<title>Fiber optic flocculation sensor</title>

Abstract

A fiber optic flocculation sensor based on measuring the intensity of light reflected by solid particles in suspension (i.e. paper pulp) in a well defined measurement volume, was constructed. This sensor is designed for monitoring the flocculation state of paper pulp in the papermaking process. The flocculation determines to a great extent the quality of the final product, the paper. Tests with different types of pulp were performed in both a closed loop system and a small paper machine. In this investigation the flocculation state is expressed as a root mean square flocculation index. The flocculation index delivered by this fiber optic system shows a very high correlation with the flocculation index provided by a camera system `looking at' the same pulp, while the latter has a great resemblance with the human perception of the flocculation.