In-line particle size measurements for cement and other abrasive process environments

Cement manufacturers have historically been interested in implementing process control strategies to aid in production process QA/QC. Real-time measurement of Blaine number is of particular interest, since this is the primary measurement that cement producers use to gauge quality and strength of the final product. The three major hindrances to widespread application of in-line Blaine number measurement instrumentation in the past have been: (i) fragility of available instrumentation, (ii) inability of existing instrumentation to resolve changes in material properties, and (iii) lack of an effective means to directly measure Blaine number, or functional properties of the Blaine number. A recently introduced ensemble particle size and concentration sensor has successfully addressed these issues, enabling active process control in production environments. This optical sensor is described.