Measuring Bulk Density, Moisture and Volume

Moisturemeter II

Moisturemeter II is a measuring system for mass volume and moisture

The INADCO Moisturemeter isn’t just a conveyor, it has also integrated a:

Weighing unit

Moisture sensor

Profile scanner

A little bit of history

Moisturemeter II is a measuring system for mass, volume and moisture. In 2015 we introduced the Moisturemeter II on the market. Our second generation moisture meter that allows to measure inline and instantly the moisture content in a wide range of products in a “streaming” process. Basically designed to be used in the biomass / energy industry. An industry with coarse or fibrous products like wood chips, straw fibers or other compressible products with rough structures and with the same issues as for measuring peat, because they are compressible, have changing surfaces and sizes, and their colour changes from time to time. Based on the experience we build over the years with our Moisturemeter I but also knowing its limits we started developing a new system.

The technical requirements we had by then were that our new system should:

  • work on-line and in-line
  • measure fast
  • measure a big and hence representative sample
  • not need any human involvement
  • be accurate and reproducible
  • have a wide measurement range
  • not delay the process itself

All these requirements resulted to a new type of moisture sensor, the IMP. A large sensor with a measuring surface of 1250x500mm. In this way it doesn’t depends anymore what the size is of the product particles. The surface of the moisture sensor is always completely covered.

So we had our moisture sensor, a sensor that could be integrated in a conveyor. But we did know that the variation of the layer thickness on the conveyor results in a variation of compression within that layer. And a variation of compression results in a variation of measured moisture. So we had to measure the bulk density. We did have the experience of building accurate belt weighers in the horticultural industry and in some other industry they build belt weighers with more than one weighing idler. This same result of measuring the mass with multiple idlers could be achieved with our IMP moisture sensor. We still didn’t find a way to mount the IMP moisture sensor but we find the solution by mounting the sensor on a loadcell. 

The bulk density is a measurement of mass and volume. The mass we had leaving the measurement of volume we had to solve. We find the solution in a scanner that measures the surface over a line every few milliseconds.

These four systems resulted in the Moisturemeter II with a design that can cope with big particle size. One combined system that could measure:

  • Mass flow and total
  • Volume flow and total
  • Water flow and total
  • Moisture content
  • Streaming bulk density
  • Temperature product
  • Energy content *

*  The energy content can only be calculated when the calorific value of the solids is entered

Technical information

Some specs

Minimum

Maximum

Unit

Moisture

5

800

g/l

Moisture procentage

1

80

%

Bulk density

30

2,000

g/l

Profile

50,000

250,000

mm²

Mass

1

320

kg

Volume flow

5

500

m³/h

Belt speed

0.01

2.00

m/s

Belt width

50

80

cm

Belt length

250

600

cm

Temperature

1

80

°C

Media

The Moisturemeter II got in 2014 already some attention from the Dutch broadcast RTL 7. In there tv-program Ondernemend Nederland they highlight every week new innovations developed and made by Dutch companies. During one of the episodes we where able to explain why we where able to produce moisture measuring systems for inhomogeneous solids.

Spoken language: Dutch
Subtitles: No

The organisation of the PowerGen and Renewable Energy was showing during the fair with a daily broadcast on youtube all the important news en new innovations. In this video you can watch the item that is used in the broadcast of a interview with Theo Coolen, CEO of INADCO, about their novelty the Moisturemeter II and why INADCO is an exhibitor on this fair. On Youtube is the complete version of the broadcast. The item starts at 3:54.

Spoken language: English
Subtitles: No

Satisfied users of INADCO equipment

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