1989 PROCEEDINGS OF AUSTRALIAN SOCIETY OF SUGAR CANE TECHNOLOGISTS AN EVALUATION OF SEVERAL SENSORS FOR FEED CONTROL OF VACUUM PANS By K.F, MILLER* and N.G. SKIPPEN** *Sugar Research Institute, Mackay, Queensland ** Mackay Sugar Co-op. Assn. Ltd., Pleystowe Mill, Mackay, Queensland INTRODUCTION In order to obtain maximum throughput from a vacuum pan it is necessary to maintain the highest possible sucrose deposition rate at all times. This implies the maintenance of the highest safe supersaturation which requires an accurate knowledge of the material’s analysis, its solubility properties and crystallization characteristics. Concurrently the crystal content of the massecuite must be controlled, or at least constrained, to allow adequate pan evaporation rates and adequate circulation of the massecuite. It follows that two separate control loops are needed to obtain optimal conditions. Although some progress has been made in this direction (Wright, 1983) most primary sensors used for pan feed control measure properties that are interactions of the two separate parameters of supersaturation and crystal content. To achieve overall control with these types it is necessary to fix one of these arbitrarily and allow the second to become the controlled value. In practice this is achieved by designing pans so that the evaporative capacity is about correct for the required duty, by the use of balancing water, or by employing steam flow control measures. Many types of primary measuring elements have been used or suggested for raw sugar pan control of input feed. These include conductivity, boiling point elevation, stirrer power, various consistency or mobility meters, refractometers and nuclear density meters, Wright (1983) has given a comprehensive overview of this area. In Australian practice the conductivity sensor has been used almost universally but it has some drawbacks due to changes in the ash content of the cane juices. This paper describes the evaluation of several sensors for pan feed control at Pleystowe Mill during the 1988 crushing season. TYPES OF INSTRUMENTS SURVEYED The following sensors were tested:- e A standard single probe conductivity electrode (contacting type) described by Wright (1968), = ae ee electrodeless conductivity probe (type 871EC-EV 0-2000 BS/cem « A Sugar Research Institute (SRI) contactless probe, measuring resistance in these trials, « AK-Patents Pan refractometer (70-90 refractometer brix) (Model PR-01-E, CHK Eng.) During the latter stages of the trials a prototype Sugar Research Institute contactless CTR probe became available for preliminary testing. This sensor is designed to measure the capacitance, temperature and resistance of the massecuite. KEYWORDS: Pan Control, Conducti Conductivity, Sensors , Pan Refractometer, Control Systems, Contactless 175PROCEEDINGS OF AUSTRALIAN SOCIETY OF SUGAR CANE TECHNOLOGISTS 1989 PAN DESIGN AND INSTRUMENT PLACEMENT The pan used in these investigations was a 75 m3 conventional calandria pan having a heating surface/volume ratio of 5.1 m'. The calandria diameter was 6.1 m with the pan body flared above the top tube plate to a diameter of 6.4 m. The pan bottom was of the streamflow bottom shape, with the apex extending into the downcomer as shown in Figure |, and carried a feed ring with eight symmetrically arranged feeding points which entered below the calandria about halfway out from the downcomer wall. The test instruments were positioned as shown in Figure | so that the sensors would sample areas which had good circulation but which were free of bubbles and remote from feed streams. For some sensors the placement was dictated by the short protrusion of the sensor into the pan or by the-requirement for flange mounting on the vessel. The standard conductivity probe and the SRI contactless probe were installed in the inner conical section of the pan bottom to encounter the downcoming massecuite stream. These extend about 200 mm and 300 mm respectively into the pan. The Foxboro sensor was flange mounted under the pan with the open end of the sensing cylinder facing the expected flow direction. The axial centre of the flow cylinder was parallel to and about 120 mm in from the pan wall. The K-Patents refractometer was flange mounted on the flared section of the pan wall directly above the top tube plate. It was considered that this position would give the best opportunity for the prism to encounter a strong self-cleaning action from the circulating massecuite while being unaffected by any vapour bubbles. Although mounting in the pan bottom was preferred by the supplier, this was over-ruled by concerns of possible sluggish circulation late in the strike, the WORKING LEVEL PROOF K=P STICK REFRAC. OP COND. CELL PROBES FOXBORO COND, Fig. 1—Instrument positioning and pan design of the Pleystowe B massecuite pan. 1761989 PROCEEDINGS OF AUSTRALIAN SOCIETY OF SUGAR CANE TECHNOLOGISTS risk of crystal settling on or around the prism, and the difficulties in maintaining the external parts of the refractometer below the allowed maximum temperature during steaming of the pan following discharge. DESCRIPTION OF NORMAL PAN OPERATION FOR B MASSECUITE BOILING. The boiling cycle for the pan was under the control of a Fischer and Porter DCI 4000 micro computer based control system which allowed a wide variety of operating procedures to be selected. In a typical sequence, a footing of high grade foundation was drawn into the pan and boiling was initiated with reduced steam flow. During the first few minutes the pan was balanced on water (or evaporator supply juice) conductivity feed control until conditions stabilised. Syrup (liquor) feed was then commenced with conductivity being maintained constant. During this period the steam flow was increased to the selected rate which was typically seven tonnes per hour. At a pre-chosen pan level the feed valves were switched to commence boil-back of A molasses. From this point the conductivity set point was ramped downwards with increasing level until the working volume was achieved. Depending on the pan stage stock situation several options could be exercised at this point though normally the heavy-up was commenced after a short time on water feed. Normally movement water was not used during either the run-up or heavy-up stages of the strike. Fine grain removal sequences were rarely required. TEST PROCEDURE The readings from the three conductivity transducers, the K-Patents refractometer and the pan level DP cell were monitored continuously using a multi-channel recorder. The massecuite temperature was read from a digital readout on the K-Patents refractometer while steam flow and vacuum were available from the installed pan instrumentation. During specific tests, proof samples were taken from time to time and centrifuged through gauze thimbles. The mass distribution between the sugar and molasses allowed the approximate crystal content per cent massccuite to be calculated. At the same time they provided a mother liquor sample for analysis for dry substance and sucrose (by the CSR “double po!’ method). Using the results of information gained as testing procecded, further experiments were designed and carried out to investigate particular aspects of pan control. These included comparing constant conductivity and ramped conduc- tivity control, deliberate fine grain incursions and subsequent washing, the effects of starting the strike at a higher crystal content, the results of pan idling on water feed, and the boiling of an A massecuite strike. CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SENSORS A typical chart showing the response of the various sensors is shown in Figure 2. It is to be noted in this figure that the SRI contactless probe is measuring the resistance of the massecuite (i.e. the reciprocal of the conductance) and thus appears reversed to the other conductivity monitors. Using the description given earlier of the normal pan operation, it is possible to follow the various stages of the strike from cutting-in, a period of constant conductivity, ramped conductivity set-point during A molasses feeding and finally the heavy-up stage. Using the conventional single probe contacting electrode as a yardstick it is clear that the Foxboro unit is giving an almost identical (though off-set) conductivity trace. There are indications of a drop off in sensitivity of the Foxboro unit towards the end of the strike but this is also apparent with the standard unit. In any case the Foxboro probe was still mirroring the response without any detectable time lag. This was a surprising result as it was thought that this sensor would have a rather sluggish behaviour resulting from its unusual shape and its close proximity to the pan bottom. 177PROCEEDINGS OF AUSTRALIAN SOCIETY OF SUGAR CANE TECHNOLOGISTS 1989 100% Note : Traces are offset on time scale. STD. COND. 5 K-P 2 REFRAC. ao ° « 9 Q Zz we a F'BORO: COND. SRI | CONTACTLESS Fig. 2—Typical recording of B massecuite strike measurements. The SRI contactless probe also performed well. Following installation a significant amount of adjustment to the zero and span settings was required to establish an appropriate range for recording or control. This took place over several strikes. The SRI unit was not used for control purposes as this would have required re-tuning of the controller to suit the enhanced sensitivity of the transmitter. Response times similar to that of the standard conductivity probe were obtained. The output of the K-Patents refractometer proved very interesting, giving data not normally available to technologists. The range of the instrument was set to 70 - 90 refractometer brix. In the normal strike, shown in Figure 2, the liquid phase brix was about 78 at the start of boiling. This rose steadily through the course of the strike to about 82 units at pan full with the pan drop value being a consistent 84.5 brix. The relationship between refractometer brix values and vacuum oven dry substance is tenuous and depends on the purity of the material and the 1781989 PROCEEDINGS OF AUSTRALIAN SOCIETY OF SUGAR CANE TECHNOLOGISTS composition of the impurities present. Figure 3 shows the relationship graphically for the Pieystowe material using the K-Patents refractometer. These values were obtained by taking readings directly from the K-Patents digital readout of the brix and massecuite temperature while simultaneously obtaining a proof sample for centrifugation to obtain a mother liquor sample for later analysis. The refractometer head was adjacent to the proof stick but did not extend as far into the pan. The single low value of 75.8 was the result of a fine grain undersaturation wash following a deliberate fine grain incursion. The good relationship obtained between the ‘K-Patents’ brix and dry substance over a wide range of values indicated that the replacement time of material on the prism was acceptably low. This would be aided by the strong circulation in that area, the low viscosity of the material and perhaps the presence of large crystal in the material. Because of the limited ranges of purity and temperature encountered during tests, it was not possible to separate any purity effects on the brix-dry substance relationship or to test adequately the temperature compensation of the K-Patents instrument. Further tests on the response time of the instrument (basically by testing how quickly new material can reach the prism surface) were made by giving the pan short bursts of water through the normal feed piping, while the pan was boiling at normal working weight. In these tests the conductivity probes responded up to 30 s earlier than the refractometer but this delay time would be acceptable for practical control purposes. 86 84 REGRESSION OS = 0.8318 « KP + 13.8 VACUUM OVEN DRY SUBSTANCE 75 7 77 +78 #79 «+80 81 82 83 84 85 86 K-PATENTS REFRACTOMETER 8RIX Fig. 3—Pan refractometer calibration for B massecuite strikes. ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF VARIOUS SENSORS As a result of the trials the advantages and disadvantages of the different sensor types were identified as follows:- (a) Standard single probe conductivity electrode (contacting type) ‘Advantages: Simple robust construction. May be calibrated in the laboratory or elsewhere to allow conductivity specific conductance) of material to be determined. Easy to position in various parts of a pan, e.g. top of centre-well, bottom of down-comer, etc. Mounted via screwed socket. Uses off-the-shelf instrumentation. 179PROCEEDINGS OF AUSTRALIAN SOCIETY OF SUGAR CANE TECHNOLOGISTS 1989 (b) (© (d) 180 Disadvantages: Reading influenced by many interacting factors, e.g. supersaturation, crystal content, temperature, purity, bubbles. The deposition of scale on the conducting surfaces can cause a gradual drift in cell constant of the probe. : Foxboro electrodeless conductivity probe Advantages: Pre-calibrated to give specific conductance (uS/cm) directly. No electrical contact with medium. i Instrument span can be altered by changing range card. Reasonably robust. Disadvantages: The length (about 165 mm inside pan) and the toroidal shape (about 90 mm maximum diameter) limit the choice of positions available for the sensor either in a pan or in a pipe flow, situation. The flange mounting technique employed restricts the amount of exper- imentation that can be done to determine the optimum position for pan control. Removal or replacement of the probe during processing is virtually impossible and remains difficult even between strikes, particularly when compared with screwed socket type probes. The Sugar Research Institute contactless conductivity probe Advantages: Designed specifically for pan boiling application. Zero and range adjustable to give desired sensitivity. Low friction, non-stick surface. Less influenced by minor scale build-up than contacting types. No electrical contact with material. Disadvantages: Difficult to obtain absolute calibration, though geometrically similar units will have similar characteristics. Response may vary with position in pan. K-Patents Pan refractometer Advantages: Measures a fundamental property of the liquid phase (basically refractive index) converted to brix by algorithm. Unaffected by bubbles, crystal or sludge. In-built temperature sensor with temperature compensation if required. Self diagnostic trouble shooting display. Disadvantages: Requires high velocities across prism to give short response times. Short intrusion into pan (about 120 mm to centre of prism). High cost. Most expensive of all units tested.1989 PROCEEDINGS OF AUSTRALIAN SOCIETY OF SUGAR CANE TECHNOLOGISTS (e) Sugar Research Institute contactless CTR probe Advantages: Similar to normal contactless conductivity probe. Has built-in temperature sensor. Disadvantages: Similar to normal contactless conductivity probe. Capacitance reading appears to have no value in raw sugar pans. (The unit is primarily designed for white sugar pans). GRAINING TRIALS WITH K-PATENTS REFRACTOMETER Following completion of the trials on the B massecuite strike pan, the refractometer was transferred to the low grade graining pan at Pleystowe for further evaluation. This unit was a 45 m? unstirred pan with a conventional calandria and an expanded body. The unit was mounted in a similar position to that on the B pan although the degree of flare of the body above the calandria on the graining pan was much greater. The refractometer brix and the output from a standard single probe electrode were recorded on a multi-channel instrument. The graining procedure at Pleystowe involves the boiling down ofa 70 purity blend at constant vacuum to give a temperature of about 70°C at the graining point. Following slurry addition the pan is held at constant conductivity on water feed to allow grain establishment. Over the next 60 minutes the conductivity is increased in three steps to the normal B-molasses feed conductivity set point. Proof samples were taken as the blend was concentrated from an undersaturated condition to the graining point to correspond with various refractometer readings. A few samples were also taken after slurry had been added but while the crystal content was still quite low. The dry substance-brix relationship is shown in Figure 4 and again a very strong dependence is evident. However in this case the amount of scatter at the upper end of the brix range is unacceptably high for control purposes. This is the more important end of the range as the initial seeding step is carried out in this region. The reason for this apparent scatter can be traced to the slow rate of film replacement on the prism surface in the high viscosity, crystal free material. 88 aoe 86 PURITY ABOUT 70 a w TEMPERATURE ABOUT 70C vasa B 34 wh a = a Ee 8 : Ss 0 A : i fee aes ee = 734 ve > DS=1.018KP-1.191 dl oa 76 a a T T ee T T T T T ae T 1 76 78 80 82 84 86 88 K-PATENTS REFRACTOMETER BRIX Fig. 4—Pan refractometer calibration for C seed grainings. 181PROCEEDINGS OF AUSTRALIAN SOCIETY OF SUGAR CANE TECHNOLOGISTS 1989 The effect is clearly shown in Figure 5 for a typical C seed graining. When the pan is brought under conductivity control following slurry addition, the conductivity trace shows a sharp ‘break’ as it changes from the heavy-up to the control mode. In contrast the refractometer reading shows’ a very sluggish approach to the maximum value. Subsequently, when the set point is altered to higher values, the refractorneter takes about three minutes to detect any change and a total of about six minutes to reach a steady value. This would not be acceptable for control purposes and would necessitate some form of positive action to ensure sample replacement on the prism: The suppliers of the instrument recommend a liquid velocity greater than 1.5 ms" which would be impossible to achieve in an unstirred graining pan. Whilst the refractometer would be unsuitable for control purposes it would prove useful in monitoring and optimising the graining point conductivity set point. CONCLUSIONS A trial of sensors designed to measure massecuite condition to enable feed control was carried out on a B-massccuite strike pan at Pleystowe Mill. All sensors would be considered suitable for high grade massecuite boiling control but 3RD R.BRIX om 84-| 804 CONDUCTIVITY CONDUCTIVITY REFRAC. BRIX 76-| Traces are offset on time scale. CUT ~<—TIME | Fig. 5—Conductivity and refractometer readings during C seed graining strike.1989 PROCEEDINGS OF AUSTRALIAN SOCIETY OF SUGAR CANE TECHNOLOGISTS advantages and disadvantages can be identified for each. Possibly the SRI contactless conductivity device would be preferred provided its setting up is properly carried out. The K-Patents refractometer was shown to give a remarkably good indication of mother molasses concentration but its cost would preclude its use unless its reading could lead to better supersaturation control. The K-Patents refractometer was also tested against a standard conductivity probe on the C seed graining strike pan. It was found to be useful in defining the conductivity set point but was too sluggish for control purposes. REFERENCES Reichard, S.R. and Vidler, T-L., (1975), Contactless Conductivity Measurement in Massecuites. Proc. Queensl. Soc. Sugar Cane Technol., 42nd Conf., 249-253. Weight PG. (1968), Conductivity Blectzode Design. Proc. Queens. Soc. Sugar Cane Technol, 35th Conf, 137-140. Wright, P. SeaReS Publishers (1983). Pan and Pan Stage Control. Sugar Technology Reviews 10, 39-96. Elsevier .V., Amsterdam, 183