AGRANA is an Austrian sugar, starch, fruit, and ethanol producer with production facilities across several countries. Its sugar plant in Tulln, Lower Austria, was founded in 1937 and is now AGRANA’s main sugar production and storage site in Austria.

During the sugar beet campaign, the plant processes locally harvested sugar beet into high-quality sugar products. Because sugar beet must be processed quickly and carefully after harvest, stable and efficient production is essential.

Reliable 24/7 monitoring during the campaign

To support inline °Brix measurement of sugar juice, AGRANA uses Anton Paar’s L-Sonic 5100 sound velocity sensors. These sensors provide continuous process values during production and help ensure that sugar is produced according to AGRANA’s quality standards throughout the campaign.

The L-Sonic 5100 sensors were selected because they are reliable, intuitive to use, and suitable for integration into existing plant infrastructure. Installation was straightforward, and the sensors immediately showed the expected °Brix concentration after commissioning.

Reducing laboratory measurements

Since installation, the L-Sonic 5100 sensors have provided stable online measurement values. AGRANA can trust these inline values and therefore reduce time-consuming laboratory measurements.

This supports faster process decisions and helps operators monitor production directly in the process. For the Tulln plant, the instruments make a significant contribution to completing a successful sugar beet campaign.

Four sensors in the Tulln plant

Anton Paar has installed four L-Sonic 5100 Version SST instruments at the AGRANA plant in Tulln for inline °Brix measurement. These instruments replaced competitor instruments based on microwave technology.

The sensors are used at key points in the process, including between the thin juice box and the evaporator, and between the evaporator and thick juice filtration. With 24/7 sample throughput and accuracy better than ±0.1 %, the system supports reliable process control in sugar juice production.