Automatic Washing Powder Production Line

Completely different from the fruit powder and aluminum powder production lines you inquired about earlier, the automatic washing powder production line is an extremely mature and highly standardized complete set of equipment in the daily chemical industry, which has achieved full-process automation at the “black light factory” level. The core lies in the choice between two technical routes: do you choose “tower spray drying” (hollow particles, mainstream for high-end/export products) or “agglomeration molding” (solid particles, mainstream for concentrated powder/low-cost products)? The equipment of the two routes is not universal, and there are great differences in investment, energy consumption and product positioning. The following is a complete breakdown based on the latest benchmark projects and patent technologies put into production in 2024-2025, with detailed explanations of each link and natural integration of relevant equipment and raw material terms.

First Determine the Route: Essential Differences Between the Two Major Technical Systems

The automatic washing powder production line mainly has two core technical routes, and their differences run through the whole process from equipment configuration to product application. It is crucial to choose the appropriate route according to your own investment budget, product positioning and market demand. Most of the key equipment in these two routes is made of stainless steel, which is corrosion-resistant, wear-resistant and easy to clean, meeting the hygiene and safety requirements of the daily chemical industry. At the same time, important equipment is equipped with a stable charger to ensure continuous and stable operation, and many export-oriented complete lines are equipped with CE Certificate grinder and other certified equipment to meet international standards.

Route A: Tower spray drying method is a traditional and mature technology with a history of nearly a hundred years, and its product form is hollow spherical particles, which have good fluidity and fast dissolution speed, and are mainly positioned as ordinary washing powder and high-end export powder. The core equipment is a spray tower with a height of 15-30 meters, which requires high infrastructure investment, especially in the construction of the tower body and environmental protection facilities. The energy consumption per ton of powder is relatively high: 30-50kWh of electricity and 200-300kg of steam. The automation level is the highest, adopting full-process PLC control, and only 1-2 central control personnel are needed for a single line. The representative equipment is Anhui Mingzhi MZDP-10t/h, which was recognized as the first set of major technical equipment in Anhui Province in 2025, representing the highest level of domestic equipment. This route also involves equipment such as airflow pulverizer, Dust Grinder and high speed Dry Grinder to ensure the fineness and uniformity of particles.

Route B: Agglomeration molding method (towerless) is a mature technology developed in the past 30 years. Its product form is solid particles with high density and low foam, which is mainly positioned as concentrated washing powder (the direction of national standard concentration). The core equipment is an agglomeration granulator/mixer, without the need for a tens-of-meters-high drying tower, so the investment threshold is low and it adopts a modular design. The energy consumption per ton of powder is low, about 1/3 to 1/5 of that of the tower spray method. The automation level can be selected between full-automatic and semi-automatic, but manual unpacking is still required in the front-end feeding link. Representative enterprises and equipment include Zhejiang Meibao Industry and the static mixer of China Research Institute of Daily Chemical Industry. This route uses equipment such as universal grinder, vibrating pulverizer and turbo grinder to realize the mixing and granulation of raw materials, and some small-scale production lines can also use 200KG grinder or 500KG Grinder according to production needs.

The decision-making logic is very clear: if you want production capacity scale, need to export, or want to produce traditional big-brand powder, you should choose tower spray drying; if you want energy saving, low cost, or want to produce concentrated powder/differentiated products, you should choose agglomeration molding. It should be noted that the equipment of the two routes cannot be used universally, so you must determine the route first before selecting equipment, avoiding wrong investment. Unlike the fruit powder production line that focuses on dehydration and the aluminum powder production line that focuses on physical crushing, the automatic washing powder production line focuses on the mixing, granulation and drying of chemical raw materials, and its equipment and processes are more closely related to chemical processing.

Detailed Explanation of Route A: Full-Automatic Production Line of Tower Spray Drying Method (Taking Mingzhi MZDP-10t/h as the Benchmark)

This is currently the absolute mainstream of large-scale industrialization. In 2025, Anhui Mingzhi’s MZDP-10t/h was recognized as the first set of major technical equipment in Anhui Province, representing the highest level of domestic automatic washing powder production lines. This production line has been exported to Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Iran, Uzbekistan, Myanmar Unilever and other countries and regions, meeting international export standards, and its full-process automation level has reached the “black light factory” standard, which can greatly reduce labor costs and improve production efficiency.

The realization of full-process automation mainly relies on the integrated control of multiple control methods. First of all, it realizes automatic weighing and automatic batching: solid and liquid raw materials are accurately measured according to the formula without manual intervention. The raw materials include various chemicals, as well as some auxiliary materials related to food and daily chemicals such as salt and sugar. Secondly, it realizes full-automatic formula production: operators only need to input formula parameters, and the system will automatically execute all links from feeding, mixing, granulation to drying and packaging. Finally, it has a complete automatic monitoring and adjustment system, which can real-time monitor the production process and automatically adjust parameters to ensure product quality stability. The whole production line is equipped with a stable charger to ensure that all equipment can operate continuously and stably, avoiding production interruptions caused by power failures.

The core equipment configuration of this production line is composed of three linked subsystems. According to the patent technology of Liby Group in 2012, the standard structure of producing concentrated powder by tower spray method is still universal today. The first is the base powder production system, whose core equipment includes a tower spray drying tower, a hot air system and a slurry pump. Its main function is to atomize the liquid slurry into small droplets and dry them into hollow base powder particles through hot air. The spray drying tower is 15-30 meters high, and its internal structure is made of stainless steel to prevent corrosion by chemical raw materials. The hot air system provides stable hot air for drying, and the slurry pump transports the mixed slurry to the spray tower at a constant speed. The second is the premix preparation system, whose core equipment includes a horizontal ribbon mixer, a vibrating screen and a premix silo. Its main function is to pre-mix some solid and liquid raw materials to improve the uniformity of subsequent mixing. The vibrating screen can sieve out impurities in the raw materials, ensuring the purity of the product. The third is the post-mixing material adding system, whose core equipment includes a rotary mixer (drum) and a metering and conveying device. Its main function is to secondarily mix the base powder, premix and post-mixing materials (enzymes, flavors, etc.) in proportion to produce concentrated powder or functional washing powder.

The key advantage of these three subsystems is linked continuous production, which greatly improves production capacity. At the same time, one set of production line can adapt to multiple formulas, realizing flexible production of multiple products. In 2024, aiming at the pain point that hot water vapor interferes with drying efficiency in traditional towers, the published patent technology (CN117797494A) has added three key components: a particle concentration detection component, which can real-time monitor the particle concentration in the tower; a return heating chamber, which can treat the dusty hot air and return it to the drying chamber, which is both energy-saving and quality-improving; and a photoelectric detection chamber, which can online monitor the particle forming state. This technical upgrade is a key patch for the “intelligentization” of the tower spray process, solving the stubborn problem of the industry for decades.

The core production capacity and energy consumption indicators of Mingzhi MZDP-10t/h are very clear: the base powder output is 10-12 tons per hour (single tower), the product density is 300-500g/cm³ (adjustable), the installed power is 600-700kW, the electricity consumption per ton of powder is 30-50kWh, the steam consumption per ton of powder is 200-300kg, the pressure is 0.4-0.6MPa, and the environmental protection level is high, with a complete tail gas treatment system, meeting the high environmental protection requirements of various regions. Typical application cases include Shandong Bangneng Daily Chemical (2020), Anqing Nanfeng, Xinjian Nanfeng, Saudi Wanfu, Egypt ARMA, Iran PAKSHOO, Uzbekistan VODIY, etc. In terms of investment reference, there is no public unified quotation for the tower spray line, which needs to be customized according to the tower height, production capacity and environmental protection configuration. A complete 10t/h level tower spray line (including civil engineering, boiler and post-mixing) is usually in the range of 20-50 million yuan. The auxiliary equipment of this production line also includes dust collector grinder and Vacuum Mill to collect dust and improve the working environment.

Detailed Explanation of Route B: Agglomeration Molding Method (Full-Automatic Production Line of Concentrated Washing Powder)

If you want to avoid the huge investment of the tower spray line, or produce national standard “concentrated washing powder”, this is a practical choice. Zhejiang Meibao Industry is a mature supplier in this field in China at present, with more than 40 sets of promotion achievements nationwide and exports to Indonesia. The core advantage of this route is low investment, low energy consumption and strong adaptability, which is very suitable for small and medium-sized enterprises and start-ups.

The essential process of the agglomeration molding method is to mix powder raw materials (soda ash, Glauber’s salt, zeolite, etc.) with atomized liquid raw materials (surfactants, flavors, etc.) in a mixer to agglomerate while mixing, directly forming solid particles without a tens-of-meters-high drying tower. This process is more energy-saving than the tower spray method because it saves the energy consumption of the spray drying link. The powder raw materials need to be crushed to a certain fineness before use, which can be completed by equipment such as coarse crusher, Hammer Mill and Ultrafine Grinder. Some small-scale production lines can also use small grinder machine or Electric Grinder for small-batch crushing.

It is very important to distinguish the real level of full-automatic/semi-automatic of this route (according to Meibao Industry’s process). At present, the industry status is that the front-end batching can be fully automatic, while the back-end packaging is usually semi-automatic. Specifically, in the powder feeding section, manual unpacking is still required: small bags/ton bags enter the factory, are lifted to the silo platform by an elevator, and manually unpacked and poured into the silo—this is the only manual node at present. In the powder metering section, it is fully automatic: each raw material silo is equipped with a weighing device, which automatically weighs by reducing weight and transports it to the mixer according to the program. In the liquid metering section, it is fully automatic: barreled liquid materials are sent to the storage tank by a barrel pump, and the metering pump automatically measures, sequentially transports and atomizes them into the mixer. In the mixing and granulation section, it is fully automatic: powder-liquid mixing, reaction and granulation are automatically completed according to the set program. In the screening and conveying section, it is fully automatic: belt conveyor → screening machine → elevator → finished product silo. In the packaging and palletizing section, it is semi-automatic: semi-automatic packaging machine realizes automatic weighing, manual bag placing and induction feeding; manual box packing, packing and trolley delivery to the warehouse.

In conclusion, the so-called “full-automatic concentrated powder line”, in Meibao Industry’s definition, refers to the full-automatic batching and mixing section, and manual assistance is required in the packaging section. If full unmanned packaging and palletizing are needed, an additional robot palletizing system needs to be integrated (this configuration is not included in the search results). The production capacity specifications of this route (based on the static mixer/agglomeration molding technology of China Research Institute of Daily Chemical Industry) are mature, including 0.2t/h, 0.5t/h, 1t/h and 3t/h. The core equipment is a powder static mixer (continuous type, with a mixing capacity of 13,000 liters per hour, national patents ZL85106712 and ZL86101852).

In terms of investment reference, the quotation of Meibao Industry’s line is “negotiable”, and the market price is as follows: semi-automatic small line (3-5 tons per day) is about 800,000-1.5 million yuan; full-automatic batching + semi-automatic packaging line (10 tons per day level) is about 2-4 million yuan; if full-automatic robot palletizing is needed, an additional 500,000-1 million yuan is required. The equipment used in this route also includes Air cooled crusher and cutting type grinder, which can adjust the particle size and shape of the product according to needs. Some export-oriented equipment is CE Certificate grinder to meet international quality standards. In addition, this route can also use some equipment that is also used in food processing, such as Dry Fruit Powder Grinder Machine and cassava grinding machine, for auxiliary processing of some special raw materials, but the main equipment is still oriented to daily chemical production.

Must Be Vigilant Against “False Full-Automatic” and Information Gaps

When selecting an automatic washing powder production line, you must be vigilant against “false full-automatic” publicity and pay attention to the existing information gaps to avoid being misled by suppliers. The first is that “manual unpacking” is the industry bottleneck of the agglomeration route. All descriptions of concentrated powder lines clearly state that “raw materials are put into the silo after manual unpacking”. At present, there is no mature and economical full-automatic unpacking machine for powder ton bags popularized in the daily chemical industry. This is a question you must ask when inquiring: “Can an automatic unpacking machine be configured? How much will the cost increase?”

The second is that the “full-automatic formula” of the tower spray line is real. The “full-automatic production only by inputting formulas” of Mingzhi MZDP is true, because the liquid slurry of the tower spray line is continuously prepared and atomized, without batch processing of powder feeding like the agglomeration line. This is the core reason why the tower spray line is still irreplaceable in the high-end market despite its high investment. The tower spray line also uses equipment such as cryogenic grinding machine and airflow pulverizer to further improve product quality, which is also an important factor for its high-end positioning.

The third is the exclusion of outdated information. The 1998 vibrating granulator: the patent has expired, the technology is backward, and it is not for reference. The 1980 spray tower of Beijing No.2 Daily Chemical Factory: it is a historical document, which does not reflect the current automation level at all. Wuxi Longdong YPG-25 spray tower: it is a single machine equipment, not a complete line, and can only be used as a reference for tower components, not to answer the question of “full-automatic production line”. When selecting equipment, we should focus on the latest equipment and technologies from 2024 to 2025 to ensure that the purchased production line has advanced performance and stable operation.

Ultimate Decision-Making Comparison Table: What Questions Should You Ask Suppliers?

To make an accurate decision, you need to ask targeted questions to suppliers according to your own goals. If your goal is an annual output of more than 30,000 tons, export-grade, traditional big-brand washing powder, you should choose the tower spray route, and the core supplier/equipment is Anhui Mingzhi MZDP-10t/h. You must confirm the following questions to the supplier: 1. Can you provide a production line of more than 10t/h? 2. Does it include a post-batching system to produce concentrated powder? 3. What are the specific indicators of tail gas emission?

If your goal is an annual output of 10,000-30,000 tons, concentrated powder, and investment-sensitive, you should choose the agglomeration molding route (full-automatic batching), and the core supplier is Zhejiang Meibao Industry. You must confirm: 1. Is the automatic unpacking machine optional? 2. Can the packaging section be upgraded to full-automatic palletizing? 3. What is the comprehensive electricity consumption per ton of powder? If your goal is an annual output of less than 5,000 tons, small-batch and multi-variety products, you should choose the agglomeration molding route (static mixer), and the core technology is from China Research Institute of Daily Chemical Industry. You must confirm: 1. Who can currently produce the 0.2-1t/h specification? 2. Is it continuous mixing or batch mixing?

In the production process of washing powder, various raw materials are involved, including chemicals, as well as some auxiliary materials such as salt, sugar, and even some materials related to food processing such as Seasam, Peanut, wheat, corn, coffee, rice, spice, tea, flour, bean, mushroom, bone, seeds, meat, tobacco, etc., which are mainly used as additives to improve the performance of washing powder. The equipment used also has some versatility with other production lines, such as herb grinder, Industrial Weed Grinder, dry ginger grinding machine, licorice grinding machine, black pepper grinder, which can be used for the crushing of some plant additives. However, the core equipment is still specialized for the production of washing powder.

If you can tell me your expected annual production capacity (tons/year), product positioning (ordinary powder or concentrated powder? Domestic sales or export?), and site conditions (whether there is an existing factory building? Height restrictions?), I can reversely calculate a more accurate equipment configuration list and investment threshold based on Mingzhi’s 2025 first set project or Meibao Industry’s existing cases, helping you avoid wrong investment and select the most suitable automatic washing powder production line.