After expanding its range of products, to include basic chemicals, intermediates, polymers, polycarbonates, fertilizers and metals, SABIC reached out to possible suppliers seeking two specific solutions: a weighing system for a batching hopper used to produce polyethylene granulate additives, and the replacement of a competitor’s defective weighing components in twelve granule hoppers.

Minebea Intec was chosen for the accuracy, reliability and safety standards of its devices.

In the first instance, the new hopper was to be installed in an outside area that required the use of Group II and Category 2G equipment according to the ATEX directive.

On top of compliance with mandatory standards, the customer required a readability of 100 g, and the placement of the weighing electronics (transmitter) at a distance of 500 m from the hopper.

The hopper weighed 523 kg in total with a net capacity of 60 kg. To achieve the desired resolution with such an unfavourable ratio of dead load to weighing capacity, the system had to register a change in signal of 1.3 μV.