Four Explosion Proof Robot Filler Lines for Flammable Petrochemicals — BPCL, Kochi, India
| Customer | Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) |
| Country | India (Kochi) |
| Year | 2019 |
| Industry | Petrochemical |
| Product | Propylene derivatives — highly flammable |
| Containers | Drums and IBCs (totes) |
| Machine | 4 lines × 4 Robot Fillers |
| Functions | Uncapping, filling, capping, sealing, labelling |
| Output | 120 drums/h and around 40 IBCs/h per line |
| Version | Explosion proof, robots modified for classified areas |
The challenge
BPCL needed very high output of highly flammable propylene derivatives, in a plant where the whole filling area is a hazardous zone.
The solution
Line in production
Four identical lines, each built like an automatic drum filler but with robots. The first robot takes a 3D image of every container to locate the bungholes and uncaps; two robots fill in parallel, eight drums per pass across two channels; the last robot caps and seals. Caps travel by belt from the first robot to the last. Labellers on both sides of the conveyor label each drum as it leaves. The whole line, robots included, is built in an explosion proof version.
The result
Four lines delivered in two phases, each filling 120 drums an hour, with the flexibility to run drums or IBCs on the same line.
Why robots in a hazardous area
Robots make the line flexible: each one changes tools and works on whichever container arrives, so the same line fills drums or IBCs. In a plant where the whole filling area is a hazardous zone, every component of the line — robots included — has to be built in an explosion proof version, and the line runs without operators in the filling area.
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