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Case Study: Rotating Drum/Bulk Bag Filler Plays Role In Quality Of Surfactant Packaging At BASF
Chemicals producer BASF Corp. recently upgraded the packaging of surfactants with two key additions to its manufacturing plant. One was a purpose-built room designed for greater cleanliness and control in loading surfactants in drums or bulk bags prior to shipping. The other was installation of a rotating drum and bulk bag filler from Flexicon Corp., Bethlehem, PA, that automates the process and yields greater product output and quality control than the previous method of manual loading.
Surfactants are additives that reduce surface tension in liquids, making them easier to formulate and use in a range of consumer, industrial and healthcare products. BASF surfactants are formulated as liquids and then converted into powders. The materials are usually packaged in 55-gal (208-l) fiber drums and sometimes in 2000-lb (907-kg) bulk bags for shipment to product manufacturers.
Since many surfactants produced by BASF are for the personal care market, such as toothpaste, mouthwash, soap, shampoo and laundry detergent, their manufacture must meet rigorous quality standards. The plant is certified as ISO 9001:2000, is FDA regulated and conforms to Good Manufacturing Practices. Processes comply with U.S. Pharmacopeia (USP) and National Formulary (NF) guidelines. Hence, the need for a packaging operation that is accurate, efficient and capable of maintaining high levels of quality control, says Sherri Molomo, senior process engineer at BASF.
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