DA 7350™: In-Line NIR Instrument for Measurement of Bulk Products

PerkinElmer’s DA 7350™ is a versatile, cutting-edgeand sophisticated in-line NIR instrument that can be used to measure bulk products like granules, powders, slurries, grains, pellets, mealsand pastes in chain conveyors, pipes, chutesand similar areas.

The instrument can perform multi-constituent measurements of a product in a processing line in real-time and offers information for quality monitoring and process control.

Thanks to continuous in-process measurements in real-time, users can minimize scrap and re-work while enhancing efficiency, product consistencyand quality. The instrument is capable of carrying out concurrent measurement of parameters like fat, moisture, ash, protein, fiberand many more. The core diode array technology offers various benefits such as stability, durability, ability to track process changesand accurate measurement of moving products.

Features and Benefits

Industry 4.0 Ready — The instrument features web-based software that ensures simple operation and maintenance.

Real-time measurements — Users can track, adjustand improve their production processes in real time, thereby increasing yield, saving costsand improving product consistency.

Sturdy design to suit production environments — The instrument has been engineered for the harsh environmentof production facilities. It also includes IP67 and IP 69k ingress protection, together with IECEx and ATEX classifications for installations in probably dust explosive environments.

Built-in camera offers production insights — The instrument includes camera applications for image analysis and color measurements to enable speck counting. Snapshots of the production are displayed at the users’ operator station.

IoT-compatible communication interfaces for simple integration —Industry-standard, open communications protocols such as PROFINET, OPC UA, Modbus TCP, as well as an array of Fieldbuses allow simple and quick information integration with existing plant systems.

Applications

Users can measure powders, granules, flakes, pellets, liquids, pastes, syrupsand more.

Multiple options available for mounting — All options have been designed for particular products and applications. The DA 7350 can be mounted on conveyors, pipes, mixers, hoppers, before or after dryers, before packaging, after blending pointsor at other critical points in the process.

Common parameters are ash, moisture, fiber, protein, fat/oiland starch.

The DA 7350 has been developed based on the extensive experience of its predecessor, the DA 7300, which has been set up and used at various agri-based and food production sites across the world. Given below are some examples of its applications:

Oilseed processing — Users can measure protein, moistureand oil in grain for binning and pricing. They can also monitor and improve extraction and drying.

Flour milling — Flour extraction can be maximized through accurate measurements of ash in real time. Users can blend wheat and flour streams to achieve the target specification and use raw material of the lowest cost. Gluten addition can be optimized.

Feed milling — Moisture and fat in mixer and the water activity of the end-product can be controlled. Higher productivity can be ensured by increasing yield and eliminating faulty batches and rework. Users can control the loss of moisture in cooling and additions of oil/molasses.

Corn milling and starch production — The moisture content can be optimizedin starch, meal, germand bran while optimizing energy by controlling starch-gluten separation stages, monitoring and controlling the dryersand ensuring consistent product quality.

Dairy processing — Moisture inclusion can be optimized and energy costs can be minimized when milk powder is spray-dried by monitoring the moisture in the product in real time. Users can reduce grade change-over time and waste while monitoring black particles. The fat/moisture content of butter can also be optimized.

Systems Integration

PerkinElmer gives great importance to the capability of connectivity to existing plant control systems. Thus, the company supports various interfaces such as Modbus TCP, OPC UA, various Fieldbuses, PROFINET, and many more.