By application of different unique microphotometric sensors it is possible to detect and quantify disturbing particles (gels, unmolten resins, black spots, additive agglomerates, bubbles) within a flowing polymer melt in realtime during extrusion processing. These particles result in disadvantageous optical and mechanical properties of a final polymer product. Sensors can be adapted inline and online to different extruders at various positions. This seems to give technical and economic benefit to quality control and process optimisation in polymer processing.

A novel inline measuring system can be applied to polymer extrusion to achieve real time data on melt quality. Disturbing particles such as gels, unmolten resins, black spots or gas bubbles can be detected within flowing transparent polymer melts continuously without any lag of time directly during extrusion processing. In the first part of the present paper the state of the art related to particle monitoring in polymer melts in terms of 'process analytical technology (PAT)' will be presented briefly. After this the microphotometric measuring principle of the used inline process sensors from polymer melt particle (PMP) type will be described as well as various kinds of sensor adaptation to extruder machines. First experiments were realised on labscale extruders applying model particle systems to achieve detailed information on sensor performance characteristics. As a next step industrial polymer systems have been examined on pilot plant extruders. Finally results of these experiments contributed to the transfer of inline particle measurements to production line extruders.

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