On-line Process Monitoring and Analysis Industry Applications

Acid Concentration monitoring on-line

The concentration of most industrial acids can be accurately determined be measuring the physical properties of density and/or sound velocity. The highest accuracy is obtained by using the physical property which changes most over the concentration range of interest. The article discusses concentration monitoring of sulphuric acid over the full concentration range, including oleum, and demonstrates how the most accurate results are achieved. Click here to read the application report.

Anton Paar offers on-line density and sound velocity monitors, as well as combined density and sound velocity combined density and sound velocity monitors for measurement of most acid concentrations

Acidity

The acidity of a solution may be determined using an acid/base titration. The Applikon 2040 has been used to perform on-line acid/base titrations (in addition to other titrations) in these situations: hydrochloric acid, iron(II) and iron(III), acidity, carbonate and hydroxide, sulfuric acid and zinc, and free and total acid, nitrite and zinc.

API Gravity monitoring on-line

The API Gravity number is an important test parameter in the determination of quality for both crude oil and refined petroleum products. The API number is determined by measuring the density at 15 °C. The article shows how on-line density monitoring can provide an accurate, cost effective in-line system to continuously monitor the API number thus ensuring that no slugs of off-spec product are missed as could be the case with offline testing. It also eliminates the ongoing cost of off-line laboratory testing. Click here to read the application report.

The API gravity monitor consists of an Anton Paar DPRn density cell and mPDS1100 evaluation unit.

Click here for the full Anton Paar product range.

Alcohol and extract monitoring in beer - on-line

Beer after fermentation consists of water, extract, and alcohol. Continuous on-line analysis of alcohol, original extract and apparent extract can be done very efficient and accurate using density and sound velocity analysers, improving quality control, process control and saving time and money. The same analysers monitor caustic during CIP. Click here for the application report. Other benefits of using this system include continuous assurance of beer quality, feedback control for alcohol, increased utilisation of plant facilities and original wort content, increased extract yield, minimisation of waste water.

Click here for the Anton Paar beer monitor brochure. There is also equipment for on-line carbonation monitoring.

Click here for details on the full range Anton Paar on-line beverage monitors.

Biodiesel Blending

The intrinsically safe Anton Paar DPRn 427 density transducer along with an mPDS 1000 evaluation unit are used in Austria to continuously monitor and record the density of the diesel/biodiesel blend. This density measurement is an essential contribution to the quality assurance of the diesel fuels. Anton Paar instruments are again used at the loading facility to guarantee clearing of diesel and other fuels according to the regulations

Bleaching Agents

UV Spectrometry is an excellent method for on-line measurement of chlorine. Measuring low levels of chlorine requires an analyser with a high signal-to-noise ratio because the absorbances are usually very low. The application report discusses the requirement for an on-line analyser that measures both high and low concentrations accurately. Click here to read the application report.

The Applied Analytics UV spectrum analyser has a low detection limit of 10ppm in gasses and 1 ppm in liquids.

Brix Monitoring on-line

The continuous on-line measurement of sugar content in soft drinks and fruit juices is becoming increasingly important. The rising popularity of diet soft drinks is making quality control more important.

Density measurement is the standard way of determining sugar / diet concentration in soft drinks and juices. The article discusses the accuracy of on-line measurment versus laboratory measurement. Click here for the full article. Click here for details about the Anton Paar on-line Brix monitor. Click here for details about the full Anton Paar range of on-line beverage monitors.

Complete Beverage Monitor for soft drinks, mixed drinks, beer, wine, juice, and waters.

Continuous measurement of °Brix, % Diet, carbon dioxide and now even alcohol directly at the beverage line has become a reality. The Anton Paar COBRIX3 Multibev provides instant and highly accurate results, while requiring minimum supervision and maintenance.

Carbonation Monitor

Anton Paar has a range of on-line carbonation monitors to suit all beverage applications including beer, softdrinks, sparkling wine, mixed drinks and carbonated mineral waters. Features include simply operation, reliable and fast, no requirement for purge gases, no drift and minimal, low cost and simply maintainance.

Choose from:

• Carbo Inline: direct in-line measurment of carbonation — multi product.
• Carbo2100: carbonation measurment in by-pass line — multi product
• CarboIT: direct in-line carbonation monitor — single product

Chemical Oxygen Demand

Chemical Oxygen Demand of industrial waste water, municipal waste water and surface water can be determined by a redox titration with dichromate. An Applikon analyser is able to perform this titration in two hours.

Ethanol Concentration monitoring during the distillation process

Ethanol ("drinking" alcohol) for use as a high octane renewable fuel is produced by the fermentation of grain products and corn. In the future it may also be economically produced from "biomass" or agricultural wastes.

Ethanol producers can make significant financial gains by optimising the yield during distillation. This application report discusses on-line monitoring of density and H₂O content (%) of both the 190 Proof (95% v/v) and 200 Proof (100% v/v) ethanol at the rectifier columns and condenser, for process control and as a quality control check. This is the crucial last stage in the production of ethanol and an absolute quality check point for ethanol producers. Click here to read the application note.

The Anton Paar DPRn 427S is the most accurate density transducer available. Its high accuracy and reliability ensures efficient quality control and product monitoring. For full details on the Anton Paar product range click here.

Free Fatty Acids

Knowing the amount of free fatty acids (FFA) is important for the efficient refining of edible oils, and to maximise the amount of biodiesel produced in the biodiesel process. The measurement of FFA can be performed by the Applikon on-line Titrator. The Applikon titrator uses a classical lab methodology to determine the concentration of FFA in a range of oils.

Gas Density

Gas density is an important parameter in the determination of the air to fuel ratio in the feed to a gas fired boiler. It ensures that efficient, clean combustion takes place providing for a clean burn with a minimum requirement in raw fuel. The Anton Paar combination of the DPRn density cell with the mPDS1000 evaluation unit and associated sampling system provides for a temperature compensated density to accurately determine the composition of the feed gas.

Due to the high influence of both temperature and pressure on a gases actual density the measurement of gas density requires a specialist technique in order to provice for an accurate result. As such Anton Paar has developed the gas density instrument which incorporates techniques to compensate for any changes to the gas sample pressure and temperature this providing for high accuracy results.

Milk Fat Content

Milk is a very complex food and its composition is affected by many factors. The density of milk is derived from the densities of its components, according to their content, but it is also influenced by temperature and the "temperature history" of the milk.

Since milk is a multi-component mixture and the density variations of raw milk are very high, it is not possible to determine the concentration of single milk components, like fat, directly from density measurement. Yet the fat content of milk can be determined from the density difference between standardized milk and skim milk. The DPRn on-line transducers from Anton Paar are used for the accurate determination and control of the milk fat content during milk standardization.

Oil in Water

The OilGuard works on the fluorescence principle. The design uses a free-fall measuring system that eliminates contact between the sample and the flow cell. Adoptions to various types of oil are carried out by means of calibration curves, a control glass makes it easy to check or recalibrate the instrument. A pressurized-enclosure version is offered for areas requiring explosion protection. oil in water analyser

Using on-line measurement to optimise the Brewing Process and product integrity

This article was first presented during the 2007 EBC congress. To evaluate the potential for increasing product integrity and efficiency in breweries, continuous inline monitoring equipment can be installed throughout the brewery, from brew house to filling lines and waste water treatment. Product quality and yield are improvedand process stability can be kept within narrow limits. Complete documentation of the beer production ensures that product standards are outstandingly high.

Click here to read the article

Click here to learn about all applications of Anton Paar's on-line monitors for the brewery.

Resins Concentration

The concentration process in the production of formaldehyde from methanol requires close monitoring, making it labour-intensive and difficult to control accurately. Because the sound velocity and density of the mixture are significantly affected by changes in the amounts of these two components, they may be used to accurately determine the concentrations of formaldehyde and methanol in the mixture.

The use of an Anton Paar measuring cell results in a process that is always on target, with shorter runs, and a a better quality end product.

Rolling Oil Monitor

The oil content of rolling oil emulsions must be kept within tight limits to ensure high surface quality of the rolled product. Measurement of the oil content can be made in several ways, including the sound velocity method.

An Anton Paar sound velocity sensor may be used to monitor oil content to +/- 0.2%.

Slurry Density

Stack Gas Analysis

An in-situ tail gas analyser

Sugar Inversion

Soft drinks are produced from concentrate, sugar based syrup, water and carbon dioxide. When the sugar syrup ages the Brix value changes, which, if not compensated for, can lead to producing out of spec product. The article describe the issue of sugar inversion, how to automatically measure sugar inversion on-line and how to compensate for it by calculating the "fresh Brix" value of inverted syrup. Click here to view the article.

On-line measurement of Brix/diet, sugar inversion and carbonation for quality control and process control can be done using the Cobrix3 multibev beverage analyser from Anton Paar.

Thickener Control

The control of CCD circuits, thickeners and clarifiers is an important function in the fine tuning of the solids/liquids separation process and provides for higher throughputs with the reduction in use of expensive flocculants.

For the on-line measurement of the thickener performance, the Oscillation VBI utilises a solids sensor to measure both the solids profile of the thickener as well as the bed level to provide for a snapshot of both the settling efficiency and solids load. This provides for an early warning of any process upsets which can be corrected before a major problem occurs.

The Oscillation Clarometer measures the settling rate of the infeed to the thickener and provides for control of both cationic and inionic flocculant addition pumps, thus ensuring proper settling and improved thickener performance without overdosing expensive chemicals.

White, Green and Black Liquor

The total alkali, active alkali, effective alkali, carbonate and sulfide are determined in a dynamic endpoint titration with HCl. This titration has three endpoints which can be completed in 15 minutes using an Applikon analyser

Wine Monitor

Grape wine after fermentation consists of water, extract, CO₂, and alcohol. One of the most accurate and powerful on-line methods for determining the amounts of these componpents measures alcohol and Baume. Options for carbonation monitoring for sparkling wine exist.

The system from Anton Paar can detect the first and last runnings and is able to detect interfaces. The benefits of using this system are continuous assurance of wine quality and the ability to exactly separate wine types.