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Clear liquid purity is measured using the APHA color scale and is essential for ensuring product safety and consistency and many various industries. Image Source: Flickr user Nathan Forget

Purity is an important factor imperative in the foods we eat, the medicines we take, and the water we drink. However, visual analysis of clear liquid color measurement is highly subjective, leaving a high margin of error in purity analysis. Color measurement using the APHA color index allows these various industries to maintain safety and consistency in their products.

Boatbuilders use polyurethane to protect and extend the life of their boats. Image Credit: Unsplash user Jon Flobrant

It takes a lot of work to refinish an old wooden boat and restore it to its former glory. Any holes must be patched and rotten wood replaced. The entire body of the boat must be sanded down, inch by inch, and the boards must be caulked to make it watertight. It is time-consuming, exacting labor, the results of which must be preserved using a protective substance designed to keep the wood from rotting all over again. This is where polyurethane comes in.

Polyurethane is widely used in woodworking for its protective properties. Considered essential by homeowners, craftsman, furniture makers, and contractors, polyurethane forms a protective, waterproof coating for wooden surfaces, enhancing the durability and lengthening the life of all forms of wooden objects. Typically, polyurethane is intended to be entirely clear to preserve the color of the natural wood or chosen stain. However, some oil-based polyurethanes can add a slight hue to the color of the wood they protect.1

Those who work with polyurethane depend on manufacturers for color consistency, whether they are protecting a carefully chosen stain or preserving the beauty of natural, unstained wood. As such, polyurethane must be transparent or deliver a predictable hue to allow woodworkers to realize their vision. Manufacturers who produce consistent, high-quality polyurethanes are much more appealing to customers than those who do not, as woodworkers know they can depend on these polyurethanes to bring out the best in their products both functionally and aesthetically. In order to develop and capitalize on the advantage provided by consistently colored coatings, manufacturers must employ end-to-end color quality assurance processes using modern spectrophotometric instruments.

Polyurethane coatings protect richly colored wood. Image Credit: Unsplash user Ryan Riggins

The human eye is an amazing tool, with the ability to distinguish millions of color variations. Amazingly, science has emulated the human eye’s perception of color difference and translated that information into colorimetric technology. Spectrophotometers quantify color difference in the same way our brain processes color through light absorption and reflection, and utilizes this data for a variety of scientific and industrial applications.

The human eye has amazing abilities to differentiate color and science has transferred this technology to precise and objective analysis through spectrophotometric instrumentation. Image Source: Flickr user Liz Foreman

Have you ever ventured up to that country north of the border? In Canada most of the food is the same as it is in the US, with Smarties being on exception. Americans associate that name with a sugary candy, whereas Canadians recognize it is as a candy coated chocolate, similar to M&M’s. M&Ms are available in Canada as well, so how are they able to successfully co-exist with such a similar product?

Visual appeal means more than just pleasing to the eye. Aside from flavor, consumer choice depends greatly on visual acceptance.1. While Smarties are similar in concept to M&M’s their paler, more pastel like colors, appeal to a different customer base.   
It isn’t just the color itself that matters, but its intensity plays a key role in attracting a certain set of customers. That’s why color consistency is integral for maintaining a loyal customer base.  Advanced color measurement tools is the simplest way to streamline this process while avoiding costly errors and wasted resources.

M&M’s are known for their distinct colors and brightness. Image Source: Flickr’ user frankieleon

Finally, Helen seems to have relaxed. She’s got her music on, her eyes are closed, and her breathing has slowed. Even the divots she dug in your arm during takeoff are returning to their normal color. She’ll be at it again for landing, of course, and you’re idly wondering how much a pair of falcon-handling gloves cost when the man next to you wrinkles his nose up, narrows his eyes and mouth and looks over at you to ask: “Do you smell smoke?” Then the lights go off.

Commercial airliners carry miles of labyrinthine wires hidden throughout the pressurized and depressurized areas of the aircraft, some far more accessible than others. The amperage load many of these wires carry is energetic enough to melt anything less than high-grade insulation. Given the drastic repercussions of an in flight electrical fire, aircraft manufacturers specify high-quality sheathing, made of heat-resistant, durable materials such as polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). However, the production of PTFE is not a simple process, and manufacturers must be certain they are using the appropriate instruments to guarantee quality control.

Miles of wiring power the avionics of this Sukhoi Superjet 100. Image Credit: Flickr User Dmitry Terekhov CC BY 2.0

Ever put diesel in your car by accident? It’s not an easy mistake, but people still figure out ways to do it—the car will cut out after a few miles, at which point the unlucky driver will need to hire a professional to drain their tank, lines, and injectors. But so long as the vehicle isn’t on a highway, there’s little risk of injury.

It’s a different story in aviation. Planes don’t get to pull over to the shoulder and pop the hood if there’s a problem, and pilots who put diesel fuel, Jet A, or even ordinary automotive gasoline (MoGas) in their tanks could quite literally fall out of the sky. This is, of course, why refineries follow ASTM standards1 that govern the coloration of aviation gasoline (AvGas).

But because the petrochemical industry has standardized the dyeing process, AvGas of any grade or shade must pass rigorous quality control before leaving the refinery. Your samples must be subjected to spectrometric testing to ensure the dyes have produced a solution within the color ranges identified by ASTM and upheld by the Federal Aviation Administration2. Since this process is so critical, it’s important to invest in the right equipment.

Color Quality Control at the Refinery

Due to the extra steps needed to ready it for high-performance aircraft piston engines, AvGas is already difficult and costly to produce3. Trouble in the quality control stage can cause you to lose your return on a particular batch entirely.

Spectrophotometric testing can help identify simple problems, such as the wrong dye color mixed with the wrong fuel batch. It can also hint at more complex issues—if the correct dye still results in the wrong color solution, you might need to search for problems at an earlier stage of production, whether impurities in the antioxidants used to improve stability, incorrect lead additive proportions, or inaccuracies in the distillation, alkylation, or isomerization phases of your process.

But problems can also arise from improper equipment, or from operator error, so quality control engineers must ensure that both their equipment and their processes are chosen correctly.

Since AvGas is a mostly transparent liquid, transmittance spectrophotometry is generally the most effective method of assessing its color. Engineers must choose spectrophotometers rated to correctly identify the color of transparent liquids, such as HunterLab’s UltraScan VIS Spectrophotometer or other machines capable of quantifying transmittance measurements in color space coordinates. Using standard illumination settings, such as D65 daylight, and standard sample containers, will ensure consistent readings batch-to-batch.

The Robinson R44 uses AvGas instead of Jet A. Image credit: Flickr user Aleksander Markin. Александр Мар. (CC by 2.0)

Cooking for a crowd is definitely my forte, but choosing a good wine to accompany my dishes has always been a challenge. Fine wine connoisseurs know the difference between cheap wine and quality vino, but for most individuals, it is hard to tell just by looking at a label or a price tag. Taste, aroma, and appearance are all indicators of quality wines, but many producers use a wine color additive or various chemicals to enhance the appearance and give a false perception of quality. Nearly all wine producers these days are turning to color enhancement to promote quality and even alter the taste perception of their wines. Color technology is a simple and effective tool for monitoring the integrity of wine and can reveal the hidden secrets of  using a wine color additive to improve quality and increase the price.

Wine color greatly affects the quality and taste perception of fine wines. Spectrophotometers offer a simple and effective way to ensure desired results in final color and quality. Image Source: Flickr user Kimery Davis