From its very earliest days in the 1990’s through to the present, ITS technology has been used to evaluate in-line mixing.
In-line mixing is used to for continuous processes, often to blend to liquids together, such as seen in the food & drinks sector; or injecting gas into slurries in the minerals processing and pulp & paper sectors.
It can often present challenges when one or both of materials are viscous; additional challenges arise when minor recipe changes lead to significant changes to ingredients’ physical properties.
ITS has developed simple in-line, spool based sensors. These can rapidly scan material flowing through a pipe or in-line mixer to determine concentration changes, either over time or in a single volume. The same information can be used to understand different flow conditions.
Using well established statistics, ITS tomography information can provide and understanding of process conditions and data used to quantify mixing performance.
This information can be used to choose between different mixing options; optimise product throughput; measure product quality – all of which can have a direct bearing on overall process profitability.
ITS sensors can be constructed of robust materials, resistant to chemically and physically demanding conditions. In addition, sensors can be provided which are certified to operate in ATEX rated conditions.
