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Real time in-line measurement of fluid Rheology in a manufacturing environment for the FMCG sector to significantly reduce waste and increase productivity.
About
An off-the-shelf, plug-and-play, sensor system to measure Rheology in-line and real time in pipelines. It works with a wide range of fluids, in both laminar and turbulent regimen, both single-phase and multi-phase flow with higher accuracy. Rheology is the single most reliable descriptor of product performance in several industries such as Food&Beverage, Personal Care, Chemicals, etc. However, in such industries QC is currently based on time-consuming offline measurements of surrogate quantities (e.g. viscosity, density, etc.). Fluid samples are taken only at regular intervals causing re-work and/or scrapped production (up to 14% of the goods produced). Timely detection of deviations from required product specifications during the manufacturing process is an unmet need and results in large volume of product rejects and a waste of valuable resources (raw materials, labour, energy, etc.). Alternative in-line measurements lack accuracy or have much narrower specific applicability. Technology validated with 150+ potential Customers/Partners, 1 on-going pilot with major FMCG manufacturer. The technology is based on passive acoustic measurements taken from outside the pipeline, which guarantees hygienic and maintance-free working conditions.
Key Benefits
● In-line and Real-time rheological measurements. 500ms response time vs.~62min for traditional off-line testing with instant relative rheological fingerprints even on very small changes (0.05%) to the formulation. ● Simple passive acoustic approach. No reliance on expensive technologies (active acoustics) or multiple concurrent measurements/sensors. ● Wide range of fluids or working conditions. Applicability to both single-phase and multi-phase fluids in any fluid regimen, i.e. laminar,transition,turbulent. ● Hygienic,low-maintenance system. Fluid and sensor are not in contact with the latter placed externally to the pipe. ● Easy integration. Simple in-line configuration to be fitted/retro- fitted to adapt to pipeline requirements.
Applications
Primary target market is FMCG, and more specifically in-line rheological testing of processed fluids. Current focus is on production of hair care products (shampoo and conditioner) in partnership with a major haircare manufacturer. However, applications in the FMCG sector are those with: ● need to reduce waste (to meet environmental legislation and obligations); ● need to improve productivity, process efficiency and quality to meet global competition; ● trend towards digitisation of processes with Industry 4.0; ● tightening regulations (most relevant to the the food industry, e.g. process history, zero interference); ● high demand for innovation; ● rapid ROI for capital/process investments (6-9 months) - price sensitivity is high; ● accuracy, repeatability and low maintenance. Key secondary markets include: ● Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology, and Life Sciences, moving from batch-processing to continuous processing ● Polymers & materials is the largest end-user segment of rheometer to analyze the chemical composition and physical molecular structure of the polymer; ● Investment in emerging economies and green energy initiatives in chemical and petrochemical sectors will fuel market growth. Tertiary market include Utilities, leakage and occlusion detection in pipe networks.