Interfacing of EIT into an Industrial Pressure Filter A Practical Example

B.D.Grieve1, T.Dyakowski2, R.Mann2, M.Wang2

1. Zeneca Ltd, Process Technology Department PO Box A38, Huddersfield HD2 1FF, UK

   
   

2. UMIST, Department of Chemical Engineering PO Box 88, Manchester M60 1QD, UK

Abstract - Pressure filtration is a generic manufacturing stage carried out across the process industry however unit efficiency and product quality are diminished by the lack of qualitative, real-time, monitoring techniques. This paper opens by outlining the control issues associated with pressure filtration and introduces electrical impedance tomography (EIT) as a potential solution. To verify the feasibility of this approach an initial investigation was carried out on a commercial 1.5m3 pressure filter. A description is given of the engineering challenges which were met and the areas which were compromised, in lieu of future development. Specific reference is made to operation within metal walled vessels, hazardous area implications, novel sensor array and interconnection design to facilitate retrofitting, measurement within an electrically noisy environment, materials of construction, multi-modal operation and the characteristic requirements on speed, spatial resolution and signal sensitivity dictated by the batch manufacturing industry. Selected pertinent images are presented and their ramifications for control are highlighted. As pressure filtration is a subset of the much larger field of batch processing, the paper concludes with an overview of the anticipated lateral applications which may be addressed with an industrially compliant instrument

Keywords - Process Tomography, Pressure Filtration, Electrical Impedance