LiquiSonic^® measures the sound velocity and temperature of the ammonium nitrate solution directly in the process. Since the sound velocity is clearly correlated with the NH₄NO₃ concentration, the system continuously calculates the concentration value from it. The sensor can usually be installed directly in a pipeline, vessel, or reactor, so that in most cases neither an external bypass nor manual sampling is required.

For ammonium nitrate solution, LiquiSonic^®sensors made of corrosion-resistant special materials are used, which are individually designed for the respective concentration range, process temperature, and installation location, such as reactor, evaporator, or pipeline.

The achievable measurement accuracy is defined application-specifically for the respective concentration and temperature range. For suitable and defined ammonium nitrate-water systems, accuracies of up to ±0.05 wt% are possible. This requires an appropriate calibration data set and consideration of the specific process composition.

Depending on concentration, temperature, and possible impurities such as traces of chloride, different corrosion-resistant stainless steels or special materials are suitable. Which material is suitable in each individual case is checked during sensor design based on the specific process conditions.

Continuous inline measurement can significantly reduce the number of routine laboratory samples. Process deviations become visible immediately instead of only after a sample has been taken, transported, and analyzed. Depending on the quality and safety concept, additional reference or release analyses may still be required.

Yes. The sensor performs more than 30 internal measurements per second. A stabilized concentration value is continuously calculated from these measurements and transmitted to the process control system. This allows concentration changes in neutralization, evaporation, and downstream processing stages to be detected almost without delay.

The sensor is installed directly into the existing pipeline, reactor, or tank; an additional bypass is generally not necessary. Our team supports the selection of the installation point, calibration, and commissioning so that downtime remains minimal.

Since the sensor has no moving parts, electrodes, or optical windows, the regular maintenance effort is very low. However, under strongly crystallizing process conditions, inspections or cleaning may still be necessary. A suitable installation point and compliance with the required temperature and flow conditions are crucial to prevent permanent deposits from forming in the measuring section.

Yes. Depending on the system configuration, 4–20 mA outputs and fieldbus interfaces such as Profibus DP or Modbus are available, among others. Concentration and temperature values can thus be transmitted to PLCs or process control systems and used there for process control, trend monitoring, or alarms. Use within a safety-related protection function must nevertheless be evaluated based on the respective plant and safety concept.

Fluctuations in NH₄NO₃ concentration can indicate changes in raw material concentration, flow rates, water content, or the pressure and temperature conditions in the neutralizer. Inline concentration measurement makes such changes immediately visible.

In sufficiently concentrated water streams with known composition, a change in sound velocity can indicate the ingress of ammonium nitrate. Whether a quantitative NH₄NO₃ concentration can be determined from this depends on the measuring range and other dissolved components. For complex wastewater or very low trace concentrations, an application-specific feasibility study or a selective analytical method is therefore required.

A LiquiSonic^®sensor can be installed at the outlet of the neutralizer or in a downstream line and continuously record the concentration of the resulting ammonium nitrate solution there. The actual concentration depends, among other things, on the nitric acid strength as well as on the pressure, temperature, and design of the neutralizer. The measured value supports monitoring of the water content and the subsequent evaporation. Control of the NH₃/HNO₃ ratio is additionally carried out via suitable conductivity or density measurement.

After evaporation, the NH₄NO₃ concentration is adjusted to the value required for the respective prilling or granulation process. LiquiSonic^® monitors the concentration immediately before further processing and thus supports uniform product feed and reproducible process conditions. The final particle size and product properties are also determined by temperature, droplet or nozzle formation, airflow, and other process parameters.

Gas bubbles can attenuate or temporarily disturb the propagation of ultrasound and thereby affect signal quality. LiquiSonic^® continuously evaluates the acoustic signal and can detect disturbances caused by gas bubbles. Depending on the sensor design and process conditions, stable measurements are also possible with a certain proportion of gas bubbles.