High Resolution Automatic Lab Refractometers with flow through accessories ATR-P

Features of ATR-P Automatic Refractometers

• High-performance robust Refractometer for the determination of mixing ratios (mass percent)
• Quality and quantity control of liquids, especially for sucrose solutions
• Highly accurate and reproducible measuring results in no time at all
• Electronic unit separated from measuring head
• Very robust and waterproof measuring head made from stainless steel
• Operating mode alternatively in horizontal (dropper sample onto prism)or vertical position (fitted with sample compartment "door" for flowing sample.
• Single or flow-through measurement
• Various sample room covers / flow through doors optionally available
• Fast and reliable control of sample temperature by built-in solid state Peltier-thermostat
• Temperature correction of samples via external water bath – rapid temperature correction even larger sample volumes
• Temperature compensation of Brix scale
• Easy to calibrate with sucrose solutions
• Measuring head can be connected to the PC and operated as stand-alone device
• Adopted user friendly Operation System displayed by a high resolution 7″ TFT Touchscreen
• Modern and robust design for rough environments
• Documentation according to GLP/GMP
• Energy saving LED light source

Introduction to Automatic Digital Refractometers

Refractometers are widely used to measure the amount of dissolved substances in solutions containing mainly sucrose. The relationship between refractive index and the amount of dry substance content is well known for sucrose and is the basis of the Brix scale which is measure of the number of grams of sucrose present per 100 grams of aqueous sugar solution. (50 Brix means 50 grams of solid per 100 gms of solution) This relationship holds for a large number of similar substances and so the Brix scale is widely used in the food industry. The refractive index of a sugar solution changes with temperature while its solid content remains the same. ( The same refractive index at different temperatures correspond to different Brix values.) Manual "Abbe" refractometers do not compensate for this temperature effect and manual correction tables are used to adjust the readings to a standard temperature.

The ATR-P is a laboratory refractometer for single and flow through measurements. This automatic microprocessor controlled critical angle refractometer is designed to measure the refractive index of liquid media independent of opacity, viscosity and colour. It consists of separate electronic and measuring devices to enable single and continuous measurements. The prism is illuminated by a 589 nm LED and the angle of total reflection is detected by a diode array which guarantees high resolution and stability.The image to the left shows a detail of the sample compartment door used for flowing sample over the prism.

Example application scenario: A company processing citrus fruits and wants to control the production by taking samples regularly. A Refractometer is needed for the fast measure- ment of similar samples with a high precision of <± 0.02 Brix.">

Advantages: The ATR P is an instrument which allows a very high throughput of samples with high precision. The sample room is designed to flush out the previous sample completely. No intermediate cleaning of the prism is needed. The programming of up to 10 scales allows the direct read out of concentrations of different products. In addition a separate thermostat can be attached. The high thermal mass of the sample room will lead to a fast temperature adaptation of the sample.