When Merck needed to measure flow on a groundbreaking millimeter-scale line, the company looked to Siemens to provide a highly compact flowmeter, with excellent results.

For more than 300 years, Merck has developed a global presence in pharmaceuticals and chemistry. Merck is the world leader in liquid crystals for flat screens, and its chemical business includes industrial pigments, biotech, cosmetics, and drug production.

Hans Muntermann, Merck’s renowned automation expert in microreaction technology, operates at the cutting edge of the newest automated microreaction systems (MRS). In MRS, flow channels are on the millimeter scale, in components of polymer, ceramic, glass, or metal.

On the verge of commercial breakthrough, MRS is hot news in the chemistry world. The advantages of MRS include improved safety, the ability to control material flow with high precision, the ability to add or remove heat rapidly, and more intense reactions between liquid and gaseous reactants in multiphase processes.

Merck uses the Siflow FC070 Coriolis flowmeter in its microreaction systems (Photo: Siemens AG)

A flowmeter to meet MRS standards

It is enormously important that MRS instrumentation have very high accuracy, versatility, flexibility, and maximum compatibility with an automated control system. Siemens and Merck have partnered for years to achieve these goals. Merck began experimenting with Coriolis flowmeter technology over 15 years ago and now uses Coriolis in MRS mass flow metering. Merck helped develop the new Siflow FC070 Coriolis mass flow transmitter, the first flow transmitter for direct integration into the Simatic rack.

In 2006, the Merck automation development group incorporated the Siflow FC070 into 1.5-millimeter-diameter MRS process lines, with outstanding results. The flowmeter consists of a compact Sitrans FC 2100 sensor on the process lines, and a remote FC070 transmitter in the programmable logic controller (PLC) rack. Siemens optimized the sensor for compactness, truncating the housing to fit into Merck’s tight MRS space constraints. An important feature of the customized sensor housing is that it minimizes heat loss. Even slight heat losses significantly affect processes when the operation is on such a small scale.

Advantages of Siflow FC070

Seamless integration

Easy to install, commission, and run, the FC070 transmitter is built on the Simatic platform, so it communicates easily not only with Simatic automation systems but also with Simatic Manager, Simatic PCS 7, and Simatic PDM. After the simple snap-on installation, the transmitter self-configures and speaks the same language as the rest of the automation system.

Because the FC070 integrates seamlessly into the automation system, it provides relevant and reliable feedback. The uniform system architecture and communication enabled by Totally Integrated Automation facilitate the smooth integration of all process control systems into one aligned solution. The diagnostic features of the FC070 are valuable for managing MRS. Users receive the operational information and self-diagnostics that are essential for predictive maintenance. The easy-to-use self-test feature helps users identify and plan solutions for process problems in the automated systems.

In addition, this Coriolis mass flowmeter is extremely reliable, with high accuracy and repeatability. With no moving parts, it is virtually maintenance-free, so the MRS team can focus on research.

Measuring versatility

The capacity to monitor multiple variables, particularly density, in parallel with the mass flow rate is a high priority for Muntermann, and the FC070 provides this. The FC070 also has other features, such as totalizers and advanced batch. Using these multiple capacities allows instrumentation to be minimized – a great advantage in the miniaturized world of MRS.

Preparing for tomorrow’s MRS

Merck is confident that Siemens mass flow instrumentation, and in particular the Siflow FC070, can meet the challenge of commercializing MRS. The FC070 can number up or scale up MRS processes, demonstrating superior repeatability and a high turndown ratio. Muntermann believes that Siemens Coriolis instrumentation will form a cornerstone of Merck’s new gaseous MRS processes. The versatile FC070 is well suited to the coming challenges: it is designed for measuring both gas and liquid and is compatible with any fluid, including highly aggressive, nonconductive chemicals.

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