Assist in detecting problems & increased automation

From complex automated systems with pneumatic lines to straight-forward gravity chutes, solids flow monitors can help to improve process performance. They are effective in detecting flow problems, as well as enhancing the level of automation at a facility. Solids flow monitors can assist in detecting problems in flow caused by equipment failures, plugged lines, leaks, material bridges upstream, low or no material, etc. They can also be used to add automation to a process like opening or closing valves, turning a conveyor on or off, and initiating a process function (spraying of a product additive).

Our solids flow detectors can provide a variety of signals, analog or relay outputs to indicate the flow / no-flow condition of powder and bulk solids materials in chutes and pneumatic conveying lines. Using the latest technology these units are non-invasive and extremely reliable and rugged to withstand the rigors of the installation and your process extremes. Since there are no moving parts, these monitors can provide dependable, low-maintenance service for many years.

Solids flow detectors can be used in applications for a variety of industries including construction materials (cement, sand, gypsum, etc.), wood chips / sawdust, feed mills & grain processing, consumer foods (cereal, coffee, sugar, cocoa, powdered milk, barley), plastics, chemicals & pesticides, pharmaceuticals, and more.

A company uses the solids flow detector to monitor the flow of coal into the burner of a coal-fired power plant to detect no-flow conditions and ensure safety.

Whether a solids flow monitor is used to detect problems, increase automation or both, the end result is a substantial long term cost savings through: eliminating product waste, cutting “downtime”, reducing employee time spent on watching the processes or cleaning up spills/messes, increasing product quality (reducing defective product), and decreasing maintenance time / replacement costs on other methods of flow detection.

Mass flow measurement on cement

Application description:
The EU directive 2003/53/EC describes manufacturing of reduced chromatic concrete. In order to achieve government regulated limits iron-sulfate must be induced into cement production. Iron-sulfate is suitable for neutralizing of chrome-VI. Mixing iron-sulfate to the cement production process limits chrome-VI to 2ppm or less thus drastically reducing the risk of skin-related illnesses in case somebody comes in contact with fresh concrete. In any case, contact with fresh concrete due to its alkaline content should be avoided since the natural skin protection against acids is jeopardized.

Adding iron-sulfate is done when the stocked cement is transported from the silo to the bag packaging area. It is essential to dose iron-sulfate to 0.5% in order at achieve the best possible result.

Therefore, the material flow of the cement must be monitored continuously in real-time. From this data the correct mixing of iron-sulfate is calculated.

A Cement Company decided in favor of the MFD3000 mass flow meter as the best possible solution to measure the flow of cement. It can easily be retrofitted to existing metallic pipes by welding a flange to the pipe and drilling a single 18mm hole through it.
The whole installation only takes a few minutes and does not require any intensive changes into the existing process.

Advantages of the measurement:

Accurate on-line cement mass flow measurement
Optimized mixing of iron-sulfate to achieve regulated limits
Less iron-sulfate is required for the process
Easy and fast installation of mass flow meter into existing process

The cement factory (located in Europe) packs about 6,000 cement bags per hour. The process handles 4 independent
flow lines each fitted with a MFD3000 mass flow meter for optimized mixing of iron-sulfate. Now, not only government regulated limits are achieved but also a significant reduction in expensive iron-sulfate reduces overall production costs.

Advantages of the MFD3000 mass flow meter system:

Contact less on-line measurement of mass flow
Installed flush to inner wall of pipe thus not obstructing into the flow
Easy and fast commissioning by simply welding a flange to the pipe
Suitable for pneumatic conveying systems and free fall applications
Adjustable measuring range from low kg/h to several t/h
Robust, compact, and service free sensor
Easy implementation of system into existing applications
Features analog 4…20mA and digital RS485 outputs.
Comfortable set-up and calibration through RS232 interface and the supplied software.