We are very pleased to inform you that BMA Automation GmbH has entered into a marketing and co-operation agreement with ITECA SOCADEI, Aix-en-Provence (France) for the marketing of the Colobserver® CL150.
The Colobserver® is dedicated to measure the sugar colour down-stream of the centrifugal station in sugar factories and refineries. Another application is the measurement of dry sugar after the dryer. In 2011 BMA and ITECA SOCADEI have completed the first project to integrate the ITECA colour measurement in the centrifugal controls in Uelzen German factory for two complete centrifugal batteries.
All white sugar centrifuges in Uelzen have radar sensors that automatically control the layer thickness. The color of the sugar on any type of conveyor downstream of the centrifuges is measured online. The layer thickness and sugar colour are fed back to the centrifugal control. The amount of wash water is calculated automatically based on these two parameters.
Thus, energy is saved, water consumption is lowered and the capacity of the sugar house as a whole is increased, since less sugar is dissolved and re-crystallized. Uelzen´s plant manager Sven Buhrmann explains: "The operators are very satisfied with the new colorimeters supplied by BMA."
The CL 150 colour measurement system has been on the market since 2007. Some 40 systems have been installed in sugar factories worldwide. BMA and ITECA SOCADEI observe a growing demand for comprehensive automation solutions in the sugar industry.
Older systems for on-line colour measurement have been on the market for many years. ITECA SOCADEI system not only gives the colour of sugar and the colour trends for each centrifuge, but also displays in real time the image of the sugar on the full width of any type of conveyor (belt, screw or hopper). The Colobserver records videos of the production problems. Image treatment enhanced its capabilities with brown lumps detection, avoiding contamination of the dryer or the silos.