A Sanitary Refractometer has been developed to measure more accurately the concentration of liquids and mixtures within food and drinks processing.  Increasing demands on the food and beverage industries to maintain and improve quality and to meet the 3A Sanitary Standard are some of the reasons behind the development of the latest process refractometer,the PR-03-A by K-Patents OY in Finland. 

"We have built our reputation for in-line liquid concentration measurements within sugar, specialty chemicals and pulp production," says Marja Kivenheimo, project manager. "This launch also marks our ambitions to become a significant player in the food and beverage industries."

Reliable and maintenance free
In continuous process environments, users are looking for instruments that are able to perform accurately, reliably and offer maintenance-free operation. This is why the new instrument has been developed.
The range of potential applications are wide as most liquid processes in the food and drinks industry require continuous monitoring of concentration or Brix levels in foodstuffs such as jams, fruit juices, preserves, sauces, milks,beer etc.to help maintain quality and reduce costs.
Maintaining the correct Brix value of sugar and sweeteners in confectionery production is important, otherwise consistency and quality of sweets can be affected. Similar control is required for the many filtration processes found in dairy production. Here, monitoring protein concentration is key to improving process efficiency and uniform product quality.

Digital principle
The PR-03-A refractometer determines the Refractive Index(R.I) of the process solution by measuring the critical angle of refraction which changes with concentration.The critical angle of refraction is measured by a digital CCD camera element (CCD = charged coupled device).
K-Patents is believed to be the first company during the 1980s to have implemented the digital camera technology in a process refractometer. The company has further developed
measurement reliability by combining the digital camera
with an advanced optical image detection technique. This means that all fixed thresholds have been eliminated to allow full digital measurement.
The company has combined the measuring components, light
source, prism, detection camera and temperature sensor in a
single compact module. The device is installed directly or through a flow cell in a pipe bend and an electropolished sensor coming into contact with the process liquid. This
has been tested according to guidelines from the
EHEDG(European Hygienic Design Group) for in-place
cleanability.
K-Patents was founded in 1978 and is one of the leading companies in the field of in-line liquid measurement. It has sales representation in 51 countries
world-wide, sells its instruments in 57 countries and has a subsidiary based in Chicago, USA.

Captions
Fig.1: Accurate measurements can be made over a whole measurement range of R.I 1.31 - 1.54 in temperatures up to +130°C
Fig.2: The measurement components stay always fixed to each other and provide a drift-free signal, despite of pressure variations or vibration.

For further information please contact:
Marja Kivenheimo
K-Patents Oy
PO Box 77
Fin-01511 Vantaa
Finland
Tel: +358 9 870 2282
Fax:+ 358 9 870 2311
E-mail:m.kivenheimo@kpatents.com
Home page: http://www.kpatents.com

John Groetsch, General Manager
K-Patents Inc.
1804 Centre Point Circle - Suite 106
Naperville, IL 60563
USA
Tel: +1-630 955 1545
Fax: +1- 630 955 1585
E-mail: j.groetsch@kpatents-usa.com

Press release images