System for inline monitoring of powdered chemical substances

Abstract

An inline monitoring system (200) configured to be embedded in a chemical process line for monitoring powdered chemical materials, comprising: a powder container (202, 506) configured to dispense the powder into a metering line (504); at least one detection system (206) positioned outside the metering line and configured to non-destructively detect the presence, level, or distribution of powder within the metering line; and a control module (208) configured to estimate a powder volume or dose based on signals from the detection system, the detection system (206) being selected based on optical or acoustic properties of the line material.