March 2007 : Flexar

Continuously Measuring Corn Surge Hopper Level In Ethanol Production

Elburn, IL -- Monitoring the continuously changing level of corn in the surge hopper of an Ethanol production facility can be challenging.  The material level can be continuously changing and the environment very dusty.  Monitor Technologies LLC is please to announce that its Flexar(TM) guided wave radar continuous level measurement sensors have been successfully used in corn surge hopper applications.  At the GEAPS show this year, Booth number 101C, Monitor will feature its Flexar continuous level measurement system.

Unlike all other continuous level measurement technologies, guided wave radar is unaffected by dusty environments such as what occurs during the filling of corn surge bins.  This means that reliable and accurate readings are available at your fingertips every second.  The Flexar guided wave radar unit uses TDR (time domain reflectometry) technology to make accurate measurements.  With TDR microwave pulses are guided to the material surface along a continuous stainless steel cable of 0.31" (8mm) diameter.  The microwave pulses reflect off the material surface and the time of flight results in the distance measurement of empty space.  The unit calculates the material level based on you silo height information and transmits this data either through smart RS485 communications for use with our SiloTrack inventory management system, or via a 4-20mA output signal to a remote receiving device such as a control system or digital display meter.

Monitor Technologies LLC is a leading supplier of level, flow, particle emission and aeration instrumentation for the worldwide grain processing, storage and handling industries.  The experience and market knowledge gained over five decades has earned Monitor a reputation for providing high quality and reliable product solutions.  Monitor is located in Elburn Illinois, give us a call today and let us put our creative solutions to work for you!

For more information refer to www.flexar.info and www.monitortech.com or contact Ms. Emily Jones at 1-800-766-6486 (630-365-9403).

SiloPatrol^® SE
Measuring coal powder levels when nothing else will work ….

Coal-fired power plants are commonplace around the world.  In order for these power generating stations to create huge amounts of electricity the turbines need to be feed with steam and the steam created by boilers that are fired by … yep, coal.  But coal as it comes from the mining operations is not what is fed to the burners.  First it is ground or pulverized into powder.  It is not unusual for the coal powder to be stored in silos awaiting the demand for it to be fed to the burners.  The inventory of coal powder in these silos needs to be monitored to allow for efficient operation of the power plant.

So, how do we monitor the inventory of coal powder in a silo?  Not easily.  In one typical application the power plant personnel found that the only technology that would work reliably is the modern smart weight & cable system from Monitor Technologies LLC, the SiloPatrol^® SE.

Anhui Tongling power plant in Anhui province in China had tried almost ever technology possible to get a reliable level measurement in their 5 coal powder silos.  Radar, ultrasonic and others were tried, but none worked reliably.  It wasn’t until Beijing Conasen walked in and proposed that the Tongling plant use the SiloPatrol SE smart cable-based inventory monitoring system that the power plant personnel found a reliable solution.

Mr. William Yuan, sales manager for Beijing Conasen indicates that the power plant tried many major brands of ultrasonic, radar, and other technologies but that due to good relations with the Tongling plant personnel he was able to sell three SiloPatrol SE model SMU sensors and an HMI operator interface to them.  The units were installed by plant personnel.  Because of the heavy amount of coal dust in the silos an air purge using dry compressed air was used.  The SiloPatrol sensor incorporates the patent-pending use of Hall-effect sensor technology, a split-compartment enclosure, microcontroller, redundant optics and many other valuable features and technology to ensure reliable measurement even in challenging dust applications like coal powder.

The SiloPatrol SE system has been working reliably and the plant has since purchased two additional sensors and connected them into the same HMI operator interface.  This same sensor technology is working reliably at other coal-fired power stations in China as well.

For more information on the SiloPatrol SE click here or contact Monitor Technologies LLC at 800-766-6486 in the USA and 630-365-9403 worldwide.

>>Click here for more information about SiloPatrol SE from Monitor Technologies.
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