PELive vendors report positive experience

The general response from the exhibitors at ProcessEngineeringLive was very positive, as they benefited from possibly the first process industry exhibition and conference in the northwest for years.

The ProcessEngineeringLive Exhibition and Conference took place in Manchester from 10-11 March.

Two separate conference streams ran in parallel and the general opinion was that the level and quality of stand visitor was better than had been seen anywhere for some time.

Magnetrol said it had received more good enquiries in the first four hours of PELive than at any other exhibition for years.

The main interest was in its Eclipse guided wave radar level measurement system.

The Eclipse has no blanking distance before the highest liquid level can be measured, extending operational measurement right up to the flange.

It needs no offset distance at the bottom of the probe.

It uses a 13mm (half inch) diameter probe, that can be bent and contoured to avoid obstructions such as stirrers, and can extend down into the discharge vent of a conical-bottomed tank.

The contoured probe then takes advantage of the 20-point tank contouring table built into the Eclipse, so that it is programmable to provide an output linear in liquid volume contents.

The Eclipse is used in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries to measure the last few litres in the tank: these have previously been unmeasurable and lost to waste.

The Eclipse is also EHEDG and 3A compliant, can work in small and large tanks and can be validated in pharmaceutical applications by removing the sensor head with the electronics unit and attaching it to a second sensor on a calibration bench, to confirm the output versus simulated reflection level.

It is also aimed at food industry applications, where the presence of stirrers and heaters and other tank equipment makes the ability to use the contoured probe important.

On tank farms, the unit complies with overfill-protection regulations.

Another major supplier to the food and pharmaceutical industries is Endress + Hauser, which has recently enhanced its Liquiphant liquid-level switch vibrating fork technology, to create a new density measurement system.

The standard Liquiphant probe is used as a level sensor and high-level alarm overfilling protection device.

It has all the necessary approvals, including EHEDG, ATEX and PED.

The new density monitoring electronics is able to monitor the same probe, measuring the resonant frequency shift when immersed in the process fluid.

It can readily provide the degrees Brix, Baume or SG of a fluid, to control dosing or concentration.

The same sensor can also work as a liquid level alarm, to protect against loss of fluid or dry running.

Southern Temperature Sensors ventured a long way north to attend PELive and found several potential clients, that had never heard of the company before.

Southern Temperature Sensors can supply pressure sensors and gauges, flow indicators and various designs of liquid-level switch, including peardrop styles.

Econosto showcased its new valve-warehouse website, which enables online purchasing of valves direct from stock in warehouses in Leicester, Glasgow and Aberdeen.

Manchester Metropolitan University promoted their training courses on Profibus technology.

MMU will also be present, along with Andy Verwer, at the Profibus user meeting in Coventry in June.

Verwer will retire from teaching roles at MMU this year but will continue with his Profibus training activities.

Bronkhorst demonstrated their latest Coriolis meter, the mini Cori-Flow, which is smaller than the original Coriflow.

It features a new optical sensor for monitoring tube vibrations and can accurately measure flow at lower rates than before: on the stand, the dosing unit accurately dosed 15g of water into a shot glass.

The batching/dosing unit is available configured as either a flowmeter and flow controller.

It will shortly be released as a batch controller, with an integral on/off valve for batch start and stop: this uses predictive control based on the monitored previous deliveries, to achieve better dose accuracy.

Bronkhorst also demonstrated its electronic VA meter unit, alongside some moulded perspex VA meters from Key Instruments.

Rotork Process Controls attended PELive to present its new CVA electric actuator range.

The CVA provides an electric-actuator alternative to using pneumatic power in industrial control-valve actuators.

It has been made possible because the cost of brushless DC motors has come down, making the approach viable.

The availability of Super-Capacitors (inside an Exd housing when needed) means that on any power failure, the unit can be programmed to drive the valve stem up or down as required, using the stored energy available.

HART and FF are available and any voltage supply can be used for power, from 24V DC or 110V AC upwards.

A Rotork CVA electric actuator is suitable for control valves up to 2.5in.

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