Flexar® Guided Wave Radar Instrumental at New Ethanol Facility
The latest generation of an Ethanol producing plant is just about to go on-line in Wisconsin. The news story and video can be found at the link here. In addition, Monitor’s Flexar® guided wave radar level sensors are instrumental at this facility and used to measure changing levels of corn in various conditions. A total of seventeen Flexar sensors are installed. The benefit of guided wave radar is its continuous measurement capability, moderate cost, ease of installation and start-up. Guided wave radar technology is used in a wide variety of applications in many different industries. Its universal appeal is another reason for the fact that it is growing in popularity and use by some 21% per year (according to a recent market study).
Guided wave radar continuous level measurement sensors operate using TDR technology. TDR, or time domain reflectometry, has been in use measuring process levels since the early 1990's and is well proven in all types of liquid and bulk solids applications. The sensor electronics initiates microwave (radar) energy pulses continuously and these are focused and sent down a wave-guide (probe). The wave-guide is used to guide the energy to the material surface. This is advantageous and superior to open-air devices as you can imagine. The energy pulses reflect off the material surface and the time-of-flight is measured and related directly to the distance from the sensor to the material surface. Flexar level sensors are proven very reliable and accurate.
Flexar guided wave radar units work in a wide range of applications like corn in multiple Ethanol plant applications, plastic pellets, PVC resin and compound, calcium carbonate, clays, sand, cement, flyash and even seed. Monitor Technologies has been providing innovation level monitoring and measurement solutions for bulk solids and liquids for five decades. If you’d like more information about Flexar guided wave radar sensors or any of our other level measurement and monitoring solutions, please contact us at 1-800-766-6486 or visit our website at www.monitortech.com or www.flexar.info and our blog at www.monitortech.typepad.com
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.
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