Automatic monitoring now also for light liquid separators

(Lenting, December 15, 2011) The draining specialist KESSEL has now developed an automatic measuring device for light liquid separators. SonicControl provides three warning devices in one. An alarm is not only triggered in the event of backwater, in other words as soon as the maximum permissible level of light liquid has been reached in the separator, it also monitors oil and sludge layers down to the last centimetre. The values can easily be read off at the control unit. No complex visual checks are necessary. "Since the measuring device continually provides the exact level of the oil and sludge layer, early planning for disposal is guaranteed," Joachim Ziob, Product Manager for Separator Systems at Kessel, explains. That saves time and costs. Retrofit installation in all Kessel light liquid separators is also possible.

DIN prescribes warning device

In accordance with DIN EN 858, light liquid separators must be equipped with automatic warning devices which have been approved for operation in the potentially explosive Zone 0. The standard specifies that separators must be put out of operation when the maximum storage quantity for light liquid has been reached. In order to receive information about the level of the light liquid before this point is reached, warning systems must be used which generate an optical and acoustic signal when the level reaches about 80 per cent of the maximum storage quantity. This leaves enough time to dispose of the light liquid, and separator operation can be continued without interruption.

Optimum data evaluation

"In contrast to other warning systems, SonicControl not only warns the operator when disposal is due, it provides a continuous overview of the measured values. The relevant software and straightforward control unit make sure of that," Ziob says. There is a USB port on the control unit for reading out the data stored in the electronic operating log. The operator can use the "Sonic Control Viewer" software to archive the data and visualise the increasing oil and sludge layer in the form of tables and diagrams.