Public Funding for Industrial Tomography Systems Ltd

To develop an instrument employing non-invasive technology to enable the global oil/gas industry to precisely measure multi-phase flow across wide flow regimes in harsh environments.

Industrial Tomography Systems Ltd (ITS) is a designer and manufacturer of sophisticated instrumentation providing major insight into process operations. Our products are sold in global markets with future potential for Industry-4.0\. In this project, ITS will adapt our electrical tomography technology to tackle the existing industrial challenges in the battery production process, which is currently suffering due to a lack of in-line process monitoring technology. This project targets the electrode production process in particular during the coating, drying and calendaring stages, which are very common processes for battery production. Currently, there is still room for production improvement and an in-line monitoring instrument will help speed up the optimisation progress. An optimised process can reduce the product scrap rate and improve the consistency of battery performance. ITS is proposing to use an innovative electrical tomography technique to accurately monitor the electrode production process in real-time. Electrical tomography is a non-intrusive and non-invasive technique that scans and reconstructs a process into real-time images, which allow production engineers to 'see inside their processes' and perform quality control without interrupting the process. At the end of the project, we will have a proven system design that can support the battery production line to reach a more efficient process, by increasing yield and improving the quality consistency. This will help UK gigafactory to benefit in developing an efficient production process.

Industrial Tomography Systems Ltd (ITS) is a designer and manufacturer of sophisticated instrumentation providing major insight into process operations. Our products are sold in global markets with future potential for Industry-4.0\. In this project, we aim to combine our Artificial Intelligent (AI) knowledge, with our state-of-the-art electrical impedance tomography technology (EIT), to tackle the industrial challenges in the pharmaceutical market, where our innovation promises major enhancements in product quality and efficiency with reduced manufacturing cost. This project targets the globally common 'packed column' process in which reagents react to form a final or intermediate product. The packed column is a widely used technique for chemicals separation, protein synthesis and protein purification, which are fundamentally key processes for drug and vaccine developments. Significant chemical waste is produced during the column process and it is a prime candidate for efficiency and cost reduction improvements. ITS is proposing to use an innovative electrical impedance tomography (EIT) technique, in combination with our AI knowledge, to accurately monitor the column process in real-time. EIT is a non-intrusive technique that scans and reconstruct a process into real-time images, which allow users to 'see inside their processes' without any reaction disturbance. In this project, AI will be combined with EIT technology to 'make it smarter'. At the end of the project, we will have a 'Smart Column System' that can correctly diagnose the column conditions, and at the same time provide real-time process information, without any extra input from the end-users. This will give the end-user and manufacturer considerable benefit in designing an efficient column process, by increasing productivity, and at the same time, extending the life-cycle of the column material, thus reducing manufacturing costs in the pharmaceutical industries.

Industrial Tomography 4.0 Industrial Tomography Systems Ltd is a world leader in the delivery of industrial process tomography instruments (the process equivalent of CAT scanners in medicine). Customers include many of the world's leading process companies - chemicals (Dow, Johnson Matthey), pharmaceuticals (GSK, Pfizer) household goods (Unilever, Procter & Gamble), mining (Vale SA, Weir Pumps), food (Nestle and Dannone) and many others. These instruments have been based on commercialising world leading university research. The results of the project will be the application of state of the art process visualisation with state of the art low-cost, high-performance instrumentation suited for use in the emerging field of digital process control - Industry 4.0

Industrial Tomography Systems Ltd (ITS) is a designer and manufacturer of sophisticated instrumentation providing major insight into process operations. Our products have global markets and future potential for Industry-4, with world leading process customers such as GSK, AstraZeneca, Uniliver, Proctor & Gamble, Nestle, Dow Chemicals, Johnson Matthey, BP and many others. ITS is a high technology export led company, with more than 80% of export sales. In this project, we aim to enhance our support for a growing needs in the post-COVID pharmaceutical market, where our innovation promises major enhancements in product quality and efficiency with reduced waste and emissions. Our target is processes which are energy-intensive with high levels of waste. Our process monitoring capability provides key information to reduce overall energy burden supporting global post-COVID decarbonisation targets. Accurate knowledge of process materials can support the new post-COVID potential for circular economy recycling. This project addresses the globally common target 'packed column' process in which reagents react to form a final or intermediate product. The project aims to create a Smart Column which addresses post-COVID priorities in delivering increased efficiency, product quality and plant utilisation coupled with reduced waste and emissions and positively supporting circular economy major recycling of secondary materials.

The monitoring of product formulation is of significance in the performance and management of many manufacturing industries such as fast-moving consumable goods (FMCG) production. For several decades, the direct sampling methods via a quality control (QC) laboratory have been the principle method of measuring product quality. However, these sampling-based methods are often time-consuming and unrepresentative to true product conditions. Other controls are time-based (e.g. clean for 15mins; mix for 3hrs) when an in-process measurement can make significant savings. ITS has developed an industrial tomography meter that utilizes electrical process tomography technology and is able to offer an accurate in-line concentration / quality measurement. The industrial meter has already been applied into manufacturing applications with good performance. It is believed that the same technology can be more widely applied to FMCG industries such as in-line product recognition to reduce waste and increase productivity in continuous production lines. The technology can be further extended to real-time measurement of clean in place (CIP). The principle of ITS's tomography meter is mainly based on multiphase electrical measurements, as the above-mentioned applications all involve multiple ingredients, which have distinct electrical properties. For monitoring multi-phase processes using an ITS tomography meter, an external instrument is required to track the conductivity variations of the primary liquid, so the system output can be independent to the background fluctuations, which could be influenced by either ionic concentration or temperature of the aqueous medium. Ideally, a conductivity probe can be installed in a sampling tank, where the probe measurement can potentially reflect the in-situ status of the liquid in the sensor. However practically, it is challenging to find a suitable location that can reliably indicate the conductivity property of the primary material. In addition, the probe cannot be installed in series with the process pipelines due to the flow disturbances and the risk of product contamination. To overcome the issue, ITS has developed a machine learning algorithm that can extract the liquid conductivity change based on the existing raw sensor measurements, this new algorithm allows the system to accurately monitor the in-line liquid conductivity, aiming to eliminate the system dependency on the conductivity probe. Furthermore, for single-phase processes, the machines learning algorithm can also be used to identify the completeness of product formulation or batch transition process, which realises a true in-situ fluid quality control relative to the product formulation. This innovation has been tested at a lab scale and shown to be robust across a range of process conditions (TRL4). The next stage will be investigating the robustness of the machine learning algorithm when it is applied in scale-up process environments (TRL5). The flow rigs facility from Saskatchewan Research Council (SRC) and the University of Birmingham (UoB) provides an ideal platform for characterising the algorithm performance using their benchmark technologies, such as high-resolution gamma-ray tomography and Positron-emission tomography (PET). The machine learning knowledge and expertise from the National Research Council (NRC) would also add significant value to the project in terms of algorithm optimisation.

ITS is the world leader in electrical process tomography - the industrial equivalent of CAT scanning - where an array of electrodes placed around a pipe or vessel is rapidly scanned. These measurements are analysed using an imaging algorithm to produce a picture of the contents in real time, allowing chemcial engineers to "see inside their process". This project represents the extension of ITS's industrial product range, providing an instrument that can measure both density and flow of fast flowing, abrasive slurries. At present these measurements can only be taken using nuclear sources - typically the last resort for any sort of measurement. A safer, non-nuclear instrument will enable operators to improve the efficiency and safety of mineral processing, improving productivity and reducing the proliferation of hazardous nuclear materials.

Industrial Tomography Systems plc has pioneered the commercialisation of electrical tomography. This project takes more than 10 years experience and learning to apply the company's world leading instruments to characterise complex fluids through innovative sensor design and data interpretation. The instrument will be applicable in many industrial sectors: - in the food sector, the texture of processed foods is fundamental to customer satisfaction - in consumer goods, the manufacture of products such as toothpaste and shampoo involves complex processes which impart specific properties, such as how materials flow from tubes and bottles - in mining, the flow of slurries and how solids are either kept in suspension, and then later settle out of suspension is important to yield as well as efficient use of chemicals and energy - in speciality chemicals, such as surface coatings, the flowability of products and their consistencey is a critical part of their performance as paints and coatings. These process parameters are currently very difficult to measure during processing; and sampling presents particular difficulties for effective quality control. The new in-line instrumentation based on ITS's world-leading development of process tomography will allow better process control to improve quality & consistency and increase production efficiency.

To develop linear array electrical resistance tomography (ERT) and electrical capacitance tomography (ECT). Image post-analysis will also be part of this sKTP.

Johnson Matthey, Unilever and ITS Ltd have established a project to develop approaches and techniques to allow manufacturing related information to be gleaned during the development of new formulations. Generally, and especially for products which contain multiple components, some of which do not mix (e.g. emulsions, creams, slurries, suspensions), the formulator does not significantly consider the issues that will arise when the new product transfers from the laboratory into pilot scale trials and finally into full scale manufacturing. This is inefficient in terms of research and development, and also leads to sub-optimal manufacturing; higher costs, higher environmental impact. Working with the Universities of Birmingham and Manchester, the project will address the key issues that have largely precluded gaining meaningful process information at the laboratory scale. This involves not only the time honoured issues of scale up but also specific difficulties of measuring in real time the critical product properties across all scales. Johnson Matthey and Unilever will apply the outcomes to vehicle emission control catalysts and hair care products respectively.

Awaiting Public Project Summary

To develop an instrument employing non-invasive technology to enable the global oil/gas industry to precisely measure multi-phase flow across wide flow regimes in harsh environments.

To develop state-of-the-art image reconstruction for electrical impedance and electrical capacitance tomography both in 2D and in 3D.

The cleanup of Nuclear Waste is a major environmental priority, with millions of gallons of high level nuclear waste stored in deteriorating tanks with the potential for significant ecological and radiological contamination. This multi-phase high concentration sludge requires identification to enable safe extraction Hence the material monitoring is an important sensing application. ITS produces process analytical sensors whichcharacterize complex materials in-situ. Waste recovery will take up to 25 years, during which time the sensor must operate reliably and continuously in spite of the continuous degradation due to radiation damage. ITS is seeking to develop a smart sensor system which adapts to the challenges inherent in a highly radioactive environment to provide novel new analytical monitoring capbility.

ITS has successfully developed a market in electrical process tomography. Users take real time 2D & 3D measurements of industrial processes, such as mixing and multiphase flows. This is the industrial equivalent of a medical CAT scan (although ITS instruments are less expensive and faster although provide coarser images). Such measurements provide benefits in improved process quality, efficiency and yield. A significant number of applications have been identified requiring capabilities beyond the existing instrumentation which ITS commercialised from work done at Manchester University in the 1990s. These are in diverse fields eg multi-phase flows involving sea water; mixing in large vessels; highly conducting chemical processes. Leeds University has developed a new approach to electrical tomography measurements that allows data to be taken in these more challenging environments. In addition, the electronics is considerably smaller than ITS’s existing platform which is of considerable benefit to a number of key customers (such as NASA and Van Oord). This approach has been demonstrated through a PhD and is now ready for commercialisation. ITS has agreed terms to licence this patented technology from Leeds and this project’s objective is to carry this work forward. The project will involve taking the experimental system invented at Leeds University and developing a pre-production prototype system and will have the following work packages: - electronics development to meet commercial production requirements - software development to develop user friendly interface - product design to meet customer needs and ITS brand - benchmark testing to ensure finished device complies with regulatory requirements - system performance testing to establish overall capabilities (measurement speed, accuracy etc) - market testing with key end users and distributors through site visits, user days IP protection will be based on patents applied for by Leeds University.

Awaiting Public Summary

Awaiting Public Summary