Competitive edge in secondary and auxiliary processes in chemical industries
Continuously improving reliability in auxiliary plants
Do you want to increase the availability and supply reliability of your plants? Then learn about our automation, resource and energy management integrated solutions and services for air separation and auxiliary plants. And discover how you can achieve greater transparency for your goods flow and process and plant reliability throughout the entire lifecycle with our supply chain and safety solutions.
Keeping an eye on efficiency
Changing plant operations, complex processes, a high total cost of ownership, and growing competitive pressure in the market are just some of the many reasons for needing to continually maximize the efficiency of chemical plants. Our industry solutions reduce your costs while improving performance and increasing availability. Take industrial gases, for example: Whether for process air treatment, air separation and storage, or for the efficient operation of refrigerating plants, the supply of industrial gas plays a key role in every chemical plant. These process steps can be systematically improved – in all areas and throughout all phases of a plant’s lifecycle. Perfectly and reliably coordinated process sequences ensure productivity at its best and the reliable operation of your chemical plant – from power generation to building security. Whether for process simulation, material flow optimization, or Operator Training Systems (OTSs) – as a long-standing partner of the chemical industry, we’ll be happy to help you map your processes as part of our Engineering & Consulting services.
Long-term safety and IT security concepts for greater security
Working with chemical substances requires the highest safety standards. health, Safety & Environment (HSE) regulations must be strictly adhered to. The goal of our safety solutions is to guarantee process and plant safety throughout the entire lifecycle – for example, through ex protection, functional safety, defense-in-depth concepts and risk management. Our focus is directed at plant security through access protection, technical measures related to hard-ware and software, and to the protection of plant-wide communication and networks. Availability analyses and redundancy concepts ensure plant reliability. We achieve high-level system integrity through service concepts that, among other things, enable transparent data management. All of these factors represent opportunities for increased production through suit-able safety measures.
Air separation
In the chemical industry, large quantities of oxygen and nitrogen are required for processing input and intermediate products. They are obtained in automated air separation plants. The most important operational goals are to minimize production costs by reducing energy consumption and to ensure product quality. Energy supply and compression play a key role in the separation process. Compressors suck in the filtered air and compress it to the necessary pressure before it is cooled and separated into its main components. Compressor units then compress oxygen and nitrogen so that they can be fed into a pipeline network for further use. Our many years of experience in this field make us a strong partner. We offer innovative solutions for numerous air compression applications – precisely tailored to your specific needs.
Condition monitoring: process control and analytical devices
Energy and maintenance costs make up a large part of production costs. Precise monitoring is needed for cost optimization and control. This requires continuous and reliable process gas analyses. Comprehensive diagnostics functions are also essential prerequisites for condition monitoring and asset performance management. For monitoring and analyzing mechanical assets such as pumps, valves and heat exchangers, we use package units and also mobile apps as an integral part of the process control system.
Process analysis with cryogenic air separation
Cryogenic air separation (aka high-pressure Linde-Frankl process) is a powerful and economical process used for the production of oxygen and nitrogen. Monitoring and optimizing processes requires process analyzers, which deliver essential data from various plant areas on energy consumption and the control of product quality. These are crucial objectives for lowering production costs.
Process analyzers
Process analyzers are essential components in air separation plants. They control and optimize process sequences and ensure product quality. OXYMAT 64 was specially developed for detecting low levels of oxygen in pure gases.
Process instrumentation and analytics
The portfolio fully meets the high demands of the chemical industry (SIL 2/3). Thanks to comprehensive diagnostic functions, you always know when processes are running according to plan, or when corrective action needs to be taken.
It also lets you lay the foundation for condition monitoring and asset performance management. For example, you can check the functioning of the emergency shutdown valves during operation using the partial stroke test.
Monitoring and control devices
When it comes to motors, smooth operation and maximum availability are a top priority. Our SIMOCODE pro motor management and control devices as well as our compact SIRIUS monitoring relays offer a high degree of monitoring reliability – from the motor feeders to the automation level.
Energy-efficient switchgear technology
Electric drives are the biggest industry-related energy consumers, accounting for approximately 70% of the overall electric power demand. Leverage the full savings potential of your electric drive systems and increase your energy efficiency over the long term. Our industrial switchgear technology is here to support you.
Energy management
We can support you in optimizing your energy utilization and consumption, and can advise you on how to maximize the efficiency of your operations. At the plant level, SIMATIC powerrate for the SIMATIC PCS 7 process control system offers a convincing performance. The software records all of the plant’s energy-related consumption data, assigns the data to the consumer, visualizes it clearly, and saves it in the archive. In this way, it helps you to reliably detect hidden savings potential for targeted energy consumption optimization.
Package Units
Apart from the components directly related to the engineering process, many production plants have additional machines and aggregates that also need to be controlled. In many cases, these package units are complete subsystem models for specific production tasks. Some are equipped with plant components that are not part of the standard SIMATIC PCS 7 system. New function blocks make it easy to integrate auxiliary plants – for example, for air separation.
Compressors
In complex chemical plants, powerful compressor solutions are needed that are suitable for a wide range of process requirements – for example, when terephthalic acid (PTA), synthetic fibers, acetate, acrylic acid, PVC/VCM, or nitric acid is used. You can increase your plant’s efficiency with state-of-the-art technologies and tried-and-tested compressor units.
Steam turbines
Our steam turbines for power plants are applied either as a generator drive or as a mechanical drive for pumps and compressors. The modular design concept of all steam turbines ensures high flexibility and availability as well as reduced time-to-market
Packaging
In addition to the safe handling of a wide variety of solid and liquid substances, packaging is also a matter of productivity, meaning throughput and precision control – for example, when products are transferred from production to packaging machines. Control and drive components, weighing and batching technologies, also RFID, among others, play an important role. The integration of packaging machines into the overall application is especially important. Our solutions allow you to monitor your material transports at all times, to optimally utilize your capacities, and to improve your supply chain processes. By integrating your package unit into the higher-level control system, we also provide you with more flexibility. Take advantage of our know-how to optimize your logistics processes and increase your operating efficiency.
Filling and packaging liquid substances
When transferring liquid substances – particularly in the case of fine/specialty chemicals – the handling of hazardous substances is key. In addition to safety requirements, flexibility and maximum precision control are needed. Whether for filling small containers such as bottles and canisters or large containers such as barrels or casks, we can support you with packaging machine solutions that emphasize transparent, safe, and efficient processes.
Process instrumentation and analytics
Our field devices reliably deliver ultra-precise measurement data to ensure transparent processes, reproducible batches, and the flexibility required in the industry.
Frequency converters
A variable speed drive unit with frequency converters ensures precise and flexible processes, reduces plant component wear and tear, and saves energy. As cabinet units or installation equipment, Siemens frequency converters cover the power range from 0.12 kW to 120 MW and can be integrated into the automation system via PROFIBUS.
Gear units and couplings
Flender gear units and couplings round off our product and system portfolio for a variety of applications ranging from agitators to fans and water spiral pumps. They offer an ecological and technically advanced solution in combination with the ARPEX and N-EUPEX couplings, which have proven to be particularly suitable for conveying and pumping aggressive and hot media.
Motors (geared motors)
Whether standard industrial motors, motors with corrosion-proof and chemically resistant coatings, explosion-proof EEx motors, highly efficient energy-saving motors, NEMA motors for the North American market, or Loher CHEMSTAR motors with complete documentation and ATEX certificates – all of our motors and geared motors are manufactured in accordance with the highest quality standards and are certified in accordance with the most important standards and country-specific guidelines. They cover the complete power range from 0.12 kW to 100 MW.
Load feeders and motor starters
Whether for use in electrical cabinets or in the field with a high degree of protection: Our SIRIUS modular system for industrial control cabinets offers a broad spectrum of communication-capable motor starters and simple load feeders for starting motors.
Energy-efficient switchgear technology
Electric drives are industry‘s biggest energy consumers, accounting for approximately 70% of the overall electric energy demand. Our SIRIUS modular system for industrial switchgear technology offers a wide range of products enabling you to leverage the full savings potential of your electric drive systems – and increase your energy efficiency over the long term.
Solutions for continuous-flow machines
With the right drive concept and a customized solution, you can save valuable resources when planning and operating your continuous-flow machines – and benefit from the maximum availability and service life of your systems. We provide targeted support and advice in developing an optimal design and implementing future-proof concepts.
Steam generation in power plants
Another essential process step is the generation of steam. Energy-efficient solutions and accurate temperature measurements are required for heating the water. With steam generators, the pressure, temperature, and the amount of steam produced are configured to match the steam consumer – for example, a power plant turbine. As such, process instruments and analyzing systems play an important role. They reliably supply highly precise measurement data and thus ensure transparent processes. Reliable monitoring and control of all process parameters also creates the basis for maximum availability and reduced maintenance costs – critical factors for increasing productivity and efficiency.
Condition Monitoring
The reliable monitoring and control of all process parameters creates the basis for maximum availability and minimum maintenance costs – two key levers for boosting productivity and efficiency. Naturally, our solutions are suitable for use under harsh environmental conditions and feature comprehensive functions for asset management, diagnostics, and preventive maintenance.
Waste heat recovery
In the chemical industry, electricity and heat are process components. In certain processes such as chemical product drying, it is possible to integrate a gas or steam turbine into the process along with the electricity needed to power the facility. Alternatively, a Combined Heat and Power (CHP) scheme can stabilize the electricity supply and provide the steam needed for various process functions.
Process instrumentation and analytics
Our portfolio also comprises explosion-protected and safety-oriented process instruments with integrated fail-safe functions. We thus provide you with the answer to increasingly stringent safety regulations and legal provisions, meeting all of the requirements for maximum availability and explosion protection.
Process safety portfolio
The probability of a safety incident and its repercussions can be substantially reduced by applying appropriate protective measures like a Safety Instrumented System (SIS). Safety Integrated is an integrated safety system in which safety functions can be added to standard components of automation and drive systems. This includes a complete, end-to-end safety system comprising a controller, engineering with the “Safety Matrix” safety lifecycle tool, and safe process instruments. The ability to integrate the SIS into our SIMATIC PCS 7 process control system is unique. Safety sensors can be connected using the PROFIBUS PA fieldbus or the Foundation Fieldbus.
Regular function tests of the emergency shut-off valves can be performed using the Partial Stroke Test with the SIPART PS2 positioner. This can be used to test the movement of the valve by partially opening and closing it during live operation.
All of these actions are not only relevant from a safety perspective but also contribute substantially to the performance of the plant as a whole.
Available around the world: services for the chemical industry
From plant designs and concepts to retrofits, from the development of new processes to the optimization of existing ones – with a global network of experts and committed employees in more than 190 countries, we can support you anytime and anywhere around the world with process engineers, automation technicians, project managers, or together with IT and industrial partners over the entire lifecycle of your chemical plant.
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We’re happy to answer all your questions
Processes in the chemical industry must meet the most stringent requirements. With our extensive expertise, we help to ensure that the processes in your plants and auxiliary plants remain high in quality, reliable, and flexible, while ensuring that resources are used efficiently and costs are minimized.
