Overcoming the3 Big Challenges in Palm OilProcess Instrumentation

The palm oil industry in Malaysia and Indonesia stands as a global powerhouse, not only contributing significantly to national GDP but also shaping global supply chains in food, energy, and consumer goods. Yet, the industry is plagued by three persistent challenges that producers grapple with every day.

The Coriolis mass flowmeter provides enhanced diagnostics (NE 107) and comes with various digital communication options.

First, the wear and tear of equipment caused by the harsh process environment leads to frequent breakdowns and reduced lifetimes. Second, the settling and clogging of impurities in processing lines leads to unpleasant surprises, higher maintenance needs, and costly replacements. Finally, these factors combine to drive up both CAPEX and OPEX costs, putting pressure on margins in an already competitive market.

Palm oil producers are always looking for ways to upgrade their installations. With margins under constant pressure, every drop counts. Here instrumentation plays a critical role. As the old saying goes, “you can’t manage what you cannot measure”. Not just accurate instrumentation is important, but also reliable instrumentation. Optimize production, extend lifetime, reduce maintenance and thus lowering CAPEX and OPEX expenditure.

This is where KROHNE brings unique value and brings advanced instrumentation to the table. Unique instrumentation that provides solutions to the 3 big challenges. We help palm oil mills and refineries tackle these pressing issues head-on.

Wear and Tear

Crude palm oil is a tricky medium to work with as it is highly abrasive and can quickly damage instrumentation that is critical to the operation of your plant. It is essential to factor in this property as the wrong choice of instrumentation can result in premature failures, costly downtime, and higher maintenance.

Typical weak spots in a bent tube Coriolis mass flowmeter compared to reduced wear and tear with a straight tube Coriolis mass

flowmeter.

Coriolis mass flowmeters and pressure transmitters tend to be the most influenced by this. Classical double-bent tube mass flowmeters are highly vulnerable in abrasive applications because the bends in the inner tube and the flow splitter are prone to wear. In severe cases, this can even lead to leakage. To avoid this one could lower the velocity, but this will lead to plant inefficiency.

KROHNE addresses this with the OPTIMASS 7400, a single straight-tube Coriolis mass flowmeter proven and tested in the most extreme conditions. By eliminating bends and a single tube design, it avoids the abrasion issues over traditional bent tube designs. Optionally this mass flowmeter could be foreseen with titanium material, prolonging the lifetime even more. A solution we bring over from the pulp and paper industry to the palm oil industry.

The second area of concern is pressure measurement. Pressure transmitters are widely used not only for direct pressure measurement but also for DP-level applications. Conventional piezoresistive membrane transmitters wear out rapidly in abrasive processes. Instead, try working with ceramic pressure transmitters, the OPTIBAR PC 5060. A technology often overlooked by palm oil producers. Ceramics is one of the hardest materials known to man, harder than diamond and is exceptionally resistant to abrasion.

Electronic differential pressure measurement (eDP) and pressure

transmitter with flush-mounted, ceramic diaphragm.

Beyond the robustness, ceramic pressure transmitters bring other advantages forth. As it does not have any filling fluids, it’s less temperature dependent and and increases response time. A DP-configuration is also possible, by spanning an electrical cable between two transmitters in a master-slave setup, called electronic differential pressure, or eDP in short.

Settling of Impurities

A headache for every engineer. Settling of impurities is a common issue in the palm oil industry, mainly in applications such as crude oils and miscella. These impurities have the tendency to settle and clog up instrumentation. This results in frequent maintenance and cleaning in order to avoid false signals. Again, bent tube massflowmeters and pressure transmitters are prone to this.

Flow always tends to select the path of least resistance and so in a double bent tube mass flowmeters one of the tubes might get stuck, especially during an unexpected temperature drop or in low flow rates. With single straight tube there is no second pathway and ‘siphon effect’. Which will eliminate the risk of clogging and ensure operation. When it comes to hydrostatic pressure transmitters, it pays to think outside the box. An alternative technology worth considering is FMCW radar level measurement. Unlike hydrostatics, FMCW radars are completely contactless with the medium, eliminating the risk of build-up or wear. However, FMCW Radars have received a bad reputation in the past due to the old 24 GHz radars horn antennas. Palm oil’s inherently low reflectivity, combined with the presence of vapours, often disturbed the radar signal and led to unreliable measurements.

OPTIWAVE 15XX series – Compact radar level transmitters for convenient handling with secured Bluetooth connection.

Today this issue is resolved with the new 80 GHz variants such as the OPTIWAVE 15XX series and 7500. 80 GHz poses a narrower beam angle of up to 4º and increased reflection rates, making them suitable to palm oil processes.

When it comes to cost, prices have dropped significantly in the past few years. The very first FMCW radars in 1989 could cost as much as a small car, but today you can buy an 80 GHz for a similar price as a mid-end hydrostatic pressure transmitter. The OPTIWAVE 15XX series is a good example of this. Small and compact, while highly economical and boasts an 80 GHz signal, it is ideal for small palm oil storage tanks where previously hydrostatic pressure transmitters would be installed. Equipped with Bluetooth technology, its interface is user-friendly, making it easy for operators to configure and to monitor using the

OPTICHECK Level Mobile app.

OPTISWITCH 6X00 series – Capacitance level switches for standard and advanced hygienic applications in tanks detects foam and degree of water contamination.

Time to talk about the elephant in the room when it comes to settling of impurities, which are tuning forks. A level switch must be reliable, particularly since it is often applied in safety critical operations. Impurities in oils tend to build-up over time and cause false signals causing the need for the operator frequently clean the tuning fork which is a labour intensive task. In certain cases, such as when gums are present, tuning forks may fail to function altogether.

Capacitance level switches, such as the OPTISWITCH 6X00 series, offer a viable alternative. Unlike tuning forks, which only provide point detection, these switches measure signal intensity, allowing them to distinguish between build-up and actual product. In short, you have a working level switch that operates under high-build-up applications. Furthermore, the switch can also detect interface and foams. They are fully programmable, enabling the user to select the desired detection state via the configuration tool. And lastly, pricing is similar to a normal tuning fork, making them a cost-effective solution.

Summary

Palm oil producers face continuous challenges such as equipment wear and tear and the settling of impurities, which increase downtime, maintenance needs, and replacement costs. These issues directly impact reliability and efficiency, driving up both OPEX and CAPEX. The correct instrumentation ensures not only accurate measurement, but minimizes failure risks, and optimizes performance under abrasive and high-impurity conditions. There’s only so much we can cover in a 2-page article. Are you interested in learning more? Please contact KROHNE Malaysia for more information.

KROHNE Malaysia

Unit G.01 Block B, Axis Business Campus

13A & 13B, Jalan 51a/225 Seksyen 51a,

46100 Petaling Jaya, Selangor Malaysia

my.info@krohne.com