The Role of Process Refractometers in Enhancing Beet Sugar Production

Beet sugar production plays a crucial role in the global sugar industry, supplying a significant portion of the world's sugar demand. After harvesting sugar beets late in the year, workers transport them by truck to processing facilities, where they undergo a series of steps to extract and refine sugar. Throughout this process, process refractometers are essential for monitoring sugar concentration and ensuring product quality.

Upon arrival at the processing facility, workers initiate the production process by thoroughly cleaning the beets. Since beets are typically dirty from soil and field debris, they wash them to remove dirt, leaves, stones, and other miscellaneous materials. After cleaning, they slice the beets into thin strips, commonly called cossettes, to facilitate efficient juice extraction.

Workers extract juice in a diffuser tank filled with hot water. They continuously agitate the cossettes to leach the sugar content into the water, creating a raw juice rich in sucrose. However, this juice also contains other dissolved substances from the beet flesh and skins, including organic and inorganic impurities that technicians remove in subsequent steps.

The next stage involves purifying the raw juice through a process called carbonatation. In this process, technicians introduce a calcium hydroxide (lime) suspension and carbon dioxide gas under carefully controlled pH and temperature conditions. The reaction forms calcium carbonate precipitates that coagulate impurities and help decolorize the juice. Pressure filtration separates the impurities and calcium carbonate from the clear liquor, which is now ready for concentration.

Technicians feed the clarified juice into a multi-stage evaporator, where heat removes excess water to produce a concentrated syrup. Workers then transfer this syrup to large boiling pans, where further boiling reduces the water content and initiates sugar crystallization. By carefully controlling temperature and concentration, they encourage the formation of sugar crystals. Centrifuges then spin the mixture to separate the sugar crystals from the remaining mother liquor, preparing raw beet sugar for further refining or commercial use.

Maintaining precise control over sugar concentration throughout these stages is vital for product quality and process efficiency. This is where process refractometers, such as the Electron Machine MPR E-Scan, become indispensable tools. These instruments provide accurate, real-time measurements of Brix, the sugar content of an aqueous solution. By monitoring Brix levels, operators can make informed decisions about process adjustments, ensuring optimal extraction and crystallization conditions.

For instance, refractometers help achieve the desired concentration levels necessary for successful sugar crystallization in the evaporation and crystallization stages. By providing continuous in-line measurements, refractometers enable immediate response to deviations from set parameters, reducing waste and improving energy efficiency. The MPR E-Scan refractometer, known for its reliability and precision, monitors Brix measurements from the beginning of the evaporation stages up to the seed point of crystallization, playing a critical role in the overall production process.

The use of process refractometers enhances product quality and contributes to cost savings. By ensuring that the concentration processes are operating at peak efficiency, refractometers help reduce energy consumption and minimize losses due to over- or under-processing. This technological integration represents a significant advancement in beet sugar production, aligning with industry goals of sustainability and economic efficiency.

The beet sugar industry relies heavily on precise process control to produce high-quality products. Implementing process refractometers like the Electron Machine MPR E-Scan is essential in achieving this precision. By providing accurate, real-time data on sugar concentration, these instruments enable producers to optimize their operations, improve product quality, and reduce costs, thereby strengthening their position in the competitive global sugar market.

Electron Machine Corporation
https://electronmachine.com
+1 352-669-3101

Sweet Precision: How Inline Process Refractometers Transform Large Scale Ice Cream Production

Enhancing the efficiency and quality of large-scale ice cream production is pivotal for success in the competitive dairy industry. One of the critical factors in achieving this is the precise measurement of milk solids and sugar concentrations during the manufacturing process. Inline process refractometers play a crucial role, particularly the Electron Machine MPR E-Scan refractometer.

The core function of these refractometers is to directly measure the dissolved solids in the mixture, which is a crucial indicator of the product's quality. This measurement, typically expressed in Brix units, accurately represents the concentration of sugar and other sweeteners like sucrose or fructose in the mix. The most significant advantage of this method is its immunity to interference from bubbles or suspended particles, which often pose challenges in other measurement techniques.

In ice cream production, the Electron Machine MPR E-Scan refractometer excels by offering real-time measurements of dairy and sweetener concentrations. Its application is not just limited to the initial stages; it actively contributes throughout the production process. As the ingredients enter the mixing tank, the refractometer measures their Brix levels, allowing immediate adjustments to align with the desired final concentration. This inline measurement ensures consistent quality and taste in the final product.

Moreover, the refractometer's utility extends to the post-mixing phase. Additional measurements of the mixed product enable further fine-tuning of the composition before the product heads for packaging. This step is crucial in maintaining the uniformity and quality of the ice cream.

Installing the Electron Machine Corporation MPR E-Scan in a factory offers several tangible benefits. Firstly, it ensures precise process control, which is essential for consistently producing high-quality ice cream. This precision enhances the product quality and contributes to economical operation, directly impacting the profit margins positively. Secondly, by maintaining the desired process concentration, there is a significant reduction in offline testing. This reduction not only streamlines the production process but also elevates the overall quality control mechanisms.

Furthermore, implementing such advanced technology leads to optimization in workforce management. Reducing the need for manual testing and adjustments allows the workforce to focus on other critical aspects of production. This optimization also contributes to minimizing product waste, a common issue in large-scale production. The ability to make precise adjustments based on real-time data reduces the likelihood of producing batches that do not meet quality standards, thereby saving both time and resources.

Integrating the Electron Machine MPR E-Scan refractometer into ice cream production lines is a strategic move towards enhancing product quality, reducing waste, and optimizing operational efficiency. Its ability to provide accurate, real-time measurements is a game-changer in the industry, ensuring that each batch of ice cream meets the highest standards of quality and taste.

Electron Machine Corporation
https://electronmachine.com
+1 352-669-3101

MPR E-Scan™ - The World's Most Rugged In-line Process Refractometer

The Electron Machine MPR E-Scan™ inline process refractometer monitors and controls the concentration of dissolved solids in your process lines. The MPR E-Scan™ refractometer accurately measures your process's refractive index, providing temperature compensated readings that easily correlate to a, Brix, Percent Solids, Dissolved Solids, SGU, or R.I. scale.

Each sensing head is custom-tailored and calibrated precisely for the desired process application to ensure the most accurate and valuable reading. A simple 0-10Vdc signal transmits the reading from the sensing head to the electronics console, providing a reliable reading with little chance of interference. 

The entire package is NEMA 4X rated and built with the best materials for each application to provide years of trouble-free service with minimal maintenance. 

MPR E-Scan™ inline process refractometers from Electron Machine are industrialized, rugged, and hardened instruments that allow you to monitor and control dissolved solids' concentration continuously. Compared to manual sampling, Electron Machine inline process refractometers save time and money while improving accuracy and efficiency. Inline process refractometers directly connect to a PLC, HMI, or other data acquisition systems for easy plant integration.

Electron Machine

352-669-3101

https://electronmachine.com

An Inline Refractive Index Analyzer for Measuring Sugar Content in Food and Beverages

The Electron Machine MPR E-Scan™ provides inline refractive index measurement of cane sugar, HFCS (High-Fructose Corn Syrup), or beet sugar concentration in food products. The analyzer continuously reads the °Brix value of fruit juices, soft drinks, fruit juice, syrups, jams, jellies, honey, and nectars.

The MPR E-Scan™ is a refractive index °Brix  monitor that provides highly accurate inline sugar concentration measurements. The inline installation (with local or remote electronics) offers lower-cost operation and monitoring and control.

The MPR E-Scan™ includes a high-resolution color display, and a 4-20mA output is standard. HART® protocol, RS-232, and RS-422 outputs are available, providing you a means for data acquisition as well as visualization of all data, alarms, trends, and allows real-time product adjustments. The entire package is NEMA 4X rated and designed and manufactured with the best materials for each application to provide years of trouble-free service with minimal maintenance.

Electron Machine Corporation
https://electronmachine.com
+1 352-669-3101

Inline Process Refractometers for the Pharmaceutical and Food Processing Industries

When it comes to easily, reliably and accurately determining the concentration, identification or purity of substances, refractometry is the ideal method. Inline process refractometers are especially helpful as they supplement laboratory research and contribute to production improvement. These process analyzers deliver results within fractions of a second, allowing real-time monitoring and automatic control of processes.


Electron Machine Corporation's MPR E-Scan™ inline refractometers provide process analysis and control of liquid and slurry process streams in pharmaceutical and food processing applications. The MPR E-Scan™ provides accurate control and precise monitoring of variables in process streams, including percent concentration, solids dissolution, and solution reduction. The inline process refractometer also excels in measuring and managing crystallization, verifying and regulating the correct mix of various compounds, and determining the sugar concentration in a wide variety of products. In addition, the MPR E-Scan™ is often used to track concentrations in evaporation processes.

The MPR E-Scan™ is available in a broad range of models to accomodate a wide variety of measurement ranges and resolutions, providing users an abundance of choices to fit the right equipment to the right application.

Designed with ruggedness and durability in mind, the IP65 / NEMA 4X rated MPR E-Scan™ will withstand the rigors of CIP (Clean-in-Place), allowing the inline process refractometer to be thoroughly and meticulously cleaned at any time in a process environment. Each process refractometer is designed and manufactured specifically for each application, assuring trouble-free service with a minimum amount of maintenance for years to come.

The operation of the MPR E-Scan™ inline process refractometer is based upon the principle of light reflection. Light radiated from the LED passes through the prism surface to be reflected from a mirror to the prism-to-process interface. The light reaching this interface intersects the same interface over a series of angles chosen to include critical angle for the process being measured. Light intersecting the interface at an angle greater than critical angle is refracted into the solution. Light intersecting the interface at less than critical angle is reflected up to a second mirror and out of the prism up to the CCD linear array to be scanned.

In short, the MPR E-Scan™ inline process refractometer makes process metrics more visible to the user and significantly reduces product quality fluctuations. This increases efficiency, lowers production costs, and increases process reliability.  The MPR E-Scan™ can be applied to a wide range of applications in the pharmaceutical and food industries, thanks to their field-proven and reliable technology.

Electron Machine Corporation
https://electronmachine.com
352-669-3101

Process Refractometers for Black Liquor and Green Liquor Processes in Pulp and Paper

The only thing that a pulp and paper plant doesn't reuse is the "shade the building casts". When you consider reuse of energy and byproducts, the processes used in the production of pulp and paper are very efficient. Efficiency is costly however, because of the very hostile environments and demanding operating conditions endured by the plant's process equipment.

As an example, the "Kraft Process" (also known as the sulfate process) is the method of converting wood chips into pulp and cellulose fibers. The wood chips are mixed with sodium hydroxide and sodium sulfate, then soaked, cooked and processed.

A very fundamental explanation of the Kraft Process:

Wood chips are soaked and processed as "white liquor" in a mixture of sodium hydroxide and sodium sulphates. After impregnating the wood chips with white liquor, they are then cooked in digesters to break wood into cellulose. The solid pulp is then separated and the rest of the fluid is called the "black liquor". Black liquor is also processed for the removal of solids and chemicals to be reused during pulping. One of the final by-products is "green liquor" which contains both sodium carbonate and sodium sulfide and is then reacted into more white liquor with the addition of lime. All of these processes expose instruments, processing equipment, piping and valves to very harsh environments and chemicals. 

Electron Machine Corporation, a manufacturer of extremely robust process refractometers, has for over 40 years, been actively perfecting the use of refractometers for the measurement of green and black liquor density. 

Scaling of the sensor head: A key issue for keeping the system operational.

 MPR E-Scan and heated high-pressure cleaning system.

The problem of scaling in black liquor and green liquor applications is a major concern. It results in an optical coating on the sensor head of the refractometer the deteriorates performance. This scaling needs to be kept in-check in order to permit an acceptable duration of online measurement. With a means of effective removal at the time the the coating happens, the refractometer accuracy can maintained with minimum maintenance and downtime.

Electron Machine's decades of effort and experience in the pulp and paper industry led to the development of their MPR E-Scan refractometer in tandem with their heated high-pressure cleaning system. The resulting combination ensures efficient optical coating removal  and maintenance minimization so as to ensure a reliable measurement source for automatic online control.

For more information about the use of process refractometers in pulp and paper production contact Electron Machine Corporation by calling 352-669-3101 or visit their website at https://electronmachine.com.

Accurate Green Liquor Density Control with Reduced Maintenance

In pulp and paper processing, the term "green liquor" refers to a by-product of kraft pulping. It is the dissolved concentration of sodium sulfide, sodium carbonate, and other compounds in solution from the recovery boiler. The measurement and control of its concentration is important in the pulp and paper production cycle. 

Inline refractometers are used to provide continuous density measurement of green liquor in the pulp mill. A major issue in handling green liquor is scale build up and the resulting optical coating on the refractometer sensing head. If scale build-up is controlled for an acceptable amount of time during processing, the maximum accuracy of the refractometer will be achieved and the overall quality of the pulping process is supported. Understandably, it makes great sense that a system of measuring scale potential and a means to automatically clean the sensing head should be implemented.

The Electron Machine MPR EScan is used to measure the green liquor dissolved density, or TTA, at two stages in the process: after the green liquor dissolving tank and after the green liquor clarifier. The inline measurement, with the refractometer sensing head installed directly in the main process lines, allows real-time control of green liquor dilution to meet target TTA set-points. The measurement is also used to indicate (and prevent) excessive green liquor density and the resulting dangerous impending crystallization within the dissolving tank, and lower the potential for scaling.

Scaling issues, and therefore accuracy problems, are further reduced with the use of ancillary inline cleaning systems that use pressurized water, heated to the process temperature, to effectively clean the refractometer optical components. The Electron Machine HPC-2 High Pressure Cleaner is one example of a completely integrated system.

The compound result of using a refractometer to keep green liquor density within optimal levels, plus an inline cleaning system, provides an excellent payback both quality control and also with associated maintenance requirements.

Refractometers for Food and Beverage Processing

Refractometers commonly used to detect sugar levels and properties of jams juices, beverages, dairy products and much more.

Electron Machine Corporation developed the first in-line process refractometer more than 50 years ago when orange juice was first concentrated. Since that time, their refractometers have been successfully applied on many more applications including the production of sucrose, fructose, dextrose, soft drinks, fruit juices, dairy, apple sauce, jams, jellies, beer, wine, coffee, tea, vegetable oils, tomato paste, ice cream and honey.

With an extremely durable Sapphire prism as its foundation, the Electron Machine MPR E-Scan combines accurate measurements with ruggedized components in the sensing head combining for years of of dependable and accurate service in harsh food production environments.

Inline Refractometer Adapters, Cleaning Systems & Isolation Valves

There are many different mounting adapters available for the MPR E-Scan refractometer. These adapters have been designed and modified with decades of field experience to provide the most successful installation for specific applications. The video below provides a quick visual tour of the most popular.

For more information visit http://www.electronmachine.com or call 352-669-3101.

Replace the Sensing Head on MPR E-Scan and MDS-Divert Systems

The MPR E-Scan is a rugged, industrialized, in-line process refractometer. It directly measures the refractive index of process fluids and then displays the reading in any number of customer-desired units (Brix, Percent Solids, Dissolved Solids, SGU, R.I., etc.).

The MDS Monitor Divert System is a BLRBAC compliant Black Liquor solids monitoring system designed specifically for Black Liquor recovery boilers.

The following paper illustrates the correct way to replace the sensing head on MPR E-Scan and MDS-Divert Systems from Electron Machine Corporation.

Electron Machine Refractometer Sensing Head Replacement from Electron Machine Corporation

Inline Refractometers for Measuring Black Liquor Evaporation

Measuirng black liquor solids concentration.

Introduction:

Refractometers have long proven to be the instrument of choice for black liquor solids concentration. Electron Machine Corporation of Umatilla, Florida pioneered this technology to accurately measure black liquor dissolved solids 5 decades ago. Their MPR E-Scan inline refractometer provides digital accuracy with rugged components required for years of reliable use when installed in harsh industrial environments. This combination allows for easy integration into a mill-wide monitor / control system providing operators the information needed for efficient and easy-to-service control.

Application:

An important and overlooked area for refractometers is the pulp washing operation. By monitoring the concentration output the washers can be balanced to meet the needs of the evaporation process and a mill is able to regulate the mixing liquor. This control allows a consistent concentration supply to the evaporators and boiler. This installation is simple and greatly reduces hand sampling.

MPR E-Scan

Evaporation:

By installing the Electron Machine Corporation MPR E-Scan with Isolation Valve Adapters before and after each evaporator effect, the concentration and temperature output can be utilized to monitor efficiency, detect problems and operate economically. This monitoring allows control operators to adjust steam usage for optimal solids evaporation. Operators can determine if a quick flush cleaning can be performed to improve efficiency, prolonging the time between invasive, labor intensive cleanings. It also allows the detection of any problems before the liquor reaches the boiler, plus provides a consistent solids percentage for firing.

Conclusion:

With the addition of the Electron Machine Corporation MPR E-Scan to a mills process control system, a company can see increased profitability through the optimized control of steam usage, reduced labor cost from the reduction of offline hand sampling and the ability to prolong the time between labor intensive offline cleanings. This greater control provides more consistent firing solids allowing boilers to operator more efficiently.

Key Benefits:

• Consistent black liquor solids
• Minimize steam consumption
• Economical operation
• Optimize man hours
• Reduce costly evaporator cleanings