Making Chlorine Detection Simpler and More Accurate

Granular activated carbon (GAC) filters are essential for removing chlorine from industrial water supplies to ensure consistently high-quality pharmaceutical, food and beverage products. To ensure effective operation, chlorine levels should be carefully monitored, both before and after the filters. Bürkert’s compact OALab Type 8906 water analysis system improves the speed and precision of data collection for facilities teams within the manufacturer, with minimal requirements for maintenance and recalibration.

One of the key factors in chlorine measurement is sensor accuracy, which historically has been down to the contamination of potassium chloride (KCl) electrolyte found within traditional amperometric chlorine probes.  Over time, the KCl will degrade and leach into the water, inducing sensor drift. Colorimetric analysers require reagents to be replenished on a regular basis and amperometric electrodes also need scale deposits to be removed periodically.

Traditional colorimetric analysers and amperometric sensors typically offer T90[1] times of around 2 to 3 minutes, which provide an opportunity for initial changes to be missed. Bürkert’s MS02 chlorine sensor cube cuts this to below 30 seconds, ensuring faster identification of any chlorine spikes. This can be especially important for downstream processes, such as reverse osmosis and electro-deionisation membranes, which can be damaged by even the smallest amounts of chlorine.

Resolving legacy issues

The situation of frequent maintenance procedures and slow response times can be solved by implementing a more modern solution that has proven its reliability in several industrial settings. Burkert’s OALab water analysis system can measure numerous parameters including free- and zero-chlorine using the MS02 sensor cube, which utilises an alternative cell-on chip amperometric technology design.

A T90 response time below 30 seconds is the most immediate improvement, and the benefits go much further. With the removal of KCl for free-chlorine and zero-chlorine being a reagent-free technology, maintenance requirements are minimal – operators using the MS02 chlorine cubes have reported continuous operation for over 2 years, without the need for recalibration or maintenance.

Precision data This compact solution is easily installed and only requires 18 litres of water per hour, reducing sample volumes compared to legacy systems and minimising waste. Finally, the incorporated ME43 industrial gateway supports most data protocols including Profinet, Ethernet and Modbus TCP. This enables operators to obtain more diagnostic data on their PLC / Scada system about the OALab; the addition of a GSM module enables the remote monitoring and diagnostics features. Bürkert’s water analysis system offers a compact solution for monitoring the quality of industrial water supplies. It can be configured for multiple parameters including pH, ORP, conductivity, free chlorine, zero chlorine, chlorine dioxide, turbidity and iron. Recording data and sending alerts to operators when preset levels are exceeded, enables action to be taken either automatically or manually to ensure water quality standards, and those of the manufactured end products, are maintained. To find out more about a cost-effective and reliable way to ensure your chlorine removal processes are operating correctly, get in touch with our team at sales.uk@burkert.com to discuss your application. [1] T90 response time refers to the time it takes for a sensor or detector to reach 90% of its full-scale reading when exposed to a change in the measured quantity.