New ultra-compact radar level sensor makes monitoring IBC inventory easy

The basic production processes in paper recycling have hardly changed in the past few decades. Bales of waste paper are broken down into pulp in pulpers with the help of heated water and intensive pulverisation. Then all the impurities are removed from the pulp. The cleaned paper fibres eventually arrive at one of the two paper machines, where they are processed into new paper at a speed of 50 km/h. Customers use this paper to make cardboard boxes and trays. But the paper can also be used for the outer layers of plasterboard or the internals of a door.
At first glance, the processes look quite simple, but different raw materials have to be measured and added in with high precision. “That’s why there are several intermediate stages, where both solid and liquid ingredients and additives are fed into the process. This includes various liquids, which are introduced into the production process from standard IBCs of 1,000 litres each", explains Verkerk further. For more than ten years, the levels in the tanks and silos have been measured with VEGAPULS or VEGABAR level measuring instruments, which forward the measured values for processing in a PLC. Sensors like VEGAWELL, VEGASON and VEGADIF are also used at different locations in the plant. For example, on the paper machines, on pipelines with incoming raw and auxiliary materials and residual flows, as well as in the storage silos.

It wasn’t until a few months later that the time had come: DS Smith De Hoop B.V. became the first company to monitor levels in IBCs with VEGAPULS Air 23. These wireless, autarkic sensors are inexpensive, flexible and reliable – and they quickly installed and easy to set up. During their development, energy efficiency was the main priority. Measurement performance, wireless data transmission and energy consumption had to be perfectly coordinated for this purpose. Batteries, in combination with optimised measurement cycles, provide the energy management that ensures a service life of up to 10 years. The sensors can be reliably used in a wide variety of scenarios wherever levels need to be measured, and thanks to adhesive adapters or flexible belt mounting, it make them very easy to attach to IBCs.
Due to the radar technology, measurement can be performed from the outside, so the IBC plastic tank doesn’t have to be opened or modified in any way. Installed in just a few simple steps, this solution can remain on the container permanently. The level of the liquid is transmitted regardless of where the IBC is located. The fixed measuring range is 1.2 m and the measurement/transmission interval 6 hours.
Even when the containers are stacked on top of each other, the VEGA sensor on each individual container records the current level and its location several times a day – and transmits this data wirelessly to the cloud. This capability makes the new instruments virtually predestined for use in IoT applications. The measured values from the sensors can also be transmitted via mobile network (NB-IoT/LTE-M1) to VEGA Inventory System.