Radiotracer
Radiotracer
Radiotracer technology has proved itself as a sensitive tool for investigating and solving plant process problems namely process malfunctions & anomalies and mechanical damages.
Radiotracers technology has proved itself and has been widely used throughout industries to optimize processes, solve problems, improve product quality, save energy and reduce pollution. Their technical, economic and environmental benefits have been recognized by both the industrial and the environmental sectors.
What is a radiotracer?
Radioactive tracer or radiotracer is substances that contain a radioactive atom to allow easier detection and measurement. It can be used to explore the mechanism of chemical reaction by tracing the path that the radioisotope follows from reactants to products. This radiotracer will have to have behaviour identical to the product, while being able to be revealed and measured by an appropriate technology.
How does a radiotracer work?
The principle of a radiotracer work is the one of any common method impulse-response injection of a radiotracer in the entrance (inlet) of a system and a recording of the concentration-time curve at the exit (outlet). The data output can be treated and analyzed to investigate the behaviour of the system.
There are four common radiotracer technologies used in industry namely as:
Where a radiotracer is applied?
Radiotracers have application in various sectors including medicine, agriculture, research and many other fields of industries. Radiotracers are widely used for an investigation of many major industrial applications including fluidized beds, heat exchanger, reboiler vessel, mixing reactor, sugar crystallizers, trickle bed reactors, cement rotary kiln, wastewater treatment plant and also inter-well communications in oil fields.
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- Measurement of homogenous mixing efficiency in batch or continuous process
- Measurement of Residence Time Distribution (RTD)
- Measurement of flow rates
- Leak detection