Product category:
Monitoring and sensor equipment and systems
News Release from: Hydramotion | Subject: Hydramotion viscometer
Edited by the Manufacturingtalk Editorial
Team on 25 October 2007
On-line viscometer improves quality
control
On-line viscometer exhibits high immunity to plant vibration, ease of cleaning and low maintenance requirement, it having no moving parts.
The Dairy Products Research Center in County Cork, Ireland, has given a 'four-star' rating to an on-line viscometer from Hydramotion for its contribution to quality control in the production of milk powder (O'Callaghan, Schulz, O'Donnell et al, Improved Control in Dairy Processing (On-line Sensor Control for Milk Powder and Cheese Manufacture), DPRC No 42, 2001) The Hydramotion viscometer was the only one in its class to achieve such a high rating, said Hydramotion
This article was originally published on Manufacturingtalk on 16 Jul 2004 at 8.00am (UK)
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Advantages highlighted by the researchers include the following.
* High immunity to plant vibration.
* Ease of cleaning and low maintenance requirement, having no moving parts.
Milk powder is produced by 'spray-drying', in which concentrated milk is forced at high pressure through very fine nozzles into a chamber of warm air.
The efficiency of drying is largely determined by the degree of atomisation, which is directly proportional to the viscosity of the feed solution.
The viscosity of the milk at the atomisation step therefore has a crucial effect on the characteristics of the resulting milk powder.
The Hydramotion viscometer is ideal for this process, said Hydramotion in a report to Manufacturingtalk, as it combines a hygienic clean-in-place design with high sensitivity and excellent repeatability.
Viscosity is measured continuously in real time, ensuring that any changes are immediately detected.
Importantly, measurements are unaffected by changes in flow rate or the presence of suspended solids or gases, which often cause problems for other viscosity measurement techniques.
The single solid-rod sensor eliminates 'dead' spaces where micro organisms could propagate and presents minimal possibilities of fouling.
As the sensor is a robust all-welded 316 stainless steel construction it is capable of coping with hostile process conditions such as cleaning agents, while the measurement technology naturally rejects plant vibration and noise.
Installed at the pre-atomiser point, the Hydramotion viscometer offers significantly better control of the atomisation process, leading to reductions in wastage, lower energy consumption and better control of product texture, bulk density and moisture content. Request a free brochure from Hydramotion ...
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