Just like many specialty chemical companies, Synthomer’s polymers and ingredients are feedstocks for many others. But what goes into their products, and more importantly, how can they do it more efficiently and scale up? As is often the case with chemical processes, the answer is Emerson's DeltaV Batch and DeltaV Live software implemented by Impact Partner R.E. Mason.
Based in London, Synthomer has 4,200 employees at 30 manufacturing sites and four innovation centers across Europe, U.S., Asia and the Middle East. It earned £2 billion in 2023 from three global divisions that encompass a range of adhesives, coatings and construction polymers, plus health, protection and performance materials.
More specifically, it operates five acrylic-dispersion reactors in one plant with a fifth in a second plant at its 60-acre facility in Roebuck, S. C. These reactors have a 16-hour average cycle time, manufacture more than 200 different products, and can produce 37,000 tons per year. One plant runs four reactors with capacities of 250, 2,000, 7,000 and 8,000 RX (prescriptive gallons), while a second plant runs a fifth reactor with 7,500 RX capacity.
Early upgrade wins the future
The DeltaV Distributed Control System that controls this fifth reactor includes 1,300 DeltaV ProfessionalPLUS Station software digital signal tags (DST), six operator stations, one application station, batch executive functions, four redundant controllers including one Emerson DeltaV MX Controller, one DeltaV SX Controller and two DeltaV SQ Controllers, six characterization I/O cards (CIOC), and a DeltaV S-series safety instrumented system (SIS).
“The question was where did we want to take our DeltaV system?” said Eric Schulz, engineering manager at Synthomer, during his “Innovating the Way we Make Polymers” session at Emerson Exchange 2025 in San Antonio, Texas. “In 2023, our DeltaV was supported by one person, who did batch and SIS troubleshooting, and other engineering and administrative tasks. R. E. Mason provided all batch configurations. Last year, thanks to some added training, we had four people doing batch troubleshooting, and two or three doing batch configuration. This year, with help from DeltaV Simulate software and R.E. Mason, a broader team is maintaining DeltaV at the plant, and the Roebuck facility is doing its own batch automation projects. There were also some look and feel challenges; we couldn't upgrade all at once, but we could chip away at what we needed.”
Schulz reported that Synthomer’s R7500 reactor needed DeltaV Batch and DeltaV Live to:
- Complete orders steadily and consistently despite high production volume,
- Assist overloaded operators and onboard new ones,
- Address quality concerns and achieve greater consistency, and
- Manage a product mix with fewer total products.
“We also had no mischarges on the R8000 reactor during 2018-22 because it was more automated, and this is where we wanted all the reactors to be,” added Schulz.
A mischarge is when the wrong material is added, the wrong grade is made, material is charged to the wrong destination, or the amount of material added is wrong. The raw materials that Synthomer typically charges with include acids, ammonia, cosmetics, monomers, styrene and water.
Implementation and improvements
Beyond reducing or eliminating batch mischarges, implementing DeltaV Batch and DeltaV Live software was also expected to let the R7500 reactor operate more consistently and require fewer unplanned cleanings. The software was also expected to improve cycle times by 30-60 minutes per batch by:
- Automating batch tasks that traditionally had to wait for an operator to perform them;
- Improving batch-to-batch consistency, which supports statistical quality control/statistical process control (SQC/SPC) improvements that allow for reduced testing of residual monomers; and,
- Further enabling batch-to-batch consistency that ensures more stable and smooth production, which results in less gritty batches that can be transferred and filtered more quickly.
“This modernization project gives Synthomer’s operators better tools for running their reactors and plants, as well as better user experiences and situational awareness,” said Harrison Hix, customer success manager at R.E. Mason. “We helped convert its charging systems to Emerson’s Process Management (PMO) Configuration Standard (PCSD) for DeltaV. It's a configuration standard developed by the Emerson PMO for use with their DeltaV PCSD by taking existing code and modernizing it.”
Kicking off in September 2023, the schedule for Synthomer’s upgrade project included three primary factory acceptance tests (FATs) and frequent additional testing along the way. The first FAT was completed in January 2024, and consisted of DeltaV Live graphics, interlocks and control modules developed with PCSD. The second FAT included equipment modules, and was completed in March 2024, while the third FAT included batch recipes and was completed in May 2024. This allowed commissioning and startup in June 2024.
“We standardized on PCSD after the R8000 upgrade in 2018, and used subsequent projects to drive conformance to it,” explained Schulz. “We didn't want to just convert graphics with one-for-one replacements, so we also worked on improving our Level 3 displays by decluttering them and following human centered design (HCD) principles, building high-performance Level 2 overviews, and improving the user experience (UX) on our interfaces with more operator training, situational awareness, and better operability and response time. We also realized we wanted more recipes, so R.E. Mason helped develop them. We could still review them during the FAT and understand what further training was needed to do more with our batches.”
Schulz reported that DeltaV Batch reduced process deviations and increased quality for Synthomer’s reactors. It also reduced manual charging, lessening waste associated with mischarges, and increasing operators’ bandwidth and capabilities. Meanwhile, DeltaV Live provided:
- HCD-based overviews that increase operational awareness and efficiency,
- Displays with quicker navigation,
- Alarm roll-ups that allow more efficient troubleshooting,
- Customizable interface themes that meet changing control from environments and operator preferences,
- Zoom functions for users with poorer vision,
- Ability to develop site standards using the initial upgrade project,
- Intuitive and easy-to-learn tools for younger operators,
- Easier engineering support thanks to standardized displays,
- No custom scripting required, and
- Streamlined graphics and the ability to collect operator feedback for desired changes.
“Saving 30 to 60 minutes per batch lets Synthomer run one or two extra batches per week, which means an extra $60,000 for each one.”
