Tomography maps reaction routes
15 Jan 2000
Research in process tomography (in which sensors set around a vessel image the concentration and movement of the contents) has taken place at UMIST since 1990, in both the Departments of Chemical Engineering and of Electrical Engineering & Electronics.
The latter has developed systems based on the measurement of capacitance (ECT), resistance (ERT) and inductance. The ECT system, marketed by Manchester company Process Tomography, is the first commercial instrument of its kind in the world. One major project funded by IFPRI employs multi-plane capacitance tomography to measure the activity of a fluidised bed and its reactants.
Supported by an EPSRC grant and Unilever, resistance tomography is being used, to investigate mixing in gas-liquid and miscible fluid systems. Also, investigations in collaboration with AEA Technology of liquid-liquid extraction processes use a dual mode system employing both ERT and ECT.
Moreover, the new Virtual Centre for Industrial Process Tomography aims to further the development of process tomography. The Centre, run by a group of universities and companies, was established in October 1996 with funding from the Government's Technology Foresight Challenge.
The Virtual Centre web site is at http://www.vcipt.org.uk/vcipt.
232 on Enquiry Card
