Drum Decanting Unit (DDU). The easiest way to improve your additive handling. Up to 20% additives are involved in a recipe. The additives are delivered in tanks, small containers or drums, according to their quantity. For example, additive suppliers examine the base oils used for one specific recipe in combination with different additives to improve the efficiency of the lubricants. The available number of additives for various grades is increasing. Therefore, special importance is put on the handling of additives in the production process.

With the help of an automatic DRUM DECANTING UNIT, emptying of drums containing high viscosity additives is possible within a very short period of time. Integrated cleaning-cycles, as part of the recipe, enable complete discharge of the very expensive additives thus preventing the generation of slop oil.

Every year thousands of drums of additives are used in a typical oil blending plant. With an assumed waste of only 2kg of additives in an 180kg drum, valued approximately 5 $US, the use of such drum-decanting units become quickly profitable.

A typical arrangement for drum additive handling contains DDU, heating ovens for typical heating of 12 drums and conveyors. Barrels are preheated in ovens from where they are transferred to the decanting operation. Some of the barrels (with low viscosity materials) do not need preheating. Drums will be placed by the forklift onto one of the conveyors and transferred by gravity conveyors into the ovens or by powered conveyor to the drum-decanting units. Each of the drum ovens is suited for heating up to 12 drums simultaneously. The drums will be shifted manually to the weighing platform and positioned so that the bunghole is located below the suction lance. At the weighing station the platform is slightly tilted (operator controlled) to ensure minimum residue.

The advantages of the DRUM DECANTING UNIT are the following:

- Fast return on investment.
- Automatic handling of additives up to 5000 Cst.
- Fast automatic decanting 3 m³/h (viscosity 3000Cst).
- No impact from changes in density, viscosity and temperature of the products on the dosing result.
- Skid mounted DDU-Module for easy integration in existing production units.