Determination of sucrose and ethanol concentrations by optical fiber sensor applied to samples of sugarcane bioethanol industry

Author(s)

Eric Fujiwara

• Document type: Doctoral Thesis
• Press: Campinas, SP.
• Institution: Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Faculdade de Engenharia Mecânica
• Defense date: 2012-07-13

Examining board members

Carlos Kenichi Suzuki; Luiz Otavio Saraiva Ferreira; Delson Torikai; Paulo Roberto Gardel Kurka

• Advisor: Carlos Kenichi Suzuki

Abstract

The monitoring of the several stages of sugarcane-based ethanol industry is essential for the plant optimization, by reducing the losses and preserving the quality of the products. In this research, a reflectometry-based optical fiber sensor for the determination of ethanol and sucrose concentrations in products, process streams and effluents of bioethanol industry was developed. The signals obtained by the sensing system were processed by artificial neural network algorithms, yielding the prediction of sugar and alcohol contents in binary solutions with average errors of 0.2 wt% and 1.5 vol%, respectively. In case of the samples of bioethanol industry, the measurement errors were lower than 4 vol% and 3 wt% for the sucrose and ethanol contents, respectively. Furthermore, the fiber sensor was applied on the real-time monitoring of the fermentation process, allowing the identification of the end of the conversion of sugars to ethanol. The methodology was also utilized on the collaborative measurement with the interdigitated capacitive sensor, resulting in the detection of ethanol concentration with errors lower than 0.03 vol%. Finally, an innovative technique for the determination of properties of liquids based on the frequency analysis of speckle holograms generated due to modal noise was proposed, yielding the prediction of mass and viscosity of the hydroalcoholic samples with errors lower than 0.48 g and 0.08 mPa, respectively. The results of this research will contribute to the areas of instrumentation, automation, and photonic devices, generating enhancements for the monitoring of the ethanol and sugar production plants, by providing a minimally invasive and sensitive technique, with real-time response, and relative low cost (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 09/09767-7 - Automated Optical Fiber Sensoring System for the Determination of Water-Etanol Mixtures Concentration
• Grantee: Eric Fujiwara
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate