Using the Berthold MicroPolar moisture measurement system, any of the concentration, the dry substance, or the water content can be measured. The product can be in fluid, suspension, paste or powder form. Measuring can take place in pipelines, vessels or in other process related system parts using the different sensors.
Typical areas of application are amongst others, measurement of cream cheese, butter, milk of lime, gypsum suspension, silicic acid etc.
Measuring Principle
Microwaves are highly sensitive to water molecules. When penetrating the measured material, microwaves transfer energy to free water molecules, causing them to rotate. As a result, the velocity of the microwave is slowed down (phase shift) and their intensity is weakened (attenuation). Phase shift and attenuation are a direct measure for the water content, which indicates the concentration or amount of dry substance. Both effects are measured by our sensors, allowing for a very stable measurement.
These measuring effects are achieved with very small microwave transmission power – typically 0.1 mW. Consequently, the measured material is neither warmed nor modified. Berthold measures via transmission, penetrating through a cross-section of the material. This ensures the measurement is representative of bulk moisture, instead of a surface measurement, and therefore the measurement is highly accurate and representative. Factors such as colour, viscosity, nonhomogeneous composition, and dust have no or only a negligible effect on the measurement performance.
