Instant In-situ Non-destructive Measurement of Brix/Concentration of Sugar Syrup using Microwaves for Sugar Industry

This paper presents the indigenous development of non-destructive instant Brix or Concentration measurement system using Microwave and its testing results in a live sugar factory. The system mainly consists of a 5.8 GHz Microwave transceiver and an Insertion probe which is fitted on the vacuum boiler for measuring the sugar syrup Brix or Concentration parameter. The transceiver is programmable by user and can be configured for any range of Brix parameters. It has programmable transmission power and receiver gain and can be configured by user through GUI. The insertion probe is rugged and sustainable in harsh environment conditions in sugar mills. The system has been installed in a running sugar factory and conducted trials. The system has measured the Brix parameter with an accuracy of +/−0.3°