Frequent Questions
How broad is the concentration range that BLAIR can measure?
BLAIR can provide accurate analytical results for alumina streams
from lake water through to the most caustic of process liquors. Unlike titration methods,
there is no need to have prior knowledge of a sample's approximate sodium hydroxide or
alumina concentration.
How consistent and repeatable are the results?
BLAIR is a spectroscopic technique and so is as repeatable as
your FTIR instrument. Our experience has been that whether you analyse liquor samples
continuously all day, or you only need to measure occasionally for a research project,
the BLAIR technique gives reliable results. Older analytical methods can be prone to
breakdowns and questionable results when not used continuously. BLAIR's spectroscopic
technique can involve no reagents and few moving parts, so there is less to go wrong.
What are the establishment costs?
The establishment costs for a basic laboratory analysis system include the cost of
an FTIR spectrometer with ATR attachment, the cost for the automation required, a 12 month BLAIR licence subscription
and a BLAIR Start-up package.
Why would we change from our current titration method?
Changing to BLAIR will provide more information from your liquor analyses at the
lowest cost.
How small can the sample size be for a complete BLAIR analysis?
BLAIR provides a full bayer liquor analysis using just 20 microlitres of sample.
Can you supply a complete working system?
Currrently we can supply a technology package with sufficient know-how and information
to easily set up a working BLAIR system.
How does the accuracy compare with titration methods?
After a simple model adaptation for your plant liquors, the accuracy of BLAIR is
comparable to and sometimes better than the accuracy obtained with titration methods.
How does BLAIR rate from an environmental perspective?
Using BLAIR for bayer liquor analysis, the only discarded material is your sample
- and that is very small. For a direct BLAIR analysis there is no need to use any reagents.
Can BLAIR be adapted for process control as well as laboratory analysis?
BLAIR can run without the addition of reagents and does not require dilution, so it
is very suited to on-line monitoring for immediate feedback within the alumina refinery.
How does BLAIR work?
BLAIR utilises the linear and non-linear relationships between infra-red
spectroscopic absorbances and the components of Bayer liquor in order to build up a mathematical
model. The model is then used to determine the components in an 'unknown' bayer liquor.
Do you supply a pre-constructed model for immediate results?
Yes, as part of the BLAIR Start-up package we supply a default bayer model, and this
can be enhanced by the addition of more specialised data as you require.