SensoTech Measurement Method

SensoTech LiquiSonic®

Brewery

LiquiSonic® Plato

• extremely tough, reliable and maintenance-free sensors in the brewing room, filtration and filling
• perfect aseptic sensor design for inline application with no need for by-passes
• drift free signal processing
• proven experiences and application knowledge
• close R&D partnership with the Technical University of Munich and The Research Center "Weihenstephan" for Brewing and Food Quality

Beer Production Process

Applications

• lauter tun and mash filter
• wort boiler
• filter / blending
• filler (bottle and/or keg)
• no application in fermentation

Lauter tun and mash filter

Benefits

• control of the complete lautering process
• precise detection of the sparge water point at the end of the lautering process
• optimal initial extract concentration in wort boiler or buffer tank
• reduction of fresh water demand
• optimal utilization of lauter tun and an efficient wort production

Wort boiler

Benefits

• monitoring of the concentration during the complete boiling process
• precise control of the final wort concentration
• avoiding extensive maintenance efforts by replacing traditional bypass solutions with density meters
• reduction of additional rinsing and cleaning cycles
• reduction of energy consumption, gentle wort handling
• reproducible boiling process
• external heat exchanger: within the circulation line after the wort pump
• internal heat exchanger: long immersion type sensor in the turbulent area, equipped with cleaning adapter
• control the extract concentration during the complete boiling process (evaporation)
• minimize steam utilization

Beer filtration

Benefits

• precise, gravity controlled separation of first and last running (Q002 – Q004)
• feed control of recovery beer or first & last running in the filter inlet (Q001)
• high accuracy of the original gravity and cost savings
• continuously high beer quality
• at 200 filtration cycles this corresponds to $16,000 per year
• cost savings with the separation of beer → beer/water  → water
• real time filtration monitoring cost savings vs simple time control
• direct correlation with original gravity compared to conductivity or color measurement

Filler and Blending

Benefits

• continuous monitoring of original gravity during the filling process
• documentation and data logging of original gravity (ISO9000 and HACCP)
• event tracking according to FDA recommendations
• separation of different brands, CIP liquids and water
• continuous logging of original gravity during the filling
• immediate detection of wrong process conditions (confuse of bottles and labels)
• control of the filler, if the actual wort concentration leaves a specified range, the filler stops and the beer can run into a buffer tank
• separation of first and last running beer: automatic separation of first and last running, CIP liquid and final beer by setting of reverse points
• analog input for any CO2-analyzer including automatic compensation function

Tandem and Reverse Mills: Cold Rolling Oil

Tandem Mill with three Stands

Applications

control emulsion concentration for corrosion protection, proper cooling / annealing, dilution / contamination, water evaporation (concentration drift) and cost control

Benefits

• inline measurement of the emulsion concentration
• control of emulsion refreshment with concentrate
• sensors before spraying nozzles for process documentation
• applicable for other metal mills as well (Cu, Zn, Al, brass)
• direct control of emulsion concentration in several circulation loops behind the filters
• avoid loss in quality due to low oil concentration
• save money by avoiding higher oil concentration than necessary
• continuous documentation of the process for quality assurance system and external documentation

Payback (actual installation)

• approx. costs for concentrate, $12/gal.
• actual concentration consumption of 26 gal/h reduced with concentration control at 5%
• 5 % reduction yields a daily cost  savings of $324
• ROI = @150 days

Caprolactam plant

Applications

• concentration measurement in recovery process for energy savings and process optimization
• many different steps of caprolactam in water application. Most are:
• 0 to 30 wt% in reactor water and recovery process
• 70 to 100 wt% in production and purification
• solvent and sulfuric acid measurement

Benefits

• check of incoming goods
• synthesis of sulfuric acid and oleum
• phase separation: caprolactam and ammonium sulphate
• crystallization: ammonium sulphate (LiquiSonic® 50)
• extraction: caprolactam in solvent
• distillation: caprolactam in water
• reactor water: water in caprolactam

Sulfuric acid

Applications

• most applications between 80 and 100 wt% H2SO4
• high accuracy with 0.05 wt%
• NO inflection points there
• double-contact-process
• production of sulfuric acid  based on sulfur (S) burning
• sensor installations in the absorber and the final blending
• process requiring precise concentration determination between 90 % and 100 %

Benefits

• high accuracy
• maintenance-free
• no moving parts
• accurate controlling of concentrating and blending process
• an additional solution to detect oleum area to avoid critical process situations and emissions
• short return of investment (ROI)
• coated sensor available, providing for high chemical resistance  

Caustic soda

Applications

• chloralkali process, concentration measurement with LiquiSonic® in:

• NaOH
• sulfuric acid
• NaCl

• alternate means of production is reaction of sodium carbonate with calcium hydroxide to NaOH and calcium carbonate
• blending is main application
• working range between 20 to 40 wt%

Benefits

• accurate controlling and dosing of NaOH and H2O during the blending
• high accuracy
• maintenance-free over years
• no moving parts
• especially designated for usage in challenging measurement conditions
• up to 4 sensors connected to one with the LiquiSonic® 30 controller
• high sensitivity and accuracy
• no inflection points

Refining

LiquiSonic® systems are used on various process stages to optimize the process flow, save energy, monitor safety-critical process steps and ensure product quality.

Applications:

• Phase separation
• Monitoring of multiple-substance pipelines
• Fuel and water
• Brine in various fuels
• Glycerine and biodiesel
• Concentration measurement
• Water in diesel (NOx reduction)
• Water content in various fuels
• Solvents (methanol, ethanol, etc.)
• (Bio)ethanol in gasoline
• Cetane number of diesel
• Octane number of fuels
• Vegetable oils in heating oil
• Liquid gases (methane, propane, butane, etc.)
• Used oil in heavy oil
• Safety monitoring
• Detection of incursions into waste water
• Glycol incursion from heat exchanger into heavy oil
• Use of measuring technology in peripheral processes, such as heat exchanger, gas scrubbing, blending, desalination