners · alcohols and alcoholic bases · adhesives and solvent-based sealants · resins and polyurethanes · fuels, additives and fuel products · emulsifiable concentrates in the agrochemical industry.
Containers
From one litre to 1,500:
- Jerrycans and canisters, from 1 to 30 litres, usually UN approved
- Drums and barrels, steel and plastic
- IBCs and totes
Which machine fits your line
Any AiCROV machine can fill these products. What decides which one you need is not what you fill — it is how many containers per hour you have to produce, in what format, and how much of the operation you want automated. Every container format, from a one-litre canister to a 1,500-litre IBC, has machines across the whole range, from semi-automatic to fully automatic.
What the product decides is everything inside the filling unit: whether it is filled by immersion or under the bunghole, the materials in contact with it, and how the nozzle itself is driven — push or pull, two-stage coarse and fine opening or proportional, and whether the process needs flow control and continuous pressure.
That is why our first step is a conversation and not a quotation. Tell us your output, your containers and your product, and the configuration follows.
LSG — semi-automatic weigh filling machine for jerrycans and small containers
Semi-automatic weigh filling machine for jerrycans and small containers. No installation: connect power, air and product, and it is ready to fill.
LSB — semi-automatic weigh filling machine for drums
Semi-automatic drum filling machine for 30 to 250 litres: it weighs every drum as it fills, comes preconfigured and is simple to run.
LSC — semi-automatic weigh filling machine for IBCs
For plants that only fill IBCs (totes): quick to set up and configure, and available in an explosion proof version.
SP1 — semi-automatic weigh filling machine for containers on a pallet
Semi-automatic weigh filling of jerrycans, drums and IBCs on a pallet: the operator positions the nozzle and the machine fills to the net weight.
SP2 — semi-automatic filling line for containers on a pallet, with conveyors
Semi-automatic filling of drums and IBCs on a pallet, from 20 to 1,500 litres, by weight, on a preconfigured machine.
SP25 — weigh filling machine with motorised nozzle positioning
This is the machine in the range where the operator stops moving the head by hand. Travel in X, in…
SP3 — automatic filling machine for drums and IBCs on a pallet
With the Robot Filler, this is the most automated machine we build. The operator does not intervene during the cycle…
Robot Filler — fully automatic robotic filling machine for drums and IBCs
Robotic filling of jerrycans, drums and IBCs on a pallet: 3D vision finds each container, then the robot uncaps, fills, caps and seals.
EL2-B — in-line automatic drum filling machine
Automatic in-line filling of steel and plastic drums from 60 to 250 litres, by weight, with uncapping, capping and sealing stations.
EL2-E — in-line automatic filling machine for jerrycans and small containers
Automatic in-line weigh filling machine for liquid and viscous products in metal or plastic canisters, pails and jerrycans with a rectangular base.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is ATEX valid in the United States?
No. ATEX is European legislation. In the United States the equivalent framework is the NEC (Class I, Division 1/2 or Zone 1/2), with listed equipment. IECEx is an international scheme, recognized in many countries. We prepare the documentation for the regime of the country where the machine will run, and we tell you which applies before you order.
Is the conveyor certified too, or only the machine?
The whole assembly: machine, conveyors, tool holder and tools. A partial certification leaves uncertified equipment inside the classified zone, which is exactly what the classification is meant to prevent.
Why immersion filling and not filling from the top?
Because free fall separates electrostatic charge and splashing spreads vapour. The nozzle fills below the surface and rises with the level, which removes both.
Can the machine check the earthing of the container?
Yes. Electrostatic grounding control verifies the bonding before authorizing the fill and stops the cycle if continuity is lost.
Can you inert with nitrogen?
Yes, before, during and after filling, as the product requires.
What documentation comes with the machine?
Declaration of conformity, marking, certificates of the components in the classified zone, and the risk assessment carried out on the configuration actually supplied.
Tell us about your product, your zone classification and your containers.
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