Throughout industry, process analytics are becoming more and more important to production quality and cost.
pH and ORP can be applied to many applications.
Industrial pH measurement plays a crucial role in a wide range of industrial processes, from water treatment and food and beverage production to pharmaceutical manufacturing and chemical processing. The ability to accurately monitor and control the acidity or basicity of a solution is essential for optimizing process conditions, improving product quality, reducing costs, and enhancing process safety.
We know that pH/ORP measurement is not just a probe, it’s the right type of probe, coupled with proper installation hardware and a reliable electronic unit. From our range of probes, electronics, installation hardware and automated cleaning systems, we supply equipment designed to meet your measurement needs.
APPLICATIONS
Water and Wastewater Treatment
pH measurement is used to monitor and control the pH of water and wastewater in order to maintain optimal conditions for treatment processes such as:
Coagulation/Flocculation:
When using coagulation to remove suspended solids, the pH of the water plays a crucial role in the process as it affects the charge on the suspended solids/particles, a factor key to the effectiveness of the chemical treatment.
An optimal pH range for coagulation is typically between 6 and 9. At pH values outside of this range, the effectiveness of coagulants can be greatly reduced. For example, at low pH, the particles in the water may not have enough charge to be effectively removed by the coagulant, while at high pH, the coagulant may become less effective due to the formation of insoluble precipitates.
Automatic pH control through the addition of pH adjustment chemicals is necessary to maintain optimal conditions for effective coagulation. Furthermore, by keeping pH at the optimal point for coagulation, corrosion of metal and other materials in the system is also avoided, extending plant life and reducing downtime.
Disinfection:
Disinfection kills and/or inactivates harmful microorganisms, such as bacteria and viruses, in water and is an important process used in preparing drinking water for human consumption and treating wastewater to ensure it is safe to discharge into the environment
Establishing the optimal level of pH is very important to the disinfection process. Different disinfectants have different optimal pH ranges for effectiveness, for example chlorine is more effective in a pH range of 6.5 to 8.5, while chlorine dioxide has a wider pH range of 6.0 to 10.0.
Automatically measuring pH in water/wastewater systems allows the addition of acid or base to maintain pH in the optimal range for the disinfectant being used. It is important to note that employing pH control also avoids the formation of harmful by-products such as trihalomethanes (THMs) and haloacetic acids (HAAs) which form when chlorine or chlorine-based disinfectants are deployed at low pH values.
Food and Beverage Production
Monitoring and controlling pH in food and beverage production processes is very important as it can affect both the quality and the safety of the end product. In order to meet product and regulatory standards, pH control is often deployed in:
Fermentation: during fermentation processes, such as beer brewing and in cheese making, pH affects the growth and activity of the microorganisms used and can also affect the final product's taste, texture and shelf-life.
Juice and Beverage Production: pH control is important in the production of juices and beverages as it affects the taste and stability of the final product. For example, acidic beverages such as lemonade should have a pH of around 3.0 - 4.0, while most soft drinks should have a pH of around 2.5 - 4.0.
Dairy Processing: in the production of dairy products such as yogurt, cheese, and milk, monitoring and controlling pH ensures the quality of the final product. Not only does pH affect the texture and flavor of that final product, and can also affect the growth of microorganisms.
Preservation: when preserving food products, the goal is to prevent the growth of microorganisms within it. Low pH levels inhibit the growth of microorganisms and therefore extend the shelf-life of the food product.
In all of these applications, pH measurement and control can be achieved with inline pH sensors and controllers monitoring and adjusting pH as needed to ensure it stays within a desired range.
Bioprocessing
pH measurement is widely deployed in bioprocessing to monitor and control the pH of fermentation broths and other solutions used in research and development and the production of, drugs, vaccines, and other biopharmaceuticals. pH control is vital as it affects the safety, quality and efficacy of many products made in this industry. Typical pH measurement and control applications in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries include:
Fermentation: when producing products such as vaccines, enzymes, and hormones, pH is an important parameter as it has an impact on the growth and activity of the microorganisms or cells used in the process. The incorrect maintenance of pH levels can affect the final product's purity and potency.
Cell culture: the growth, metabolism, and survival of cells in a cell culture is dependent upon pH as one of its primary conditions. The pH of the cell culture medium must be carefully controlled to ensure that the cells remain healthy and viable during all stages of the culture.
Protein purification: pH affects the solubility, stability, and activity of proteins, so to ensure they are not denatured or inactivated during purification, the pH level of buffer solutions used should be carefully controlled.
Sterilization and Disinfection: the effectiveness of sterilization and disinfection wash processes is, in part, dependent upon pH. pH should be maintained at the optimum level to ensure the maximum effectiveness of the sterilization and disinfection solutions used as this will in turn, ensure the non-viability of unwanted and invasive microorganisms.
In bioprocessing applications, pH measurements are made with pH sensors and their associated analyzers/controllers in order to monitor and adjust the pH as needed. The bioprocessing industry has particular requirements regarding cleanliness and material compatibility, so probe selection is an important factor to ensure compliance.
Chemicals and Petrochemicals
pH measurement is used in many process streams in the production of chemicals and petrochemicals. Measurements are used to ensure product quality, improve manufacturing efficiency, and monitor any safety and environmental impacts that may arise. Common pH control applications in the chemical and petrochemical industries are:
Acid-base neutralization: in acid-base neutralization reactions where acids and bases are mixed to neutralize each other, pH of the mixture must be carefully monitored to ensure that the right amount of dosing chemical is used to achieve the desired pH level.
Oxidation and reduction reactions: pH measurement is a critical component is oxidation and reduction reactions because pH often affects the activity of catalysts and therefore, the rate of reaction. pH of the reaction mixture should be carefully controlled to ensure that the reactions proceed efficiently and safely.
Wastewater treatment: pH control is important in the treatment of wastewater from refineries and chemical plants. Before either recycling as plant water or discharge, wastewater must be “cleaned-up” to ensure it is safe and suitable to use in plant equipment and out in the environment respectively. Water treatment varies from plant to plant and a veritable “soup” of [expensive] chemicals are used. Accurate and reliable pH measurement is a must if clean-up costs are to be kept as low as possible.
Refining and Petrochemical processing: pH control is important in refining and petrochemical processing, where the pH affects the efficiency and safety of the processes. The pH of the process streams should be carefully controlled to ensure that these processes can run with optimum efficiency and safety.
Refex Probes Resist Oil Contamination
In all these applications, pH measurement and control is often done with specialized pH sensors designed to tolerate what are often challenging process conditions. Signal from these pH measurements can be integrated into plant process control systems to provide real time display and automated control of pH.
Pulp and Paper
The production of pulp and paper relies heavily on pH measurements throughout the production process to ensure high quality product. Typical pH control applications in the pulp and paper industry includes:
Pulping: the pH of pulp must be carefully controlled to ensure that fibers are separated efficiently and the pulp quality is maintained.
Bleaching: pH affects the efficiency of the bleaching agents, so ensuring the correct pH in bleaching towers is maintained contributes greatly to product quality and process throughput.
Recycling: The pH of the recycled pulp should be carefully controlled to ensure that addition to the virgin pulp stream does not degrade pulp quality.
Effluent treatment: effluent from settling and treatment ponds must be constantly monitored to ensure that the pollutants are removed or neutralized before being released into the environment.
Coating: coating solutions are designed to perform effectively in controlled application conditions. pH is one of the parameters that should be carefully controlled to ensure coating quality and efficiency.
Deinking: deinking agents, like coating solutions, work best when added to solutions in a controlled environment; pH is one parameter that should be tightly controlled for optimal deinking in paper recycling plants.
Pulp and paper plants are a challenging environment for instrumentation and require robust sensing elements that will provide accurate and reliable measurement over a long period of time. pH/ORP sensors used in pulp and paper applications must be suitable for these [often] harsh conditions.
Power Generation
Measuring the pH of boiler feedwater and other water systems in power plants is done to prevent corrosion and optimize system efficiency.
Boiler water treatment: the pH of boiler feedwater should be carefully controlled to ensure that impurities are removed and a high standard of water quality is maintained.
Cooling water treatment: cooling water is dosed with chemicals to prevent, in part, growth of organics and maintain overall cleanliness. pH control is a key part of cooling water treatment as it maintains the cooling water at the right level for dosing chemical efficiency
Flue gas desulfurization(FGD): typically, a weak alkaline solution such as sodium hydroxide (NaOH) is used in FGD. It reacts with SO2 in the flue gas to form a sulfite salt that can then be removed. pH control is important in this process to ensure that the reaction between SO2 and the scrubbing solution is efficient and effective.
Boiler water is ultra-pure water and as such, poses specific challenges to pH measurements because of low conductivity. Using the right type of pH probe is essential for reliable measurement.
Oil and Gas Production
In oil and gas production, accurate pH measurement and control is used to prevent problems such as scaling, corrosion, and fouling, all of which can lead to downtime and reduced production efficiency. pH systems are deployed through O&G production facilities:
Produced water treatment: produced water is water that is brought to the surface along with oil and gas and is considered hazardous waste as it contains heavy metals, volatile organic compounds, and radioactive materials, as well as high levels of salts and dissolved solids. After separation, it may need to be treated or disposed of in an underground injection well, an evaporation pond, or a treatment plant that removes these hazardous contaminants. However it is handled, pH measurement is a baseline parameter needed during the process.
Injection and frac water treatment: water injected into oil and gas reservoirs to improve production must be cleaned and conditioned to ensure it does not damage the reservoir geology or any associated production equipment. pH measurement and control during the cleanup and conditioning process ensures the proper pH level for chemicals added to enhance recovery from the well.
Scale and corrosion control: production equipment and piping can be adversely affected by scaling and corrosion if flowing fluids are too acidic or too basic. Maintaining pH at a more neutral level reduces consumption of corrosion and scaling inhibitor chemicals to keep operating costs lower.
Emulsion breaking: for maximum oil recovery, the pH of the oil/water emulsions should be carefully controlled to ensure that the emulsion is broken and therefore, oil can be efficiently separated from the water.
Refex Probes Resist Oil Contamination
pH measurement and control systems must be able to withstand the harsh conditions often encountered in oil and gas production, including high temperatures, corrosive substances, and fluctuations in pressure. Measurements are often made in fluids with entrained oil, so pH and ORP probes must be carefully selected for suitability to each application if they are to perform satisfactorily.
Metal Processing
The metal processing industry uses pH control in many stages of their production processes. Some typical pH control applications in the metal production and processing industry include:
Metal plating: in order to ensure that plating thickness and quality is consistent, the pH of the plating bath must be kept stable and at the right level. Any probes used must be resilient to the metal ions present in the process.
Metal cleaning: where dirt, oil and other contaminants are removed from the surface of the metal by chemical means. the pH of the cleaning solution should be carefully controlled to ensure that the cleaning process is effective and that the metal being cleaned is not damaged.
Metal pickling: in pickling, a strong acid such as hydrochloric or sulfuric is used to remove oxides and scale from the surface of the metal in preparation of further processing such as electroplating, welding, or painting. The pH of the pickling solution should be carefully controlled to ensure that the pickling process is effective.
Metal passivation: acids are used to make the surface of metals such as iron and steel more resistant to corrosion through the process of passivation. The concentration of the acid in the passivation bath should be carefully controlled to ensure that the right level of passivation occurs.
Effluent treatment: many metal treatment processes use strong acids. Once spent, the solutions must be neutralized before discharge into public sewer systems to ensure they can be dealt with at treatment plants. pH measurement and control is a highly necessary in ensuring compliance to discharge requirements are met.
The solutions used in metal processing require tight control to ensure quality of the end result. However, they often contain metal ions and solids that can quickly poison the pH probes used to control their makeup, resulting in off-spec solutions and poor quality. Probes used must be resilient to attack from these solutions if they are to be effective in their task.
Aquaculture
In industrial aquaculture, pH control is crucial for maintaining optimal water conditions for fish and other aquatic organisms. The pH level in the water can affect the health and growth of the organisms, as well as the efficiency of water treatment processes.
Fish hatcheries: to ensure the survival and growth of fish eggs and subsequent fry from them, the pH level in the water needs to be carefully controlled. A pH level that is too high or too low can result in poor survival rates and slow growth.
Recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS): pH measurement and control is used to maintain water quality and prevent the buildup of harmful bacteria. In RAS, pH control is typically achieved by adjusting the water flow rate and using chemical treatments.
Aquaponic systems: aquaponic systems are where fish and plants are grown together in a symbiotic relationship. The pH level needs to be maintained at a level that is optimal for both the fish and the plants and can vary from system to system depending on the type of fish and plants used.
Overall, pH control is a critical aspect of industrial aquaculture, as it directly impacts the health and growth of the aquatic organisms and the overall efficiency of the aquaculture systems.
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Frequently Asked Questions
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