Batch processing unit

General description
Batch plant products for the glass industry. Glass Service supplies tailor-made batch plants for diverse glass types and production scales, from tableware to specialty and pharmaceutical glass.

• Tableware
• Container
• Perfumery
• Pharma neutral borosilicate
• Lead and barium crystal

Raw material source
Each batch plant is designed to customer requirements and local raw material availability. Feeding options are selected by the customer and accommodated by the plant through multiple receiving systems.

• Bags with manual loading
• Big-bag 1000–1500 kg
• Pneumatic transport
• Bulk

Raw material storage is provided in silos or in bulk storage bays. For each packaging type Glass Service develops appropriate discharge solutions, from automatic bag opening with dust filtration to fully pneumatic handling. The system manages main raw materials and additives (refining or decolouring agents). Dust sources are detected and controlled by dedicated filters to minimize powder release.

Automatic batch plant
The fully automatic batch plant is recommended for medium and high-output glassworks (over 50 TPD) or for special glasses requiring precise batching or reduced labor. Each plant is custom-engineered to site conditions and customer specifications.
The automatic batch plant can be fed by several systems:

• Bags 25 kg each, automatic loading
• Big-bag 1000–1500 kg each
• Pneumatic transport
• Bulk
• Railway wagons

Each raw material is assigned a silo or dedicated storage with volume sized to local transport and supply conditions. Extractors and dosing devices are specified per material and per recipe.
You can install:

• Screw feeder
• Electromagnetic vibrating channel
• Special small-dosing screw (for refining and decolouring agents)

For cullet dosing a mechanical vibrating channel can also be provided.

Control system
The control system manages all batching phases from raw material intake to the furnace batch silos. Functions and drives (motors, vibrators, etc.) are integrated in a single control cabinet. Based on a PLC, the system combines control and power drive functions.

• Raw material load management
• Recipe management with historical recording and analysis
• Graphic plant overview
• Alarm management

The HMI can be a local touch-screen panel for semi-automatic plants or PC/SCADA for fully automatic plants. Manual controls for each equipment are integrated for emergency operation in case of PLC failure; local pushbutton and lamp panels assist operators.

Other specifications
Weighing systems are fully electronic with high-precision load cells mounted on anti-damage supports (torque bars and special brackets). Scale cones are stainless steel with vibrating discharge and dedicated dust collection. Mixers are intensive units with reinforced steel casings to ensure high homogeneity in short mixing times. Transportation to the furnace silos uses bucket elevators and belt conveyors; all dust is collected by dedicated filters to avoid segregation and ensure uniform batch quality. Glass Service batch plants can manage raw materials from site entry to furnace batch silos.

Technical specifications

• Application: medium and high-output glassworks, over 50 TPD; suitable for special glasses requiring high batching precision
• Tailor-made design according to customer requests and local raw material availability
• Raw material receiving: bags (25 kg), big-bag (1000–1500 kg), pneumatic transport, bulk, rail wagon
• Raw material storage: silos or storage bays with dedicated extractors
• Dosing & feeding options: screw feeder, electromagnetic vibrating channels, special small-dosing screws, mechanical vibrating channel for cullet
• Weighing: full electronic scales with high-precision load cells and anti-damage supports
• Scale cones: stainless steel with vibrating discharge and dedicated dust collection
• Mixers: intensive mixers with reinforced steel case for rapid, homogeneous mixing
• Transportation to furnace silos: bucket elevator and belt conveyors with dust filtration to minimize segregation
• Dust control: dedicated dust filters and minimization solutions
• Control system: PLC-based; local touch-screen or PC/SCADA HMI; manual emergency controls and local pushbutton/lamp panels
• Control features: raw material loading, recipe management with historical recording and analysis, plant-wide graphic view, alarm management