Clean and safe filtration
Self-cleaning filter brings economic and safety benefits at US resin plant

US hydrocarbon resin manufacturer Neville Chemical Company has installed a self-cleaning filter from Russell Finex to replace bag filters. The new filter has increased productivity, reduced waste, and eliminated an unpleasant job changing filter bags.

Neville Chemical Company, a recognized leader in synthetic hydrocarbon resins and coumarone-indene resins, is a small family firm that has to compete not only with US giants such as Eastman Chemical and Exxon Chemical, but also with many producers in Asia. “With all of the competitive forces out there, productivity and safety are essential to our survival,” says Rob Lonergan, general manager of company’s plant in Anaheim, California.

The Anaheim plant has been making resins since 1958, for applications such
as printing inks, adhesives and coatings. Molten resins at temperatures of
200–260°C are filtered to remove impurities, before being cooled, flaked and packed. The bag filters previously used removed impurities effectively, but needed frequent replacement. Changing filter bags was costly, both in terms of the
bags themselves and because it interrupted production. For the workforce, changing bags was also a difficult, messy
and potentially dangerous job, says Lonergan.
As well as face shields and high-temperature gloves, workers changing filter bags used respirators to protect themselves from the fumes generated by the hot resin. “Each filter bag was about three feet long, and they became quite cumbersome when full,” says Lonergan. “If the person changing the bags spilled resin on himself, the molten resin would stick and possibly burn him. Too often the workers would have to muscle out the filter bags because they were sticky. So, to some extent the task was a back injury waiting to happen.”
Minimal disruption during production changeovers
Replacing the bag filters with a self-cleaning Russell Finex Eco Filter has eliminated the difficulties and dangers of changing bags. The Eco Filter mounts directly into the pipeline and its unique spiral wiper design cleans the filter element as required, ensuring optimum filtration efficiency at all times. Cleaning the filter between batches is quick and easy, with minimal disruption during production changeovers. At Neville Chemical this resulted in substantial savings of both downtime and labor.
The totally-enclosed design of the Eco Filter stops external pollutants contaminating valuable products, and protects the operators from harmful fumes and spillage. A unique Q-Tap valve allows the sampling of freshly filtered material, so the quality of the resin can easily be monitored on the fly without interrupting production. The filter at Neville Chemical
also features the Russell Filter Management System, which continuously monitors the filter and so allows it to be operated efficiently without operator involvement.
“The call to upgrade our filtration on the solid resin line was beneficial in several ways,” Lonergan says. “It not only enabled us to operate leaner through improved productivity and reduced waste, but also led us to vastly reduce the health and safety hazards that were present with our old system.”
“I’m sure the Eco Filter has paid for itself in terms of productivity and waste elimination. But perhaps the health and safety benefits have saved us even more. We’re safer now, and our workers love the Eco Filter system because it eliminates all those physical demands. It dumps all the junk directly into a drum. The filter does all the work.”
The competitive advantages of installing the new filter system have surprised Lonergan. “I have to believe it is making us more competitive. Our Pittsburgh operation tested an Eco Filter system a
few months after we installed ours, and they have ordered some based on our success. Also, we’re planning to expand the new filter throughout our Anaheim plant.”