ILIUM Technology Introduces Flow-through Conductivity Probe

ILIUM Technology has announced the availability of its new Model 1021 Smart Flow-through Probe - the ideal solution for real-time conductivity monitoring of any liquid system where the conductivity is best or most conveniently measured in a flowing rather than static environment.

The new probe works with Ilium’s Model 2100 ultra-low, ultra-wide range conductivity meter and can measure conductivities ranging from 2.5 micro-Siemens/cm (10-6) down to 25 femto-Siemens/cm (10-15).

Applications include laboratory titrations, reactions, and controlled environment experiments; as well as other situations where static measurement of conductivity is not recommended, such as high purity water and other solvents.

“The new Model 1021 probe is the latest addition to the probe set of the Model 2100 meter. It covers the same ultra-wide, ultra-low range as the Model 1020 dip probe, but is designed specifically for real-time, flow-through measurements,” said Richard Melanson, director of business development at Ilium. “Like all our probes, it is factory calibrated and completely sample independent, so there is no need to recalibrate whenever the sample conductivity or dielectric constant changes significantly. This is particularly important when following a titration or mixing process as the target liquid’s conductivity moves through several decades of conductivity range.”

Melanson added, “The Model 1021 is also extremely easy to clean. It can be disassembled and reassembled in seconds with no change in the calibration or cell constant, providing complete reproducibility. This is an important advantage when measuring emulsions or particle dispersions such as paints and inks, which often leave particles or droplets deposited on the electrode surfaces.”

The ability to measure conductivities over such a wide and low range makes the Model 1021 ideal for the characterization of inks, paints, pharmaceutical and personal care formulations, resins, liquid toners, and other non-polar as well as polar fluid systems.

For the first time it is practical to track production processes and research experiments from an initial pure solvent through component addition and processing; or to use real-time conductivity measurements to monitor inline clean-in-place processes for solvent based systems, much as they are already used in aqueous systems.

According to Penny Tan, research associate III at Pearl Therapeutics, Inc., “With Ilium’s conductivity meter, we can obtain precision conductivity data in the single digit nanoSiemen/cm range in high pressure systems (liquid propellant kept at 10 bar) that we could not previously measure; the instrument is easy to use, easily taken apart for cleaning and easy to reassemble. The light, simple, portable and robust design allows its use on bench tops or in the laboratory fume hood.”