How to prevent the leakage of hazardous liquid fertilizers in agriculture
The AGROshtruman Group has addressed the task of leak monitoring for an agricultural enterprise concerning the storage of an aggressive mixture. A system has been created using ultrasonic level meters, Galileosky trackers, and temperature sensors. The determination of liquid volume, leak detection, and notification of the dispatch service are carried out through developed Easy Logic algorithms. The project participated in the professional award for engineering IoT solutions with a focus on telematics, the Galileosky Contest 2023.
Background
A large agricultural enterprise pays significant attention to ecological and environmental protection issues. When the decision was made to construct storage facilities for urea-ammonium mixtures (UAM), the question of monitoring potential leaks into the environment arose. Moreover, it was crucial to respond promptly, as this type of fertilizer can cause significant harm in high concentrations, leading to soil and groundwater contamination. The problem was exacerbated by the large volume of each storage facility (720,000 liters) and the aggressive nature of the mixture, making traditional monitoring methods impossible.
Project tasks
- Ensure leak monitoring in urea-ammonium mixture storage facilities.
- Mitigate the impact of external temperatures on liquid volume changes.
Solution
The decision was made to use Galileosky 7x trackers as the base controller alongside ultrasonic level meters ULM-53N-06 with IP67 protection class. After testing, significant daily measurement fluctuations were identified due to environmental temperature changes. To address this, temperature sensors were added inside and outside the storage facilities, and a correction algorithm was developed for the monitoring system.
During field tests, daily measurement fluctuations persisted. Analysis led to a decision to compensate for environmental fluctuations by introducing corrections directly at the trackers. The Easy Logic algorithm was created to compensate for level meter fluctuations, detect leaks, and send alerts to trackers at control points and mobile phones of all interested parties while filtering false alarms related to UAM sampling.
The dispatch service and security post were equipped with Galileosky 7x trackers along with detectors designed to signal UAM leaks in storage.
Result
After having implemented Easy Logic algorithms into the control system, measurement fluctuations hasreduced to 200-300 liters, which is acceptable given the 720,000-liter capacity. As a result of this project, the agricultural enterprise now has a leak alert system that accounts for external temperature effects on liquid volume. Additionally, it can monitor incoming and outgoing UAM volumes considering external temperature impacts on medium density.
