The dietary trend of transitioning from high fructose corn syrup to granulated sugar in beverages created a market need for granulated sugar liquefication.
Challenge
The system was required to run at a steady state in order to liquefy sugar to an exact brix. The project required seamless integration with disparate control systems at different customer sites. We also needed to be able to quickly design new systems with minimal rework of electrical designs or PLC/HMI software code.
Solution
A standard, modular design was created, which included:
- Creation of PLC/HMI software standards in industry-leading brands
- Building of modular control panel designs, including UL designs for North America and CE designs for Europe
- Utilization of specialty communications protocol to gather more detailed information from mass flowmeters, reducing the instrumentation required
- Development, simulation, and field-tuning of a proprietary brix control algorithm for steady-state operation
Results
The standards designs allow for fast startups of new systems and simplified maintenance. The exact brix liquefications enable customers to produce products with tight specifications. The systems allow customers to truck in granulated sugar, reducing the shipping costs of liquid sugar.