Spotlight Environmental Analysis & Electrochemistry


Water Activity Contributes to Efficient Safe Production


Real-Time On-Site Oil Condition Measurements


With an in-service weight of only 4lbs (1.8kg) the FluidScan Lubricant Condition Monitor from Analysco is so portable and easy to use that it can be used for measurements in locations where other instruments would be too bulky or inconvenient – such as at the top of a wind turbine or on an oil rig. Using Infra-Red spectroscopy, the FluidScan determines key lubricant condition parameters like TAN, TBN, oxidation, nitration, sulfation, soot, glycol, water and additive depletion in less than one minute. With no delay waiting for laboratory results, vital preventive maintenance can be triggered immediately, thereby avoiding catastrophic equipment failure.


Also, costly but unnecessary lubricant replacement can be postponed until actually required.


Water activity is a remarkably versatile quality metric in the food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries, and is applicable at several different points within the production process. Water activity measurements can help to prevent quality-related problems such as mould growth and adverse changes in taste and texture, plus it can avoid wastage of ingredients and energy. To maximise the benefits available from water activity measurements, the research and development department should first use water activity and moisture sorption isotherms to formulate the product in order to optimise the taste, texture, packaging, safety and shelf life.


Whereas water activity is a measure of the energy status of the water in a component or system, a moisture sorption isotherm is a graph of the relationship between water activity and moisture content (as a percentage) at a specific temperature; sometimes a set of isotherms will be generated at different temperatures to characterise more fully the component or system. The specifications created by the R&D scientists can then be used as the basis for the acceptable limits elsewhere in the production environment.


Once the ingredients enter production, managers can monitor the water activity and adjust process parameters such as temperatures to ensure that products are not over- or undercooked. Further measurements of water activity by quality assurance and quality control personnel can verify that every batch complies with all of the product specifications. Further water activity measurements can be used prior to shipping to ensure that batches are within specification before being delivered to customers - who may also have specified upper and lower limits for water activity.


Water activity can be used by managers to gain an insight into the performance of the production plant. As an accurate scientific metric, water activity can provide highly reliable data for evaluating a plant's performance, thereby helping to raise efficiency and reduce variation and waste.


Fortunately the instruments manufactured by Decagon Devices for measuring water activity and for generating isotherms are extremely simple and quick to use. The phrase used by the company is: ‘If you can microwave a burrito, you can run a highly accurate water activity test’. High-resolution moisture sorption isotherms are similarly straightforward to generate, and the Decagon instruments can complete this process in just two days - which is considerably quicker than the traditional methods used.


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A unique (Patent Pending) feature of the FluidScan that hugely simplifies the operating procedure is its ‘flip-top’ sample cell that can be loaded with one hand from a pipette or dipstick and accommodates all sample types from biodiesel to heavy greases. No solvents are needed for cleaning, a real advantage when working in hazardous environments. A simple wipe over with a cleaning patch is sufficient, with a built-in routine that checks for cell cleanliness before allowing the next measurement to proceed. The cell design also eliminates the fringing effects experienced with conventional short pathlength cells.


Sample spectra can be compared with an extensive library of spectra from a large database of commonly used lubricants, and a ‘traffic light’ pass/warning/fail system provides an immediate indication of sample condition without the need for spectrum interpretation. When quantitative results are needed, chemometric techniques automatically correct for interferences, giving improved accuracy. Results are displayed on an integral colour screen and a built-in lithium battery gives 6 to 8 hours use dependent upon conditions. The Fluidscan also has a comprehensive built-in database so individual asset results are stored, and can be easily downloaded to PC for reporting/trending purposes.


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Energy Supplier of the Future?


In the past months and years bio fuels had the reputation to generate a social and environmental dilemma. For example, in developing countries large areas were cleared and used for sugar cane bio fuel monocultures or similar and therefore were at the same time unintentionally in competition with the production of food. Inevitably, this well-known problem leads to the development of more climate friendly and socially acceptable uses of second generation bio fuels.


For the production of the second generation bio fuels not the starch respectively oil containing plant parts are used, but rather only the cellulose-containing parts of the plant. This means the starch containing plant parts, like for example the maize kernels, can still be used for the production of food.


Bio ethanol is produced and obtained via bio catalysis (fermentation) and bio process technology. In order to run such well-engineered bio process technology plants, as a rule, a preparation of the lignocellulose containing residual material is required. Not only the degree of the comminution (particle size) due to the installed technical components of the plant and the built-in measurement instrumentation and control systems play a part, but rather what seems even more important is the produced by the comminution high surface and the associated residence time and fermentation period in the bio-fermenter. Hereby the used micro organisms and enzymes are given the opportunity in a time- and resource saving approach to achieve the highest possible plant effectiveness.


For the comminution of the residual plant matter in many pilot plant stations and pilot installations Fritsch Cutting Mills are utilised. Here especially the Universal Cutting Mill PULVERISETTE 19 in combination with the sample exhauster the cyclone separator.


Advantages of this system include the ease of handling during cleaning and the exchange of the cutting tools. Due to the patented Fritsch sample exhauster it is possible to produce sufficiently large amounts of bio mass with a particle size distribution from up to smaller than 250µm, which then can be transferred to the fermentation plants without any problems. The directed high volume air current of the Fritsch patented sample exhauster of 2800 l/min minimises thermal load during the grinding process and is a secure protection against clogging of the sieve cassettes und enables therefore a high sample throughput.


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Detect and Monitor Formaldehyde levels


In order to ensure employees and the public are not exposed to dangerous levels of Formaldehyde in the air, it is advised to detect and monitor levels with a suitable detection instrument. PPM Technology has significant experience in the design and development of instruments for accurate detection and measurement of Formaldehyde. Their Formaldemeter range of instruments has been available for over 10 years and they continuously develop and improve the instruments to achieve better performance and features. The latest instruments are the Formaldemeter htVm and htV.


The Formaldemeter htV-m is able to accurately detect and monitor formaldehyde, temperature and humidity in real-time. It can be used as a manual hand-held instrument or as a continuous monitoring device capable of up to one month of datalogging. Samples are taken atomically based on a schedule specified by the user, alternatively samples can be taken in 'manual mode' when user presses 'S' button. The htV-M can precisely measure formaldehyde concentrations in parts per million (ppm) and mg/m3 over a wide range of temperature and humidity. The Formaldemeter htV is a manual hand-held instrument, which can take instantaneous single-point measurements of formaldehyde, temperature and humidity. Both instruments can accurately measure very low or extremely high concentration of formaldehyde.


PPM Technology’s standard hand held formaldehyde detectors are able to measure in the range of 0-10ppm, it is now possible for the user to change the settings and monitor for much higher concentrations of Formaldehyde up to approximately 90ppm.


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