High-Accuracy Ethanol Measurement for Distillery Process & Safety Control
A distillery in the south of Ireland required a highly accurate and reliable method for the total volume transfer measurement of ethanol (LPA). Accurate measurement of spirits is critical for both process control and excise duty calculations within the distillery environment. The client needed a system capable of providing detailed, real-time data on the ethanol flow.
To meet this requirement, a solution centred around the Siemens Coriolis Mass Flow Meter was implemented. Coriolis meters are renowned for their high accuracy in measuring mass flow, density, and temperature, making them ideal for challenging applications like alcohol measurement where density and temperature variations directly impact volume and alcohol content.
Our team supplied and commissioned the Siemens Coriolis Mass Flow Meter. To integrate the meter’s signals into the client’s existing control infrastructure, a robust communication setup was engineered. This involved installing a DP/ PA coupler, which interfaced with a Siemens S7-1200 PLC. The S7-1200 PLC was programmed to read the detailed signals from the Coriolis meter’s convertor. These signals included the primary measurements (mass flow, density, and temperature) as well as calculated values crucial for the distillery’s operations: overall volume flow, percentage alcohol by volume (% ABV), volume flow of ethanol, and volume flow of water – a total of seven key measurements. The S7-1200 PLC then communicated these required values to the client’s master PLC system using Ethernet IP, ensuring seamless data transfer and integration into their plant-wide control and monitoring system. This project provided the distillery with precise, real-time data essential for inventory management, blending, and compliance.
