CHEMICALS: Are Slow Cycle Times Eating Your Profits?

Accelerating Batch Reactor Cycle Times

 

Although not a financial services company, Evonik Industries fully appreciates the time value of money. That's especially true in terms of how the company manages the cycle time of its batch processes. A long cycle time often corresponds with erratic control. Evonik sees an opportunity for improvement through leveraging Control Station's LOOP-PRO PID tuning technologies to improve control and to strengthen bottom-line financial performance.  Evonik Jayhawk Fine Chemicals located in Galena, Kansas has successfully applied LOOP-PRO to a variety of batch processes. Where other technologies were unable to effectively model the dynamics of batch processes, LOOP-PRO - equipped with patent-pending Non-Steady State (NSS) Modeling technology - has produced quick and consistent results. With improved control and shorter cycle times, Evonik is able to improve productivity.

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CEMENT: Do Process Disturbances Upset Your Profits?

Improving Stability and Profitability

 

As a member company of a worldwide group leader in cement production, Essroc Italcementi Group understands that process disturbances have a direct and negative impact on profitability. Disturbances oftentimes result in inconsistent production quality and reduced throughput. What's more, disturbances can cause staff to operate control systems in manual mode rather than automatic. That places additional strain on a plant's resources and reduces its overall efficiency.  Essroc has successfully applied Control Station's award-winning LOOP-PRO software technologies to tackle the issue of process disturbances. At the company's plant in Logansport, Indiana, Essroc has put LOOP-PRO to the test on processes ranging from Kiln Feed Rate to Roll Press Bin Weight. In each instance, the technology proved an easy solution for improving control and mitigating the impact of disturbances. For Essroc, that's an easy decision and a profitable solution.

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CEMENT: Feed Your Way to Consistent Product Quality!

Improving Mill Scale Feeder Performance

 

 

Typically Mill Feeders aren't the first thing that come to mind when looking for performance improvements at a cement mill, especially at one with annual capacity of four million tons. But it was one area where engineers at a leading cement manufacturer looked when digging deep for productivity enhancements. The Feeders are located at the start of the mill's production process - usually a good place to start.  The mill was already running well. Even so, engineers realized that it could operate better. They understood that every improvement would help the company to maintain its leadership position in the highly competitive Basic Materials market. They made it their responsibility to uncover even "little" improvements that would improve the mill's bottom-line performance.

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OIL & GAS: Is Process Drift Fueling Inefficiency at Your Plant?

Improving Stability and Profitability

 

In the highly competitive market for alternative fuels, Glacial Lakes Energy LLC understands that inefficient processes can have a negative effect on plant profitability. Drifting processes hinder quality and reduce throughput. Additionally, the inability to control production within tolerances often demands greater energy consumption. Such inefficiencies put a manufacturer at a distinct disadvantage, especially when the competition includes "Big Oil".  Glacial Lakes successfully applied Control Station's award-winning and patent-pending LOOP-PRO software to address process drift and other control related issues. At the cooperative's plant in Watertown, South Dakota, Glacial Lakes put LOOP-PRO to the test on processes ranging from Beer Feed and Slurry to Mash Train Cooler and Rectifier Temperature. In each instance, the technology proved the right solution for improving control. That type of efficiency is helping Glacial Lakes to fuel growth and profit. 

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OIL & GAS: Are Your Tunings Refined?

Lowering Energy Costs by Controlling Steam Fluctuations

 

A leading petrochemical company faced a dilemma with power generation at one of their refineries. Oscillation in a critical steam flow loop persisted in spite of relentless efforts to stabilize it. The loop was vital to one of the refinery's distillation columns and its inefficiency was resulting in significant energy loss. Although refinery staff used multiple software tools to assist with diagnosis and optimization, the loop's oscillatory behavior prevented those tools from producing an accurate model of the process and thwarted tuning. Although experience made them skeptical of loop tuning software, refinery staff agreed to trial Control Station's LOOP-PRO Product Suite. Equipped with a patent-pending capability for modeling non-steady state process data, LOOP-PRO quickly produced an accurate process model and optimal tuning parameters. Where other tools fell down, LOOP-PRO stood alone.

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POWER & UTILITIES: To Master the Kilowatt Master...

Optimizing Control for More Profitable Operation

 

Professionals in the process control world understand that "less" can often mean more. That is especially true when referring to reduced cycling within a given production process. Reducing oscillations and otherwise tightening constraints around the control objective can present a significant challenge. It also presents an opportunity to dramatically improve a plant's profitability.  Control Station's LOOP-PRO technologies have made a significant impact on the University of Connecticut's (UConn's) 25 MW cogeneration power plant. Commissioned in 2006, the plant is legally constrained to generate sufficient power - and not a KW more - for the university's exclusive use. With the introduction of LOOP-PRO, loops that had been highly oscillatory were easily analyzed and their performance immediately improved. For the plant's staff, less oscillation has resulted in a more reliable work environment and the plant's best performance ratings to-date.

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POWER & UTILITIES: A Stable Desuperheater is Super Profitable!

Improving Set Point Tracking and Process Profitability

 

Tightening control around Set Point will improve the performance and profitability of most every production process. This is especially true of desuperheater processes that are used by power companies to reduce variability in the temperature of steam that is sent to a plant's turbines. Oscillations in the process can result in damage to the turbines, cause leaks, and affect heat rate. To address their challenge, this company sought a software solution that could handle the dynamics of a desuperheater. They found LOOP-PRO with its ability to accurately model transitional and oscillatory process data.

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FOOD & BEVERAGE: Wild is a Good Thing...At the Zoo!

Automating Control and Reducing the Cost of Manual Intervention

 

The best time to visit the local zoo is early in the morning around feeding time. That's when the animals are out and about, and it's when they showcase their wild side. Although fun to experience while on vacation, this type of wild behavior is anything but acceptable in a manufacturing facility. Wild is unstable and unsafe. It's unprofitable.  When a leading producer of syrup and sweeteners encountered persistent and wild behavior in a key production process, the company fully understood what was at stake. The dynamics required regular intervention by engineering staff and accelerated wear and tear on costly instrumentation. The financial impact wasn't limited to the process as frequent shut-downs hindered the plant's overall output.

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CEMENT: Feed Your Way to Consistent Product Quality!

Improving Mill Scale Feeder Performance

 

Typically Mill Feeders aren't the first thing that come to mind when looking for performance improvements at a cement mill, especially at one with annual capacity of four million tons. But it was one area where engineers at a leading cement manufacturer looked when digging deep for productivity enhancements. The Feeders are located at the start of the mill's production process - usually a good place to start.  The mill was already running well. Even so, engineers realized that it could operate better. They understood that every improvement would help the company to maintain its leadership position in the highly competitive Basic Materials market. They made it their responsibility to uncover even "little" improvements that would improve the mill's bottom-line performance.

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SPECIALTY POLYMERS: Are Your Advanced Controls Full of Hot Air?

Excessive System Downtime

 

In the highly competitive world of process manufacturing even the cost of steam can be an important financial consideration. Although only a source of low-density energy, waste steam is virtually free as it's collected from other industrial processes across the production environment. Compared to the typical cost of steam production, waste steam comes at a fraction of the cost of producing intermediate steam and can prove a valuable contributor to profitable plant operations. Some advanced process control strategies applied in industry look to maximize the use of waste steam. But when process upsets occur persistently a plant's uptime is put at risk. Even the most advanced control strategy can be derailed and cost considerations quickly fall by the wayside.

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