ATEX EQUIPMENT
REDUCING PRODUCTION COSTS WITH CONTACT-FREE FLOW METER
A
Laser carried out pilot projects with several customers, including a large Scandinavian refinery. The goal was to put the system, including the tablet, through its paces under real-life conditions, including Bluetooth stability, battery life, display response, and report generation. Integration into existing IT structures and the handling of safety-critical documents – such as permits or plant diagrams – was also evaluated.
A typical scenario: Increased vibrations are being reported by the permanent condition monitoring of a pump. The plant is shut down as planned and a maintenance team is dispatched with the XT550 system. The technicians quickly record the deviation, correct it, and create the full documentation directly on site on the tablet, including measurement data and, if necessary, image material. Everything is stored audit-proof and later transferred to the central system.
FAST ROLLOUT, GLOBAL SUPPORT The tablet was integrated quickly. The evaluation process was completed in around six months. Today, Easy-Laser sells the XT550 system with Tab-Ex 03 as a complete package – or makes the XT app available for download if customers use their own Ex-certified devices. Global support remains a key success factor: replacement devices and parts must be available at short notice, and the devices must be available and maintainable for at least five years. Here, too, Pepperl+Fuchs scores with its global logistics and technical support. Easy-Laser sees the combination of the XT system and Tab-Ex 03 as a clear productivity boost for maintenance teams: less paper, faster processes, better documentation. The hardware has proven itself in tough everyday use - thanks to features such as Samsung DeX, Knox security, ARCore compatibility, and the included S Pen for precise input.
Pepperl+Fuchs
www.pepperl-fuchs.com
t ICB Distillers’ Middlesbrough site, the company produces spirit-based drinks, developing beverages for its own range as well as blending and mixing drinks for various brands and supermarkets. The plant also hosts a bottling facility, producing around 30 million retail-ready bottles each year. Spirits such as rum as well as ethanol are transported to the facility where they are mixed with an array of ingredients, such as fruit juices and creams, plus purified water and sugar, according to the recipe.
MANAGING PRODUCT QUALITY
When the tanker arrives at ICB Distillers Middlesbrough, the spirit or ethanol flows into a bund containing six tanks. Then, when drinks production takes place, the alcoholic liquid is fed into mixing tanks according to the recipe requirements and alcohol by volume (ABV) level of the particular beverage. This pipe matrix is flexible and allows ICB Distillers to achieve various mixes and create new products as required.
Accurate flow measurement of the spirits and ethanol is crucial to ensure the quality of the beverages, as well as precisely manage stock and optimise the cost efficiency of production. It’s also vital that flow measurement devices integrated into the matrix maintain hygiene, and with various spirits flowing through the pipes at any one time, preventing cross-contamination is also essential. ICB Distillers also relies on a clean-in-place (CIP) process, and
while it must rinse away all chemicals, minimising water consumption is key to lowering costs and managing sustainability. Up to now, residual spirits within the pipe matrix have also been washed away in the CIP process, with product wastage adding significant cost.
REDUCING PRODUCTION COSTS
“Spirits left in the line have been washed away during CIP” explains Gary Bragman, project manager at ICB Distillers. “It was important for us to move to a system that could integrate a pigging system, save on water, and control product flow with greater accuracy.” A pigging system is named after the ‘pig’, a bung that is pushed through the pipes to recover product and assist in cleaning the lines ahead of CIP. To achieve this, a pipeline integrating flow meters that wouldn’t obstruct the ‘pig’ was required. Engaging with Bürkert, engineers Kieran Bennett and Chris Hughes from the flow specialist specified the FLOWave flowmeter. Free of seals, electrodes, and components within the flow path, the device minimises the potential of bacteria accumulation and is easy to clean. To achieve accurate flow measurement, FLOWave sends high-frequency Surface Acoustic Waves (SAW) across the fluid where changes in flow, mass, temperature, and density, affect the waves’ speed and attenuation.
The resulting detection of the signal achieves precise measurements without direct contact with the media.
REDUCED WATER USE IN CIP
Bürkert’s FLOWave was also specified to improve the cost effectiveness and time required for CIP. A typical cleaning process operates by setting cycle times of chemical washes followed by clean water flushes. To ensure completeness of the flush, conservative estimates are applied, but this results in a high volume of water use. However, FLOWave can detect the phase change in the media, referred to as the differentiation factor. This accurately informs when all chemical traces from the CIP process have been flushed away, enabling a shorter flushing period and reduced water use. With at least one CIP process per day, and tens of thousands of litres of water involved per year, the cost and time saving is significant,” says Kieran Bennett, Bürkert. “Total water saving can be up to 50 per cent, which also achieves a significant environmental benefit.” With Bürkert’s FLOWave flowmeters installed on each of the feedlines from the bund, ICB Distillers’ phased commissioning set the first meter live in May, and its flow control accuracy is already improving production efficiency.
IMPROVING PRODUCTION EFFICIENCY “Previously, challenges in accuracy controlling the flow of spirits using mag- based flow meters meant continually adjusting the mixture, adding highly purified water to help meet the ABV level, as well as sugar and other ingredients,” explains Bragman. “Now, with Bürkert’s FLOWave, we can get a much more accurate measurement of what’s going into a mixing tank before pumping it to the line. From initial batches of 500 litres, each one has been accurate to less than two litres difference.” The flow meters are installed within an ATEX Zone 2 hazardous area, while the devices communicate back to a Bürkert ME61 display located in a separate control room. The FLOWave device integrates analogue and digital outputs, and by wiring the digital communication ports together in a daisy chain formation, a single cable, approximately 25 metres long, connects to the display via Bürkert’s EDIP CAN-based protocol. Providing individual batch and total flow rates, the data enables ICB Distillers’ operations team to accurately keep track of produce. With the additional flow meters set to be commissioned in the following months, ICB Distillers will be in a position to extend the pigging system across the matrix. Minimising spirit wastage and reducing the volume of water used in the CIP process is set to achieve a rapid return on investment for the beverage producer. Meanwhile, less time required for the updated cleaning process has the potential to improve productivity while maintaining the same high level of hygiene.
Bürkert Fluid Control Systems
www.burkert.co.uk
INDUSTRIAL COMPLIANCE |WINTER/SPRING 2026 15
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36
