LPG BOTTLING PLANTS MECHANICAL UNITS INVOLVED IN THE PROCESS OF FILLING OF LPG CYLINDERS REFERENCES USED LPG DETAILS ,RECOVERY,PRODUCTION FIRE SAFETY SYSTEMS

1. Mechanical Units Involved in the
Bottling of LPG cylinders

2. Inputs
• cylinders
• water
• LPG.
• Management
• Land
• Labour
• Material
Equipment
Adjustments
•Weighing corr.
•Valve change
Processes
•Washing
• Drying
• Purging
• Evacuation
• Auto cap
fixing
• Aluminum
crimping unit
Random Fluctuations
•Operational Defects
•Market Forces
•Natural Calamities
•Availabilities of Crude
Comparison
•Weighing scale.
• Valve testing
• SQC system
Outputs
• LPG Cylinder
Monitor Outputs
 Degassing unit.
 Chain conveyor
system.
 Telescopic conveyor
system.
 pushers, stoppers,
line controls.

3. Washing unit
 The Washing unit is online
equipment used to wash the
incoming cylinders with
multiple forced jet of water to
remove mud, dirt, stains, etc.,
from the outer surfaces.
Inside view Outside view

4. Drying unit
The Drying unit is an
on-line equipment
used to dry the
cylinders, coming out
of washing unit by
blowing the air on the
sides and top surfaces
of the cylinders as
they move.

5. CONVEYOR SYSTEM
CHAIN CONVEYOR:-
 Chain conveyor is used for moving empty and filled cylinders from one location in the
plant to another location passing through various processing points. This facilitates
cylinder movement and helps automation in production.
 The entire system consists of a variety of section like Straight, Bend, T joints, Drive
Section etc.
 This system is “wet type” wherein soap solution flows through chain tracks. The soap
solution helps in reducing friction and wear and tear of chain. It also prevents build up
of static charges.
ROLLER CONVEYOR:-
 Roller conveyors are used for short distance movement of LPG cylinders. Unpowered
rollers made of aluminium pipes with ball bearings on both ends are provided for
smooth handling of cylinders on it.

6. TELESCOPIC CONVEYOR:-
 These conveyors are used for loading of filled cylinders from main line conveyor into
truck or for unloading empty cylinders from truck. It’s telescopic boom enters the truck
with the chain moving on it in forward and reverse direction. Cylinders are loaded &
unloaded respectively on/from the main line conveyor.
The On/Off of the conveyor chain and the forward/reverse/stop of the travel Boom is
controlled by operating the respective push button stations.
CHAIN CONVEYOR ROLLER CONVEYER TELESCOPIC CONVEYER

7. Conveyor system
Chain Telescopic

8. Purging unit:
 It is an on-line equipment
used to create vacuum in the
first stage and filling LPG
vapour in the second stage
in new / hot repaired empty
cylinders.
OR
 This equipment is used for
removing air from new
cylinders and filling small
quantity of LPG vapour into
them. This process is
essential for new cylinder
which are being filled for
the first time. This
eliminates the possibility of
storing explosive LPG air
mixture in the cylinder.

9. Cylinder Filling Machines
The filling and control system consists of :
• Main Pneumatic control panel
• Pneumatic sensor (for actuating the flow control valve)
• LPG Filling Gun with pneumatic clamping arrangement
• Weight Balancer type support system for filling gun
• Heavy duty non-sparking aluminum roller conveyors on platform
• Front mounted pressure indicators for main air pressure and sensor air pressure
• High pressure hose connection and shut off valves for LPG supply to the machine
Technical Specifications:-
 Type : Mechanical, Double Beam, Platform machine With Fully Pneumatic
Semi-automatic Controls
 Cylinder Filling Capacity : 5 kg. to 50 kg. cylinders
 Least Count : 100 gms.
 Filling Gun Clamping on cylinder valve : Pneumatic
 Operation START / STOP : Pneumatic Sensor Actuation
 Filling Operation Start : Press Start Button Filling will not start unless filling gun is clamped
securely
 Tare Weight Setting : Sliding Poise on secondary Beam-Easy User Friendly Design
 Filling Operation START/STOP act. : Pneumatic
 Filling Operation Stop : Automatic
 Filling Gun Release and Pull up : Automatic

10. PREFILLING MACHINE:-
 This equipment fills a predetermined quantity of
LPG in a cylinder prior to the final filling. The
machine is provided with a pneumatic timer based
cut-off arrangement which stops the filling
operation after a fixed interval of time, thereby
ensuring filling of a fixed quantity of LPG
ELECTRONIC FILLING MACHINE:-
 The electronic filling machine makes use of Strain
Gauge based Load cell. The tare weight of the
empty LPG cylinder is entered by means of a
keyboard integrated with the enclosure. Digital
Indicators provided with 3 display windows and an
integrated keyboard enclosed in an enclosure.
 This machine has a flexibility of filling 5 Kg to 50
Kg net weight cylinders.

11. TEST BATH
IN LINE TYPE:-
 Filled LPG cylinders are passed through a water trough to detect leakage of LPG through
cylinder body or bung.
 This consists of a water trough with guide rails and an integral chain conveyor, which is
installed along the length of test bath. The LPG cylinders are allowed to enter the test
bath through gravity at the entry of water trough and exit by means of chain conveyor.
 During the movement of cylinders through the trough leakage is detected through
observing bubbles.

12. DIP TYPE :-
 The equipment is used to detect
leakage through the cylinder body
or the bung, while the cylinders
are submerged in the test bath
upto bung level.
TILTING TYPE:-
 This equipment is installed inline
chain conveyor. This test bath
consists of an integrated
conveyor, cylinder holding cage, a
water tack & related pneumatics.
A set of cylinders enters into the
cage and gets tilted into the water
tank holding the cylinders.

13. Check weigh scale
The digital check weighing system with segregation
unit is designed to check the gross weight of a filled
LPG cylinder and reject the cylinder from main
stream on to a loop conveyor if the gross weight is
more or less than the stipulated value.
The electronic check scale is programmed in such a
way to subtract 14.2 Kg or 19 Kg from total weight of
cylinder and the tare weight will be displayed.
Operator has to compare the displayed tare weight
value with the tare weight value punched on the
cylinder and if the value is beyond the permissible
limit, the cylinder will be rejected.

14. Weigh correction unit
 The unit is an on-line
equipment used to ensure
that correct weight of LPG
fuel is carried in the cylinders.
 Under-filled cylinders are
filled with additional quantity
of LPG and the weight is
corrected.
 Overfilled cylinders are
checked and the weight of
LPG fuel is corrected by
evacuation process.

15. COMPACT VALVE TESTER
 The Compact Valve Tester detects
the valve seat and ‘O’ ring leak in a
single operation. Bubbles, in the
detection chamber of testing head,
indicate the leakage.
 This is a semi-automatic equipment
consists of a CVT head hung from a
post by spring balancer mechanism, a
pneumatic panel with necessary
valves & cylinders.
 This equipment can be mounted on-line
or offline and can be offered with
single or double testing heads.

16. Safety Cap Fixing Machine
 With excellent expertise, we
manufacture and supply a large
assortment of Safety Cap Fixing
Machines, which are ideal fro fixing
the caps. These caps are designed using
high grade raw materials that are
obtained from the certified vendors.
Our machines are highly acclaimed for
their good performance and these are
provided in numerous specifications,
capacities, sizes and designs in the
domestic as well as international
market.

17. Automatic safety cap fixing unit
 Auto cap fixer is
an on-line
equipment which
is used to fix
safety caps on to
the valve of
various LPG
cylinders.

18. Aluminum seal crimping /Hot air sealing unit
 Seal crimping unit is an
on-line equipment used
to crimp the aluminum
cap seal around the
cylinder valve as a final
operation on the filled
LPG cylinder i.e to Heat
Shrink PVC Shrink
Sleeves onto LPG
Cylinder valves

19. Valve Changing Machine
 This Valve Changing Machine is used for
screwing or unscrewing cylinder valve from the
cylinder. These hydraulic power pack provides
controlled torque required for the operation.
The torque can be set by adjusting the pressure
using the regulators. This machine ensures
correct tightening of valve into the cylinder.
 This essentially consists of the following
components:
A fabricated steel body.
 A Hydraulic Power pack for driving the
screwing / unscrewing spindle.
 A Flameproof motor for driving the power
pack.
 A manually lowered spindle arrangement
equipped with a spanner for screwing /
unscrewing operation.
 A pneumatically operated clamping device for
holding the cylinder during screwing /
unscrewing operation with hand operated
push pull valve control.
 A roller table is provided to mount the LPG
cylinder.

20. Valve change system

21. CYLINDER EVACUATION RACK
 ONLINE TYPE:-
 The purpose of this machine is to evacuate the LPG from the cylinders whenever it
is required to change the valves. This is an inline equipment capable of evacuating a
batch of upto 6 cylinders at a time. The LPG cylinders are conveyed onto the
evacuation unit by means of a chain conveyor.
 The cradle where the cylinders are located during the evacuating process is capable
of tilting through 180° by means of a rack and pinion arrangement. The entire
operation is controlled by pneumatic arrangements and safety interlocks are
provided to avoid any malfunctioning during the process.

22.  OFFLINE TYPE:-
 The purpose of this machine is to evacuate the LPG from the cylinders whenever it
is required to change the valves.
 This is an offline equipment capable of evacuating a batch of upto 6 cylinders at a
time wherein the LPG cylinders are loaded manually onto the evacuation unit.
 The cradle where the cylinders are located during the evacuating process is capable
of tilting through 180° by means of a rack and pinion arrangement. The entire
operation is controlled by pneumatic arrangements and safety interlocks are
provided to avoid any malfunctioning during the process.

23.  WEIGHT BASED EVACUATION UNIT:-
 This equipment is intended of for the
purpose of complete evacuation of LPG
from defective cylinders. This is a fully
automatic unit and one cylinder at a time
is handled. This equipment is suitable for
installation inline chain conveyor system
and consists of a electronic scale, tilting
cradle, evacuation gun, venting
arrangement and related all other
accessories.

24. Hydro Pressure Testing Unit
 The Hydro Pressure Testing Unit is
basically used for pressure testing of LPG
cylinders as per the statutory norms. It
consists basically a frame and tilting
cradle made out of IS:2062 material in a
batch 6 cylinders. The pneumatic system
is provided to tilt the cradle whenever it
is required. The unit facilitates for testing
different size cylinders in batches
without changing any setting in the
equipment. The unit consists of Low
Pressure & High-pressure pumps. The
unit also consists of water storage tank &
the water is re-circulated back to the tank
to avoid the water wastage.

25. Degassing system:
 Degassing unit is an on-line equipment used to remove
LPG vapor from a batch of damaged cylinders identified
during post fill inspection using water and air.
Pushers stoppers and line controls:
 Pushers and stoppers are fabricated units with
pneumatic cylinders along with proper guides. Smooth
transfer of cylinders between the parallel conveyors .

26. The Largest and The Highest
 largest LPG bottling plant, at Bajwan north
of Baghdad (Iraq)
Indian oil refinery major, Indian Oil
Corporation's Leh bottling plant set enjoys
the distinction of being the highest bottling
plant in the world - situated at 11,500ft above
sea level.

27. References
 www.wikipedia.org
 www.indiamart.com
 www.raplindia.com
 www.lpgindia.org
 www.wtrg.com
 www.pamsystems.in
 www.mottmac.in