Inline Process Refractometers for Pulp & Paper Mill Applications


Approximately 50 years ago, the Electron Machine Corporation became the first company to employ refractometers to precisely quantify the dissolved particles in black liquor. Our extensive experience with this application has resulted in several design characteristics specifically tailored to process measurement challenges in this demanding environment. For decades, the paper industry has also relied on Electron Machine refractometers to correctly measure green liquor solids in pulp and paper manufacturing.

Electron Machine
352-669-3101

Inline Process Refractometers for Brewers

Inline Process Refractometers for Brewers

Beer brewing and branding are all about consistency. Process monitoring is thus vital. With Electron Machine inline refractometers, you'll have less waste, use less energy, spend less money, and achieve better beer. 


While some breweries still use manual sampling and lab analysis, the trend is adapting inline monitoring and automation.  Laboratory analysis is part of R&D. It reveals how different substances or methods affect qualities like flavor and fragrance. Laboratory analysis is vital in research as it provides an understanding of chemistry. However, the utility of sampling and analysis can be limited in manufacturing due to costs and delays when the lab findings indicate the issue. Slow sample timing results in possible lost production and waste. Similarly, because the sample is a snapshot of the process, it cannot provide feedback control, timely alarms, or indicate trends. 


The angle of refraction of light in the process medium determines the refractive index (RI), which the inline refractometer computes important process variables continually. Electron Machine inline process refractometers will calibrate to Brix, Gravity, Density, or Plato and withstand CIP/SIP cleaning and rinsing operations. 


Process refractometers have a quick response time which provides critical information in all stages of beer production. Examples of applications for inline refractometers that arise throughout the brewing process:


  • Grain mashing - Refractometers measure mash concentration in the output pipe water.
  • Lautering - While the spray water rinses the grains, it completes the sugar extraction process and produces clear wort. The refractometer continuously measures this concentration to determine the rinsing breakpoint, saving water and electricity.
  • Wort boiling - Refractometer installed directly on the wort boiler continuously measures wort strength / specific gravity, allowing the brewer to determine the required concentration.
  • Rousing or Swirling - Solid particles are removed from the bitter wort in a vortex. The vortex causes the leftover particles to thicken and form sludge. The solids removal uses refractometers placed before or after the vortex for a clear bitter wort for the next phase.
  • Cooldown - A heat exchanger cools the wort, recovering some of the energy needed to boil it. Refractometers are affixed to the cooler's outflow to ensure the bitter wort has the proper level of dissolved solids.
  • Fermentation - Yeast ferments wort to produce CO2 and alcohol. The specific gravity (or relative density) of the fermented liquor is determined using refractometers. The alcohol concentration directly correlates between the initial wort density and current density, so the refractometer can closely monitor fermentation. It gives brewers real-time information into the process, allowing them to predict fermentation completion.
  • Filtration and Aging - The beer is rested after fermentation to settle the used yeast. But several filtration procedures are used to refine the beer as the last chance to impact beer quality. Refractometers assist in measuring bitterness, flavor, fragrance, foam stability, clarity, alcohol, and gas percentage.
  • Filling and CIP (Clean-in-Place) - With the refractometer, you can quickly swap between items or batches and easily detect production from cleaning products. 


In summary, refractometers assist brewers in optimizing processes, decreasing waste, saving energy, and maintaining consistency, and making great beer.


Electron Machine

352-669-3101

https://electronmachine.com

Ensure Juice and Beverage Quality and Consistency with Inline Process Refractometers

Inline Process Refractometers

The inline Brix analysis of juice and beverages offers automated, exacting process control and quality monitoring by continuously measuring and monitoring the quality and consistency of each component with high precision and controls the dosage during the blending of the products. 

Inline refractometers also assure that the correct product is in process, particularly when blending and filling a variety of juices, syrups, nectars, soft drinks, and other beverages on the same line.

Syrups, juice concentrates, and other ingredients are frequently blended with water according to specific formulas, then held in stacking tanks, and lastly poured into product-specific bottles or containers in the beverage industry. 

The entire product batch may be defective if a primary component, such as a juice concentrate, does not precisely meet the specifications or if the blending process itself is incorrect due to incorrect valve switching.  It's also possible that the faulty product goes to packaging due to an improper phase transition. If this is discovered only during final quality control, the entire production batch could be at risk. 

With an inline refractometer, each process stage gets precisely managed by measuring the dissolved sugar in the liquid. In comparison, manual Brix control sampling with a hand refractometer is labor-intensive and open to operator error. Furthermore, any mistake can only be detected after the fact, affecting the production quantity between two samples or a complete filling batch, and then discarded. The inline process refractometer is integrated directly into the process with high accuracy and continuously, allowing the definition and differentiation of each component or product.

Contact Electron Machine Company at +1 352-669-3101 or visit https://electronmachine.com if you have any question regarding the usage of refractometry in food and beverage production.

Are You Interested in a Complimentary Black Liquor Solids Analysis?

Black Liquor Solids Analysis

How convinced are you of the accuracy of your black liquor solids measurement? 

Are you making the most of your time? Do you know the concentration of solids at each critical phase? Do you want to reduce the amount of time you spend gathering data?

Electron Machine Corporation is offering a complimentary black liquor study service for all pulp mill customers. 

Electron Machine has worked for years to develop and improve the speed and accuracy of both inline and offline solids concentration measuring equipment. This continual improvement for black liquor solids measurement allows Electron Machine to design and offer equipment that will significantly increase the speed of your data recording.

Take advantage of this great offer from Electron Machine now!

For more information, visit electronmachine.com/blackliquortesting.

Applying Refractometers in Starch/Sizing Liquid for Paper Production

Refractometers in Starch/Sizing Liquid

Cooked starch or sizing liquid is used in paper sizing to reduce the paper's tendency to absorb liquid when dried. The reduction in fluid allows inks and paints to better remain on the surface and helps create stabilized sizing conditions, allowing a consistent paper quality across the different paper grades.

The MPR E-Scan gives paper companies the ability to accurately control the sizing/cooked starch by detecting changes in the concentration of the cooked starch. This precise measurement effectively controls the freshwater flow to the size press/starch circulation system, reducing excessive water usage. Combining the measurement with data-analysis tools, a company can monitor inefficiencies in the starch/sizing line and evaluate the dilution levels. The result is improvements in starch/sizing operation's efficiency and an overall reduction in water, reducing the overall time needed to meet target dilution. By providing a near-instant reading of starch concentration and temperature, the instrument removes the reliance on offline testing. This application should also include automatic prism wash using heated high-pressure water and matching the wash water temperature to the process, reducing any thermal shock and sensor.

FEATURES
  • Data logging output for dilution and temperature
  • Multiple product ranges and configurable set points.
  • Sapphire Prism
  • Daylight visible color display
  • NEMA 4X
  • Stainless-steel CNC machined sensing head
  • 4-20mA & RS-232 outputs
  • In-house manufactured in USA
  • 24 Hour Service Support
  • (2) Input & (6) Configurable output relays
  • Configurable alarm points: high/low, setpoint/ deviation, etc. 

The MPR E-Scan is constructed of various alloys to ensure a long service life in a harsh chemical environment. The instruments fit into any process with custom pipeline adapters. Due to the unique measurement principle, the instrument readings are unaffected by bubbles, particles, fibers, color, flow, pressure, or vibration. Paper companies can guarantee that proper dilution was met and maintained by utilizing the instrument to control and monitor the starch liquid concentration.

KEY BENEFITS
  • Increased paper quality.
  • Continuous accurate control of dilution factor.
  • Consistent cooked starch quality.
  • Increased paper grade production.
  • Reduced water and steam use for the cooking process.
  • Error and Warning light indications.
  • Reduced time for correct sizing/ starch concentration.
  • Continuous temperature readings. 
Electron Machine Corporation
https://electronmachine.com​​
+1 352-669-3101

Electron Machine Corporation Celebrates 75th Anniversary and 15,000th Shop Order

75th Anniversary and 15,000th Shop Order

Electron Machine Corporation is proud to announce its 75th Anniversary and 15,000th shop order.  Founded in 1946, Carl Vossberg Jr. began the Company to transition technologies first used to support the War Department and defense systems to those technologies used in industry.  These methods further increased the quality of items built.  Many of these technologies provided real-time processes control feedback from which changes could be made automatically to the output of the process.  In today's terms, this was the advent of Advanced Process Control (APC).  As a result of his efforts, Carl Vossberg, Jr. was the recipient of many patents.

In 1951 the Company was relocated from Long Island, NY to Umatilla, FL, although several other local cities were interested in hosting Electron Machine Corporation.  In 1953, the Company received its charter in Florida, where the Company has been ever since.  Over time, the product line manufactured by Electron Machine narrowed as manufacturing methods and equipment improved and early APC instruments became integrated into the actual production methods themselves.  

In 1957 Electron Machine applied its first generation of In-line Process Refractometer to determine the sugar concentration (BRIX) of frozen concentrated orange juice.  A unit of this vintage is on display in the Umatilla Historical Museum.  This same instrument is capable of reading concentrations of many process fluids and acids and dissolved solids in a solution.  This product line continues to this day at Electron Machine. 

Carl Vossberg III led the Company for several decades, improving the remaining product family of In-line Process Refractometers and helped to establish Electron Machine Corporation's global reach.  Now servicing Asia, Europe, North and South America, and Africa, Electron Machine Corporation is known worldwide.      

Carl Vossberg IV now leads the organization as foreign markets continue to grow, and the In-Line Process Refractometer continues to advance in its capabilities and technologies.  Wireless options, data logging, communications, and explosion-proof rated instruments serve to broaden the application base for the family of In-Line Process Refractometers.

The 75th Anniversary coincides with our 15,000th Shop Order, meaning 15,000 instruments and pipeline adapters have been manufactured here in Umatilla, FL, servicing the world.

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