The customer
Birla Carbon is the global market leader for innovative, sustainable industrial carbon black solutions that improve the functionality of coatings, plastics, textile fibers, energy systems and carbonaceous materials (SCM), among other things.
The company is represented in twelve countries, operates 16 production sites and two technology centers in the USA and India.
The starting point
Birla Carbon has developed a new carbon black additive for lithium-ion batteries that is extremely fine and light due to its low bulk density and high air retention capacity. Conventional bagging processes lead to harmful dust pollution, slower processes and bulky, bloated bags that cause an uneven pallet appearance and increased transport damage.
The request
Birla Carbon required a fully automated full-line system that would guarantee high throughput rates with ultra-light powder on the one hand and ensure a completely dust-free filling process on the other. The aim was to suck the material precisely and dust-free into the valve bags, avoid uneven bag volumes and thus achieve a uniform, transport-safe pallet pattern.
The solution
GREIF-VELOX used the VeloVac Full-Line vacuum packer, which generates a vacuum field in a closed vacuum chamber. The ultra-fine carbon black powder is sucked directly into the bags, every dust particle is extracted and fed back into the process. Product compaction of up to 400% reduces the bags to a quarter of their volume, cutting packaging and logistics costs by up to 75% and reducing the carbon footprint.
The result
With the new VeloVac Full-Line system, equipped with three bagging spouts, Birla Carbon can bag up to 33 bags of 102 liters per spout. The precise, consistent bagging allows quick adjustment to different volumes, and 24/7 operation runs without unplanned disruptions. Full automation eliminates dust pollution, minimizes cleaning effort and ensures maximum process stability and transport safety.
With the turnkey VeloVac Full-Line, we have realized a globally unique, absolutely clean bagging process, without which our new soot additive for electromobility would not have been ready for the market.
Zachary Combs,
R&D Director Energy Systems at Birla Carbon
High bagging capacity thanks to coordinated vacuum and dosing components
Up to 75 % savings in storage and logistics costs thanks to extreme bag compacting
Dust-free process and minimal cleaning and complaint costs
24/7 operation with high automation and low personnel costs
Flexibility & scalability for different powder batches
Transport safety thanks to uniform, compact pallet loading