Abstract:
i-RED Infrarot Systeme GmbH was founded in 2006 as a spin-off company of Upper Austrian Research GmbH and is an expert in spectroscopic inline process monitoring. i-RED offers comprehensive know-how in the realization of spectroscopic measuring systems for the control and optimization of chemical and physical production processes. The range of activities ranges from feasibility studies to the implementation of turnkey process monitoring solutions in production plants in a wide range of industrial sectors (e.g. chemicals, pulp, plastics, paper finishing, steel).
i-RED is the global technology leader in the field of high-speed FTNIR spectroscopy. The process spectrometer technology, which was developed and optimized in-house, also surpasses other technologies on the market in terms of robustness, long-term stability and cost efficiency. This is made possible by a highly integrated approach to system design that combines spectral generation, spectral evaluation (chemometrics), automation and visualization in one hardware and software platform.
i-RED develops, assembles and distributes devices that can be used to determine the chemical composition (= proportions of certain ingredients) of solid, powdery, liquid and gaseous substances, as well as other chemical and physical parameters (e.g. layer thicknesses) in real time . True to our motto "More insight through light", the measuring principle is based on the spectral analysis of electromagnetic radiation, i.e. the decomposition of light (usually infrared light) into its wavelengths. The measurement itself is non-contact and non-destructive, with all measuring instruments designed and optimized for use under industrial conditions.
Key target customers are located in the chemical industry, the pharmaceutical industry, the petroleum processing industry, the food industry, the coating industry and the plastics industry. In addition to the measurement systems, all necessary services are offered, such as data analysis and interpretation as well as research services. In particular, i-RED is aimed at customers who have so far carried out their chemical and physical analyses exclusively in the laboratory. These customers are offered the benefits of continuous process control in real time with an inline or process solution. From the user's point of view, this results in increased production yields (due to lower scrap rates) and a more consistent product quality with lower manufacturing costs.
Typical fields of application of spectrometer technology:
- Real-time concentration determination of complex mixtures of substances (liquid, solid, gaseous).
- Inline process monitoring of chemical reactions (continuous and batch reactions) in classical reactors and microreactors (e.g. nitriding, chlorination, esterification, enzyme reactions).
- Real-time analysis of liquid mixtures in pipelines and tanks with the possibility of automated liquid dosing (e.g. in solvent recovery)
- Monitoring of mixing operations.
- Inline quality control of solids or solids streams and coatings (e.g. in paper and steel finishing, foils, plastic parts, plastic granules, fibers, ashes, pharmaceutical powders, foodstuffs such as regrind in a rapeseed oil mill).
- Real-time determination of chemical and physical parameters such as moisture, solvent content, layer thickness and degree of curing.
- Measurement of the composition of gas mixtures (e.g. in the case of accumulators under incorrect loading)
Service portfolio (excerpt):
- Analysis of production processes with regard to the use of inline process measurement technology
- Implementation of feasibility studies: Investigations in the laboratory, in a pilot plant or temporary test operation in the customer's production plant
- Design and construction of application-specific measuring optics
- Development of customized software, automation, communication and visualization solutions
- Design, production and installation of turnkey, highly automated spectroscopic solutions (stationary or mobile analysis systems)
- Distribution of process spectrometer systems (UV/VIS, FTNIR, FTIR, Raman) including accessories (light sources, probes, fiber optics, etc.)
- Multivariate data analysis, creation of chemometric models
- Comprehensive support package: Individual maintenance concept for all hardware and software components as well as the chemometric evaluation models
- Implementation of user training
