Gas content measurement in a sealed container of liquid by degassing

摘要

The current generally accepted method for measuring the air content in a beverage liquid (usually carbonated) is by a non-electronic chemical technique. This invention measures the oxygen component of a beverage gas using a polarographic probe, ultrasonic degassing, a special valving technique, and microprocessor based software. The measurement is made in the gaseous state in a two chamber (measurement and foam) system. The device is controlled by an electronic console that is built around a microprocessor which sequences and times the valves, receives data from the oxygen probe and its accompanying temperature compensation circuit, and displays the data. The sensitivity of the oxygen probe and the foaming nature of the beverage dictate the size of the chambers. The test generally must be done in several passes since all the measurable gas usually cannot be concentrated in the measure chamber in one pass. An alternative method would use several chambers and one pass. In addition, this device has an interface piercing head manifold that allows CO2 and oxygen to be tested in the same container and in one operation.