Innovation: Baumer sensor for air and gas bubble detection increases process reliability

With the PAD20 sensor series, Baumer offers an innovative solution to a previously unsolved problem: the detection of air and gas bubbles in process media. Awarded the Dairy Technology Prize 2021 in the category Environment and Sustainability, the sensor detects even smallest air and gas inclusions and, among other things, thus prevents pumps from running dry and the entailed facility downtime. In numerous field-proven applications, this way the sensor has been increasing plant efficiency at maximum process reliability and quality.

Innovation for multi-faceted industrial and hygiene applications

Julian Budde, the Baumer product manager for process sensors, is convinced of the success of the sensor presented at the SPS Trade Show: "Air and gas inclusions in process media lead to plant downtime, maintenance effort and reduced product quality. Such inclusions pose a major challenge to varied industries. The intelligent detection of such inclusions is a smart Baumer solution."

Thanks to its innovative operating principle, PAD20 is the product to choose for monitoring heating and cooling systems in mechanical plant engineering. Detecting air and gas bubbles that directly impair equipment performance and function, the sensor will increase system efficiency with process stabilization in parallel.

Originally, Baumer developed PAD20 for a customer in the F&B industry. This customer wanted to prevent his installations and pumps from running dry respectively empty during container exchange. At the same time, transport containers with fruit concentrate should be fully emptied to exploit the maximum of resources. A problem lacking any solution so far. PAD20 detects even smallest air and gas bubbles in the dosing operation of fruit concentrate and this way identifies the optimum time for container exchange.

Independent of the medium, the sensor will detect liquids with a dielectric constant higher than 1.5 and this way provides maximum flexibility. Two individually defined switching ranges allow users to optimally adjust the sensor to the process requirements.

According to Julian Budde, the smart PAD20 sensor principle offers users "high process and product quality across a wide application spectrum."