Topics in.. .

Chemical lnstrumerrtation
Edited by GALEN W. EWING, Seton Hall University, So. Orange, N. J. 07079 feature

These articles, most of which are invited contributions by guest

authors, are intended to serve the readers of THIS JOURNAL by calling attention
to new developments i n Me theory, design, cv availability of chemical laboratory
instrumentation, or by presenting useful insights and explanations of topics
that are o j practical importance lo those who use, or teach the use of, modern
instrumentation and instrumental techniques.

XXXVIII. Refractometers
1. E. MALEY, Anacon, Inc., Ashlond. Mass. 0172 1

Refraetometry is a well-known but from one medium into another of dif-

little understood technique of analytical
measurement. A determination of the
refractive index of a. liquid is often made
as a check on its composition if i t is a
solution, or its purity if i t is a single com-
pound. Likewise, the continuous mea-
surement of rs liquid flowing through a
tube whether i t be a process stream or the
eluate from a, chromatographic column
can provide a. direct indication of a change
in composition or quality.
Relatively few of the refractometers
being used today in the laboratory differ
significantly from the original designs of
Ahbe (1874) and of Pulfrich (1887). I n
fact, these names have almost become
generic terms to describe certain types of
refractometers.
Theory
A ray of light which passes obliquely
MEDIUM
Figure 1. Bmsis principle of refrodive index.
C Circle No. 152 on Readers' Service Card
second medium is optically denser than
the first, the ray will become more nearly
perpendicular to the dividing surface.
The angle between the ray in the first
medium and the perpendicular to the
dividing surface is' called the angle of
incidence, i, while the corresponding angle
in the second medium is called the angle
of refraction (see Fig. 1). The refractive
index, n, expresses the ratio of the ve-
locity of light in the two mediums which
form the boundary through which the
light is passing. Snell's law expresses n
as the ratio of the sine of the angle of
incidence to the sine of the angle of re-
fraction:
sin i
Refractive index = n = -
sm r
L. E. Maley is a gradunte of Caluregie
Instilute of Technology with o. B.S.
in Electrical Enginowing and of
Doquesne University with s. Doctorate
of Laws.
I n 1948, Mr. Maley joined Min-
neapolis-Honeywell. Ine. as a. prodrm-
tion and application engineer. He left,
Minneapolis-Honeywell in 1950 to join
the Instrument Division of Mine
Safety Appliances Co. From 1950 until
June, 1960, Mr. Meley was in charge of
the sales and application engineering of
analytical instruments for Mine Safety
Appliances Co.
Mr. Maley left Mine Safety Appli-
ances Co. in 1960 to join Water As-
sociates, Inc. Waters Associates was a.
new company embarking in the field of
continuous refraelometers. Mr. Maley
was Vice President, Secretary and x
Director of Waters Associates, Inc.
until 1967 when he left Waters As-
sociates to form Anacon, Inc.
Mr. Maley has been actively engaged
in the design and application of
analytical instruments and sampling
systems for over 16 years. He ha?
authored numerous recognized techni-
cal articles wch as: "Analysis of Frac-
tionation of Polymers," Jaornal of
Polymer Science, No. 8, pp. 253-268;
"Liquid Chromatography Monitoring
with a New Refractometer," Pittsburgh
Conference on Analytical Chemistry,
March, 1961; "Design of Multiple
Stream Sampling Systems," Control
Engineering, November, 1961.
(Continued n page A468)

Volume 45, Number 6, June 1968 / A467

 Chemical lnstrumentafion
I t is normal practice to refer the index
of refraction to that of a vacnum which is
arbitrarily defined as having a refractive
index of unit,y; reference to air introduces
less than 3 parts in 10' error. The re-
fractive index n, therefore, is a dimen-
sionless const,ant whose value for light of
s given wave length is determined by the
character and state of the liquid or solid
medium and of the reference medium, air.
If the refractive index of various liquids or
liquid solutions is to he compared with
each other, then i t is necessary to specify
the state of the reference medium m well
as to control other variables which affect
the velocity of light in the sample to he
measured. The symbol nhD for example, LENS
means the refractive index for the D lines LIGHT SOURCE
of sodium measured a t 20C. Most
Figure 2. Critical ongle refroctometry.
refractive index values given in the hand-
books have been measured under these
conditions and are so referenced.

Types of Refractometers
Two types of refrectometers are com-
mereially avaihhlo, the di&renlial and
the critical-an.& I n the differential
refractometer, a light beam is transmitted
through a partitioned cell which refracts
the beam a t an angle which depends on the
difference in refractive index between the
sample liquid in one part and a standard
liquid in the other. Differential re-
fraetometers can be accurate to 1 X 1 0 '
units of refractive index difference between
the two liquids. In the critical-angle
refractometer the light incident on the
surface of the solntion changes sharply
from reflected lo t,rsnsmitted light a t a
critical angle. Several different versions
of the differential and critical-angle re-
fractometers are commercially available Figure 3. Differential refractometer.
far the laboratory and for continuous
process monitoring.
solution, this instrument may he used for strument, and n calibration curve of com-
A. Critical-Angle Refractometers highly opaque samples and various murky position versus refractometer reading is
solutions and suspensions, as well as plotted. Various rangas and nominal
Critical-anglo refractometers measure transparent samples.
the refractive index of liqoids a t an inter- values of refractive index can be ac-
face with air or, more commonly, with a commodated by the various instruments,
glass prism. As shown in Fig. 2, a light,
8. Differential Refractometers and some of them will provide any range
beam is directed a t the interface a t down to An = 10" a t any nominal value.
Differential refractometers are in- The minimum detectable index dif-
various angles in the vicinity of the critical tended primarily for the analysis of
angle. The critical angle is the angle from ference for sustained periods of operation
liquid mixtnres. They are applicable to is '/la of the range or lo-' units of re-
the perpendicular a t which the beam any mixture whose refractive index is a
changes from light transmit,ted into the fractive index for the best of the new
single-valued function of the composition; instruments. I n the most precise in-
liquid to light totally reflected a t the this includes nearly all simple binary sys-
liquid surface. At angles smnller than the struments sensitivity is limited t o this
tems. In refractive index meltsotwnents. value mainly by mechanical deformation
critical angle the light is transmitted into
the liquid. The critical angle depends not of the instrument caused by changes in
only on the solution composition hut also ambient and sample temperature.
on the prism material. The refractive The principle of the differential re-
recognized and precautions are taken lo fractometer is very simple. First con-
index can he calculated from: minimize the temperatwe effect. sider thepnsgsge of a beam of light through
i, = arc sin (n,/nJ Each of the instmments employs n. a simple right-angled prism of refraotive
sample cell through which :h light beam is index n, and s. second prism of idenlical
where
transmitted. The beam is refracted composition in close proximity to the
i, critical angle in radians within the
= t,hrmgh an angle whose size depends on first but with t,he refracting mrfaces re-
elass t,he refractive index difference between versed (Fig. 3a); the beam will p a s s
n, =index of refraction of the glass the sample and x standard which con- through the combination without net
nr = index of refraction of the liquid stitutes a part of the cell. The angle of
refraction is measured with a photoelectric refraction. If, however, the second prism
The significant fesbure of a crilical is made of material having a very slightly
pickup. different refractive index from the first.,
angle refractometer is that, i t measures the
refract.ive index s t the swface of a soh-
The aoolieabilit~vof a refractometer to n + dn, then the beam will be deflected
tion. Since surface reflection requires no through t,he angle B (Fig. 3h). I f dn is
penetration of the light beam into the (Conlintwd on page A470)

A468 / Journol o f Chemical Education

 Chemical Instrumentation
very small, B will also be very small and
the distance z, measured at some arbitrary
point along the beam, will be proportional
to dn. Now replace the solid prisms
with hollow ones filled with liquids having
refractive indices n and n + dn and we
have a simple differential rrefrrtctometer.
The principle of the differential re-
fractometer is not new and such instru-
ments have been in use for plant control
for a number of years, but the literature
shows thrtt there is a steadily increasing
awarness of the potentialities of the tech-
nique, both for laboratory and plant use.
Operation of B typicsl differential
refractometer may be better understood
by referring to the schematic diagram . .
(Fig. 4). A light beam generated by an Figure 4. Differential rofractometer, schomotis. Light fmm lamp bulb I ) parser through the slit
incandescent lamp passes through the and musk assembly S, is collimated b y lens L, then twice traverses the sample and reference prismatic
slit and mask that confine the beam to the cells, being reflected b y mirror M .
The exiting beam is focused b y the rome lens, and is displaced
region of the cell. The lens renders the laterally as necessary b y the glass blocks Z, the zero adjustment, and D, the balancing deflector.
light rays from the slit parallel. This Part of the light is reflected b y the oblique mirror MI onto cadmium rulflde photocell G,while port
parellel beam passes through the cell to parses the edge of Ms to impinge on cell CI. The signoh from G and G control a renomotor SM,
the mirror. The mirror reflects the beam via the differential amplifier. The motor acts to turn the deflector D ro os to maintain equal illu-
back through the sample cell to the lens mination on CLand G,and a t the rome time operates a stripchart recorder.
which focuses it upon the edge of the besm- of approximately 1.47. The finished
splitter mirror, MS. products are shortenings and margarine
At this point, the location of the light with indices of approximately 1.43.
besm depends upon the relative refractive Close control of the end point is required
indices of the sample and the standard. to obtain a product of the desired quality.
As the index of refraction oi the A process refractometer makes this con-
sample changes with respect to the stan- trol possible without the delays required
dardliquid, the beam emanating from the in making spot checks with laboratory
lens shifts laterally with respect to the instruments.
beam splitter. When this occurs, the Many applications involve following the
amount of light reaching one photocell concentration of solutions. I n the con-
changes with respect to the other photo- centration of sugar solutions, salt brines
cell and an electrical signal is generated and acids, in fact, almost any chemical
in proportion to this difference. The bean, solutions, the degree of concentration can
deflector driven by the servo motor and be easily followed by the change in re-
its controlling amplifier-photocell circuits fractive index (Fig. 5). For example, the
keeps the light beam falling equally on refractive index of s. sucrose solution
the two photocells. This occurs in the increases by about 0.0002 units per 0.1%
following manner. When light falls increase of sugar concentration. I t is a
equally on the two photocells, there is no simple matter to detect such changes by
signal input to the amplifier. A shift process refractometry. It is also possible
in the beam, due to refractive index 1.35 to detect changes as little as 0.0270 in
change of the sample, puts more light on O 4 8 1 2 1 6 M 2 4
SALT IN VAlER,%
aqueous solutions of nitric acid. An even
one photocell, impressing a. signal on the
amplifier. The amplified signal drives Figure I Salt in water. (Continued on page A4721
the motor and t,he beam deflector in a.
direction that equalizes the light falling
on the two photocells. The more the
refractive index of the sample deviates
from the reference, the greater the devia-
tion of the light beam and the more the
deflector must turn to balance the split
light beams. The position of the deflector,
therefore, is a measure of the refractive
index differential.

Process Refradometers
Since the early dsys of World War 11,
recording refractometers have been used to
monitor thepurity of butadieneandstyrene
streams. In addition, process refractom-
eters have been used to control the
blending of these two feed components in
the manufacture of GR-S rubber. The
refractive indices of styrene and hutadiene
are approximately 1.5434 and 1.4120,
respectively. A change of 0.1'% is easily
detectable by continuous refractometry.
Applications in the food industry in-
volve materials xnch as soya bean and
cottonseed oils having refractive indices Figure 6. Sulfuric acid, hydmchioris acid.

A470 / Journal of Chemical Education

 Chemical lnstrumentcrtion
higher ultimate sensitivity is possible with
sulfuric acid solutions (Fig. 6 ) .
The separation of aromatics from mtu-
rates is an outstanding example of the
possibility of using refractive index to
follow a process, since the change in
refractive index between aromatics and
saturates is quite marked. The aro-
matics have a refractive index of about
1.50, and the saturates ahout 1.40. Since
these measurements can be made to one
in the fourth place, a precision of about
0.1% is easily obtained. Alcohol-water
analyses are also carriedout by this method.
Water has a refractive index of 1.33299,
while methanol is 1.32920, ethanol 1.36176,
and isopropanol 1.37757 (Fig. 7). I t is
possible to detect changes of s few tenths
to a few hundredths of 1% in the con-
centrations of these various alcohols in
water.
Many applications of continuous re- Figure 7. Alcohols and acetone.
fractometry are carried out in fractionat-
ing tower control. One example of snch While refractometry has been applied These streams are too dark to he analyaed
an application is the separation of cyclo- to many process streams there was a by t,he differential refractometer hut they
hexane and n-hexane. The respective limitation in the scope of these applica- can he easily handled with the eritical-
refractive indices of these components are tions until t,he development of the in-line angle reflectance type refractometer.
1.42623 and 1.37486. This difference is cn'tical-angle refractometers. Many pro- The Anscon in-line refractometer (sche-
sufficient to give measurement,^ of composi- cesses are amenable to monitoring and matic diagram, Fig. 8) has the prism
tion changes of less than O.lYo Another control by refractive index, hut these mounted in the pipeline itself. The prism
typical fractionating column application streams may often he opaque or contain a is in intimate contact with the process
is the determination of normal butane in large concentration of solid materials snch flnid because its sorfaee is flnsh with the
isohntane. These two components in the as catalyst fines, pipe scale, undissolved wall of the pipeline. The entire optical
liquid phsse have a refractive index dif- solid product, polymers, etc. For ex- system other than the prism is mounted in
ference of approximately 0.0100. I t is ample, in the manufacturing of high boil- a n explosion proof housing, clamped to
possible to detect changes of the order of ing petroleum products a relation he- (Continued on page A474)
0.1% in this case. tween refractive index and quality exists.

A472 / Journal o f Chemical Education

 explosion proof housing t o the prism,
Chemical Instrumentation is in with the sample.
Since the prism is mounted in stainless

INLINE REFRACTOMETER
BLOCK DIAGRAM
Figure 8. In-line refroctometer. steel tubing or pipe, the process fluid does
not have t o be removed from the pipeline
t h e pipe. I n operation, a light heam from d.. transmitted t o some remote instru-
a n incandescent light hnlh is directed
through a lens and out the back of t,he (Continued on page A476)

A474 / Journal of Chemical Education


Chemical Instrumentation
ment. Product is measured m d e r actual
process condilions, i.e., a t the same
temperature and pressnre conditions pre-
vailing in t h e process. The short section
of pipe in which the prism is mounted is
provided by the msmlfnctorer s s a part
of the instrument, and installation is made
simply by flanging the section of pipe
into the process line.
The light. benm directed from the instnl-
ment housing is refracted a t the interface
between the prism and the process flnid
and directed back throogh a lens and
restorer glass on t o s detector assembly
consisting of two cadmium mlfide photo-
cells. One photocell is located in the
permanently illominated section, and the
other is mounted a t the critical angle
point., where the beam changes from light
t o dark. As the refraet,ive index of the
process Rnid changes, the critical angle
changes and causes more or less light to
fall on the sample photocell. The other
cell, of course, always remains in the f d
intenvit,~portion of the beam.
Sample Conditions: Viscosity,
Coating Action
Since a refractometer operating on the
critical angle principle measores the index
only a t the interface, care must he
exercised to make the material a t the
interfrtce representative of the bulk
solntion. Agitation or turbulence in the
process stream, of course, accomplishen
A476 / Journal o f Chemicol Educofion
the reqnired cleansing of the interface
qitite easily, but when agitation is small
or when the solution is highly visco~ts,
a film can build u p on the pl.ism surface
and produce a n erroneous reading. To
eliminate t,his possibility, a n sotomatic
jet washing system is provided in t,he
pipeline head.
Temperature Compensation
Another important factor that must be
taken into consideration in critical angle
measurements is the effecL of s. tempera-
tore change in the process stream. The
~.ef~.active index of fluids, and of the prism
itsclf, are sensitive to temperature changes.
I n a well-agitated line, window tempera-
t ~ m quickly comes to equilibrium with
solution temperature, and measurements
can be very accurate and reliible. If the
temperatlrre is changing, however, nome
compensation must be made. A thermis-
tor probe inserted in the pipe can measure
the temperature of the process line and
compensate far any temperature changes
over a t.eosonnble lange. It is not possible
to compensate over a range a s largo ns
100F (50C), but it is possible to eom-
pensate for temperstnre changes of
npproximat,ely 20F (10'C). If the
process stream is varying radically in
temperature, then the head must he
provided with thermostatic eontml.
Laboratory Refractometers
There are three common t.ypes of
labor$tory refractometers-the AbbP,
the immersion.or dipping, and the Pulfrich
instruments. The Pulfrich uses mono-
 Chemical Instrumentation
chromatic light, requires more of the
sample than the Abbi: type, and is there-
fore less commonly employed. These
instruments have been used extensively
in the laboratory for many years. Accu-
rate measurements can be made over a
fairly wide range of refractive indices.
Same typical accuracies and ranges are
shown in Table I.

Toble 1. Mox m m A c c ~ r a c yond Range of

Cr'tco -Angle Refroctometer%
..
Maximum Typical
Ilefrac- aCCllrRCV ranees
tometer n~ of"n
Pulfrich".k.' + I X lo-' 1.33-1.61
1.47-1.74
164-1.86
AbbO"-J flX10-' 1.3&1.70
1.45-1.84
Precision 1 2 X 10F 1B3-1.64
Abbhd.J 1.36-1.50
1.40-1.70
Dipping &4 X 13-1.54
(immer- (6
si~n)~.d prisms)d
Hilger, Veiss, Rellingham & Stanley,
Bmlsch and Lomb ' A 0 Insb. Co.,
f Valentine.

The A b b i Refroctometer
The range of the Abbi: is normally
1.3000 to 1.7000, the maximum pre-
cision attainable being 0.0001. I t reads
the refractive index directly, and requires
only a drop of sample. White light is
used, and to prevent R colored, indistinct
boundary between the light and dark
fields two direct-vision prisms, called
Amici prisms, are placed one above the
other between the objective and eyepiece
of the telescope. These are constructed
of different varieties of glass and are so
designed as not la deviate a ray of light
of the wavelength of the sodiwn D line.
Rays of other wavelengths are, however,
deviated, and by rotaiing the Amici
prisms it is possible to comteraet the

Figure 9 Abbe refroctometer.

(Conlinaed o n page A478)

Volume 45, Number 6, June 1968 / A477

 Chemical Instrumentation
dispersion of light a t the liqrlid iuterfcxe.
A typical Abbe refl.actometer is shown in
Figwe 9.
The Immersion Refroctometer
This refractometer is thc simplest to
me, but reqnires 10-15 ml of sample. A
single prism is mounted rigidly in the
telescope containing the eampensntor and
eyepiece a s shown (Fig. 10). The sealo is
1 4
'1
: Refractometer
' A new direct reading laboratory critical-
Figure 10. ~ i p p i n grefroctometer.
A478 / lourno1 of Chemicol Educofion
momted below the eyepiece inside the
tube. The lower swfare of the prism
duced by Anacon. This instnlment makes
use of the same basic principle, but the
is immersed in n small beaker containing change in the light beam is measured by a
the sample, with a mirror below to reflect photosensitive detector and the refractive
light up through the l i q ~ ~ i d . index value indicated directly on a meter.
The Anaeon direct, reading ref~.actometer
is fihown in Figure 11. The sample liquid
is placed in a cavity where a synthetic
Pulfrich Refractometer diamond prism is mounted. The cavity
is covered with a spring loaded, Teflon
The Pdfrich refmetometer is psrticu- covered, cap which ensnres that the
larly nseful for precise measmemerits with liqnid wets the prism surface. When the
solotiom or liquids that are volat,ile, surface is wetted, the light-tadark ratio
reactive, or hygroscopic, with solid plates, of the critical angle image ehangm, and
for differential studies, and for dispersion
measutwnents. Absolule values obtained
the photosensitive detector on which tho
image is focused changes itr resistance.
with t,he Pulfrich refractorneter are osually This change in resistance is electronically
not reliable in t,he fifth decimal place, but measured :uld a signs1 directed to t,he
a comparison at two wavelengt,hs or of indicating meter.
two substances can be made to +1 X
Solids and liqnids of index between 1.33
and 1.86 can be investigated over a wide
temperature range. The refractive index
n cannot be rend direclly, but must be
determined from a set of observations.
Once the apparatus has been set up, a
value of n can be obtained in about 5
mi".
The critical boond:wy is pnrt,icularly
sharp in this type of reflactomeber even
with liquid samples, ninee i t is free fmm
shielding of grazing rays and the full area
of the refracting prism may be illuminated.
Direct Reading Critical-Angle
Figure 11. Labomtory direct reading re-
fractometer'
sugle refwctometer was recently intro- ( C o n l i n z d on paye A482)

Chemical Instrumentation
Refractometers in Liquid
Chromatography
The chromatography of rolorless liquid
mmoounds has lone been bmdened with
colorimetry, and refraetometry have been
adapted in a n effot.t to obtain continuous
flowing chromatographs which wodd
greatly simplify fraction collection and
analysis. An instroment which would
.......... ...... ...
A482 / lournol of Chemical Education
continr~allymonitor ihe refractive index of
the coh~mnefluent, has always appeared
to be the most desirable for this applicai
tion (Fig. 12). Various instrliments along
these lines have been described in the
literstr~re since Tiselius, Claesson and
their collaborators first described t,he use
of an optical system registering changer
in refractive index based on the "Schlie-
renu method.
Refractometry is appealing as a, contin-
uous monitor for liquid ehl.omatography,
and one can say that refractive index is to
liquid chromatography as thermal enn-
doctivity is to gas chromatography.
Refractameters will respond to any
change in the liquid efluent and therefore
can be med as a universal detector. The
other analytical techniques mentioned
above are specific rather than universal
and consequently are limited to particular
classes of material. With such instrw
or what reagent must he used to cause a
color reaction. If the material does not
absorb radiation at the frequency for
which the detector is set the peak will be
missed entirely or if the reagent is wrong
a color change will not occur and again a
peak will be missed. A refmetometer
responds to any change in the liquid
efluent and is therefore a tlniversal,
highly sensitive detector.
When to Use a Refractometer
Whenever the sample to be analyzed is
s simple binary mixture, such as alcohol in
water, the first choice analyzer is a re-
fraetameter. Density-measuring analy-
secs are applicable when the range of
compositions is broad. Btlt when t,he
range is narrow, down to about 0.4Y0,
and certainly whcn a n snalysis of the
liquid phase of a snspcnsion or slurry is
required, a refractometer again is first
choice.
Batch Analysis: Ketchup, Jams,
Jellies
There are also a variety of applications
for batch analysis wherein very viscous
food prodncts are being cooked to a de-
sired soluble solids content. A typical
example is continuous measurement of
soluble solids in ketchup (Flg. 13). Since
Figure 13. Soluble solids in ketchup.
this is a hatch type operation, a sample is
pumped from the bottom of the kettle
through the in-line refractometer and hack
 Chemical Instrumentation BRlX MEASUREMENT
- -
AND CONTROL FOR
into the finishing kettle. When a product APPLESAUCE PROCESSING
reaches the desired concentration the RECORDING-CONTROLLER
kettle can be drained and refilled with
another batch. With this type of installa-
tion a, contin~~ous monitoring is made of
the product s s it is being prepared.

Carbonated Beverages
Figwe 14 ilhtstrates a typical installa-
tion of an in-line refractorneter a t a
carbonated beverage plant. Here the
unit measures the amount of sugar in the
beverage after it has been completely
carbonated and just prior to bot,tling.
~ ~
..
Some other anolications of interest are
measurement of glycerine-water mixtures,
formaldehyde-methanol mixtues, syn-

SWL"
Figure 15. Applerouse control system.

bhetic rubber processes, and a variet,y of
instant food products, inclnding coffee
and tea. An extremely important applice-
tion is in the hydrogenation of fats and
Figure 14. Carbonated beveroge plant
oils. The analysis of these materials as
well as standard lubricating oils in refin-
eries has been done for many years with
laboratory refractornetem. It was felt
that it would be impossible to analyze
(Continued on page A484)

Volume 45, Number 6, June 1968 / A483

 Chemical instrumentation
these pt.oducls eontin~~ously,

presented such severe problems that

analysis cordd seldom be made on a
beca~rse of
large qnmltities of entrained metal cata-
lysts, such as nickel, p l a t i n ~ m ,etc. T h e
maintenance problems involved in filter-
ing and cleansing these sample stresms for
measurement by a differential refrac-
tometor or other analytical instr~lments

continuoos basis. Tho in-line refrsctom-

eter has been spplicd to these hydrogem-
lion problems ns well as to measnrement of
waxes in oils, mensnrement of catalytic
, , In
I
,
BLACK
'
L J
SPRAY RING

PEFRACTOMETER
ha I
RECOVERY
BOILER

cracking-unit feed stock, mcaswement of
octane numbers of gasoline, and detection
of interfaces in pipelines. I t provides
all immcdiate, simple analysis witho~lta
very elaborate, highly complicated,
sampling system. In :L nnmber of eases
the elimirmtian of s sampling system in
itself mare than justifies installation of the
refractometer.
The field of in-line measurements is
becoming more and mare import,ant with
the advent of completely controlled aoto-
matic processes. Figwe 15 shows an
automatic control system for applesauce
processing and Figure 16 a. monitor for a
paper mill recovery bailer. To obtain
true automatic control in many eases,
analysis must be extremely fast and ex-
tremely reliable. The more important
factors in analysis instrumentation are
reliability and simplicity. I n order to
FROM EVAPORATOR )%(
Figure 16.
-
Paper mill recovery boilers.
simplify the complicated analysis mea-
surements it is virtually essential in many
rases that the unit become a n in-line mea-
suring device. By measuring within t.he
actnal process, many of the problems of
analysis are eliminated nnd the unreliabil-
ity of complicaled sampling systems is re-
moved. The in-line measurement pm-
vides x very high degree of reliability and
s very high speed of response. I t is anti-
cipated ihat in the next few years we will
see more and more analyt,icel devices ap-
ASH GREEN
LlOVOR
plied to direct in-line measurement,.
In summary, refractometers have been
used fur almost 100 years for the measure-
ment of liquid solutions. Contin~lalim-
provements are being made, particularly
in the continuous process type refractom-
eters. No significant changes have been
made in laboratory refractometers in
recent years but the advent of solid state
circuitry probably will ennse some major
changes in these instrnments in the very
near futnre. llefractometers are reliable,

A484 / Journal o f Chemical Education