Rosemount Analytical pH sensors withstand high temperature cleaning cycles, reducing sensor failure alarms and improving efficiency and reliability at Duvel Moortgat brewery.
The advanced design and high temperature tolerance of the Rosemount Analytical® Model 3300HT PERpH-X pH sensors from Emerson Process Management have enabled the Duvel Moortgat brewery in Puurs, Belgium, to solve a production problem and improve efficiency.
The previously installed pH sensors, monitoring the wort passing to the fermentation vessel, had become increasingly unreliable, at times only performing properly for a few days, with lifetime at best of a month or so. This was attributed to the temperature shocks inevitable in the process, which uses cleaning fluids at 85-90°C.
The new high performance pH sensors incorporate design innovations that prolong sensor life in difficult hot processes, tolerating temperatures up to 145°C. The ACCUGLASS bulb used in the unit improves the sensor speed of response, and makes it tolerant to thermal shocks. An enhanced double-junction reference electrode uses an outer gel-based reference that retains viscosity, to resist the pumping action produced by temperature and pressure changes. To replace lost electrolyte, a Rosemount Analytical custom refill kit is available as an accessory. Using a gel filled syringe, the outer reference can be refilled, extending the life of the unit.
At the Duvel Moortgat brewery, initial trials with this sensor showed it performed without any attention for over three months and then, by using the electrolyte gel refill kit, the sensor was returned to service within half an hour.
By introducing planned maintenance to on-site, Duvel Moortgat expects to save direct costs of over €1,200 a year, per wort monitoring point, with the improved reliability and lack of sensor failure alarms providing further benefits.
Following this success, Rosemount Analytical 3300HT sensors with the Model 1055 analyzers are now being specified for similar wort line monitoring in a new brewery expansion project for Duvel Moortgat.
Austin, Texas, USA-based Emerson Process Management is a leader in helping businesses automate production, processing and distribution in chemical, oil & gas, refining, pulp & paper, power, water and wastewater, food & beverage, pharmaceutical and other industries. Its Rosemount Analytical division designs and manufactures refractometers, analyzers, transmitters and sensors for on-line measurement of pH, ORP, conductivity, dissolved oxygen, chlorine, ozone and turbidity.
