Wax maker selects KROHNE to improve accuracy

UK wax manufacturer Kerax has installed a KROHNE OPTIMASS 7300 Coriolis mass flowmeter to improve the accuracy of production processes at its plant in Chorley, Lancashire.

Kerax produces a variety of different waxes to be used in making castings and as ingredients in products such as adhesives.  Each formulation requires the blending of two or three types of wax plus a number of additives.

The mechanical meter previously positioned on the input to the blending vessel was not able to provide the accuracy needed for Kerax’s increasingly stringent process control.

The wax flowing through the meter can vary in density from 0.8 to 1.0 kg/litre and in viscosity from 5.5 cP to 1,200 cP.  It can be flowing at rates varying from 1.8 to 15 tonnes/hour with pressures from 1.4 bar to more than 4.1 bar at temperatures ranging from 20 to 120 oC. 

The newly installed KROHNE OPTIMASS 7300 Coriolis mass flowmeter is capable of handling the wide variation in process conditions whilst still delivering accuracy of +/- 0.1 per cent.  To maintain a consistent product temperature, the OPTIMASS meter is fitted with a heating jacket that can be fed with hot water or steam.

Kerax production engineer Mick Jolly said:  “We needed to measure our wax throughput with greater accuracy to give us better control of product quality and of the quantities of finished product which we are delivering to customers.

“The KROHNE OPTIMASS gives us high accuracy despite the wide range of pressures, temperatures and material properties and a generally hostile production environment.”

KROHNE developed the world’s first commercial Coriolis mass flowmeter with a single, straight-tube design.  The OPTIMASS was launched in 2002 incorporating this innovative development.  It also includes KROHNE’s patented AST® (Adaptive Sensor Technology) design, which ensures stable operation under varying process conditions without special installation requirements.

The OPTIMASS 7300 is available with a range of different tube materials – the one supplied to Kerax is fitted with a titanium tube – and is capable of accurate operation over a temperature range of -40 oC to +150 oC and at pressures up to 100 bar.