Electrical Capacitance Tomography Simulation for Palm Oil Clarifier Applications

Abstract

Electrical capacitance tomography (ECT) is a low-cost and non-invasive technique for imaging multiphase flows. However, its application in palm oil clarification is limited by rectangular tank geometry, internal heating structures, and temperature-dependent permittivity variations. This study develops a multiphysics simulation framework in COMSOL Multiphysics® (v6.2) to evaluate ECT performance in a 20 m × 10 m clarifier equipped with four vertical heating rods and twelve external electrodes. Coupled laminar flow, transient heat transfer, and electrostatics simulations capture buoyancy-driven circulation, where the heating rods generate vigorous central mixing and peripheral low-velocity zones. Mesh independence analysis confirms that the fine mesh accurately resolves thermal and flow gradients with stable convergence. Electric potential simulations at 1, 5, and 10 V indicate that 5 V effectively balances field penetration and stability, while central electrodes yield more symmetric field coverage. These findings offer practical guidelines for electrode placement and excitation strategy, supporting the implementation of ECT as a real-time monitoring tool in palm oil processing.