Method and device to determine adsorption capacity for air entraining agents

Method of measuring the adsorption capacity of a fly ash sample comprising the steps of:

• a) adding an optically active reagent to the fly ash sample to produce an optically active sample;
• b) irradiating the optically active sample with light at a given wavelength;
• c) measuring an optical parameter of the irradiated sample;
• and
• d) determining said adsorption capacity based upon the measurement of the optical parameter.

A system for contacting fly ash from a fly ash supply source with a sacrificial agent from a sacrificial agent supply source, said system comprising:

• a) a fly ash flow control device operatively associated with said fly ash supply source;
• b) a sacrificial chemical agent flow control device operatively associated with said sacrificial agent supply source;
• c) an optical parameter measuring apparatus for measuring optical absorbance or fluorescent emission from a fly ash sample;
• d) a controller in communication with said optical parameter measuring apparatus and configured to receive input from said optical parameter measuring apparatus and determine adsorption capacity of said fly ash sample as a function of said input;
• e) a reaction zone for receiving said fly ash from said fly ash supply source and said sacrificial agent from said sacrificial agent supply source to treat said fly ash by contact of said sacrificial chemical agent with said fly ash;
• said controller configured to communicate with said fly ash flow control device and said sacrificial chemical agent flow control device to regulate flow of said fly ash and said sacrificial chemical agent to said reaction zone.