A Method for Determining the Composition of Aqueous Highly Concentrated Salt Mixture Solutions by Attenuated Total-Reflectance IR Spectrometry (part4)

Field Test for Determining the Composition of Brine by Automated Composition-Determining System with Attenuated Total-Reflectance IR Spectrometry

Abstract

In order to develop an automated system for determining the concentrations of ions (Mg²⁺, Na⁺, Cl^-, SO₄^2-) in brine used in the salt manufacturing process, a determining method using absorbance differences measured by attenuated total reflectance-IR spectroscopy were studied. An automated brine composition-determining system was constructed and a field test of this system was conducted at Ako Kaisui Co., Ltd. In this field test, concentrations of sodium, chloride and sulfate ions in the brine could be accurately determined for the salt manufacturing process; however magnesium ion concentrations could not. After continuously running the automated system without problems for 26 hours, the system was considered a success. The values determined by this system can be used for control purposes in a salt manufacturing plant.