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Topic: Optimization

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Seven commandments for successful integration
Other Voices contributor Scott Little provides a clear example on the importance of good communication and why a concisely written description of operation is a good idea.

Advanced Control an Oasis for Drought-Stricken Ethanol Plant
Advanced Process Controls Help Hankinson Renewable Energy Shift Production to a More Profitable Mix

Freeport-McMoRan Transforms Equipment Reliability
Centralized Approach Helps Cut Maintenance Costs and Prevent Equipment Downtime for Global Mining Concern

For Chevron, Blend Optimization Is a Lifecycle Journey
Incremental Performance Improvements Can Deliver Outsized Returns

Petronas Virtualizes Natural Gas Production
Upgrade Reduced Hardware Costs and Footprint, Cut Power Consumption and Improved System Availability

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White Papers: In Depth Research

Field Device Integration (FDI): Making Device Management Easy
Author: Larry O'Brien, Fieldbus Foundation
Posted: 04/09/2013

End users have struggled with different forms of device integration technology over the years, but the FDI effort aims to rationalize the worlds' leading technologies for managing information from intelligent field devices.  With FDI, managing the flood of information from today's intelligent devices will get much easier.  FDI will allow users to focus on how to best use their applications instead of worrying about how everything will connect together.  FDI also means reduced development costs for device and system suppliers.

The installed base of fieldbus devices and indeed all intelligent field devices continues to grow significantly. As any experienced user will tell you, however, intelligent devices can pose an information management problem, especially when you have devices on different networks with different underlying technologies for displaying and managing information.

Historically, the two primary technologies used for presenting and managing information from intelligent devices are FDT and EDDL. Both technologies are complimentary in some ways and overlap in other ways. Many in the industry felt that rationalizing the two technologies to form a single solution would be a good idea, particularly since all the major suppliers support both FDT and EDDL technology. This was how the Field Device Integration (FDI) project was born.

FDI activities continued, but were somewhat sporadic, until 2011, when all of the five major technology foundations, including FDT Group, HART Communication Foundation, OPC Foundation, Profibus International and Fieldbus Foundation signed an agreement to form FDI Cooperation LLC, a company dedicated to seeing through the development of the FDI specification its associated development  tools, and product testing and registration.
The real goal of FDI is to make life easier for the end user. FDI promises a common set of development tools and a single path to managing the flood of information from intelligent devices across different networks to the applications and ultimately the people that need it. It offers standardization, transparency, and, ultimately, reduced cost. The Fieldbus Foundation is committed to the long-term success of FDI.

Considerations for Wastewater Reuse in the Petroleum and Petrochemical Industry
Author: Siemens
Posted: 12/22/2012

Water conservation is becoming a major focal point, both in the public and private sector whether it is due to cost of water, availability of water, or environmental concerns.

In the private sector, the petroleum and petrochemical industries are one of the largest users of water. The uses of water can vary considerably in these facilities based on the manufacturing processes. But in general, most of these facilities use a large amount of water for a variety of purposes including steam generation, cooling water, and utility water. In addition, a significant amount of this water is returned to the environment in various water and wastewater streams which are treated to meet environmental discharge standards. In those areas where renewable water resources are limited, and/or in regions where there are significant environmental concerns/costs associated with wastewater discharges, reuse of wastewater may be a valid option to conserve valuable water resources and to reduce overall water treatment costs.

While there is a significant amount of interest in the reuse of water from petroleum and petrochemical facilities, the number of facilities at the present time actually reusing wastewater from centralized wastewater treatment plants is somewhat limited. Reuse of wastewater from specific process areas, or reuse of wastewater from sources outside the petroleum or petrochemical facility, are more common. As the costs and availability of fresh water becomes more prohibitive, more and more petroleum and petrochemical plant are looking to internal reuse of wastewater as a solution to their water needs.

Getting the Most Out of Your Wastewater Biosolids
Author: Siemens
Posted: 12/20/2012

Wastewater treatment facilities are generally installed for one purpose - to clean up dirty water so that clean water can be discharged back into the environment. Nearly all municipal treatment plants rely on biological processes for wastewater treatment whereby bacteria and other microorganisms, frequently called 'bugs,' do this job of cleaning up the water. In these treatment processes, new bugs are constantly growing and old bugs must be continually removed to keep the process healthy and working properly. Once these bugs are removed from the treatment process, they become a byproduct of treatment that the industry calls 'biosolids.' Dealing with these biosolids can be costly and in some cases, amounts to more than 50% of the cost of operating the wastewater treatment facility.

So while treatment of biosolids is not the primary objective of most wastewater plants, doing it effectively and efficiently can be very important to controlling costs. Many factors influence the cost of treating and disposing of biosolids; however, there are a few that are common to most treatment facilities. Find out which ones.

Yokogawa User Group: Integrated Solutions for a Sustainable Future
Author: Control Global Staff
Posted: 12/10/2012
Halloween in New Orleans this year saw more than the usual array of costumed revelers on Bourbon Street. Indeed, hundreds of process automation professionals descended on the Crescent City to exchange ideas and best practices at Yokogawa's 2012 User Group Conference and Exhibition. The Control editorial team was on hand and developed this exclusive report of presentation highlights--on topics ranging from safety system risk management to the latest in data acquisition technology.

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