Temperature transmitter/alarm in hazardous plant.

The main production facility for a British fertiliser company produces ammonium nitrate which is subject to the that country's Control of Major Accident Hazards (COMAH) regulations. This organisation ensures that businesses take all necessary measures to prevent major accidents involving dangerous substances such as this one and is enforced by the British Health & Safety Executive (HSE). A review of the emergency shutdown system under IEC61508 Functional Safety Standard revealed an urgent upgrade was needed of electrical, control and instrumentation to satisfy SIL2 System designation.

One of the main areas needing attention was the critical temperature monitoring of the reactor process and the requirement for hardwired alarms on selected safety loops because alarms were being generated by a combination of the diverse technology being used and the alarm software of the DCS. Modern safety standards do not allow combining control and shutdown systems in the same DCS.

Temperature-Reactor-Alarm-Repeater-email Open Application in Browser

The Moore Industries STZ and STA were chosen by the company and HSE to provide a hardwired shutdown system meeting the requirements for SIL2 system capability. The highly accurate STZ temperature transmitter features sensor backup and failover capability along with a flexible configuration to accept a range of existing thermocouples. The STA trip alarm, which is the company’s plant standard for SIL hardwired trip alarms, features highly reliable relays and configuration software that is easy-to-use yet robust.

The STZ accurately measures redundant temperature sensors and provides measurement and sensor diagnostics. Should the primary sensor fail, the backup/failover sensor's reading will seamlessly continue to be transmitted to the STA, Safety Trip Alarm. The STA relays trip when conditions exceed the temperature high and low limits for process safety, triggering an alarm and emergency shutdown. The STA also retransmits, or repeats, its temperature input back to the DCS, via its 4-20mA analog output.

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@MII_Worldwide #PAuto #Hazardous #Britain

Power management system for potash project.

Integration of power and process technologies into one of the world’s largest potash sites will increase electrical and substation visibility to support maximum uptime

ABB has been selected by BHP to deliver a power management system for the Jansen Potash Project in Canada, which will provide nutrient-rich potash fertilizer to enable more sustainable farming globally. The global resource company is progressing the US $5.7 billion Jansen Stage 1 Potash Project which is expected to achieve first production in late 2026.

ABB recently expanded its ABB Ability System 800xA Power Control Library software to in-clude more options to commun-icate with and control electrical devices throughout the power infrastructure for mining and mineral processing operations.

“ABB will not only ensure high levels of availability, process visibility and energy management but also demonstrate interoperability with a third-party control system on this important project,” said Max Luedtke, Global Head of Mining, Process Industries, ABB. “Our teams have been working in the Canadian potash mining sector for many decades and anticipate growing to even greater levels of domain understanding using new available data and alerts.”

The order includes ABB Ability™ System 800xA Power Control Library, a digital application to monitor industrial electrical systems. It will help BHP on its journey towards an automated, electrified and digitalized site where engineers can monitor and quickly troubleshoot disturbances. The system will cover the electrical substation equipment remotely, reducing the time taken for fault diagnosis and problem solving.

BHP’s 100 percent-owned Jansen Potash Project in Saskatchewan, Canada, is planned to be the largest potash producing mine in the world with an initial Jansen Stage 1 capacity of 4.5 million tons per annum (Mtpa) and potential for 16 to 17 Mtpa through future development. Potash, a potassium-rich salt used as a fertilizer to improve the quality and yield of agricultural crops, is an essential plant nutrient and is increasingly vital due to land scarcity and a growing world population. Around 70 Mtpa is currently produced globally with a current market reliance on Canada and emerging potash-producing regions.

ABB will ensure high levels of availability and efficiency of the energy supply to the process. BHP will also have access to data for the electrical substation and electrical assets and the bank of information available will build over time, allowing trends to be identified and actions taken.

@ABBgroupnews @abb_automation @bhp @admiralpr #PAuto  #Fertiliser

Ammonia technology alliance announced

Yokogawa Electric Corporation and KBR have signed up to a technology alliance for a fertiliser automation package (FAP) that will form part of the ammonia process technology solutions that KBR offers to its customers worldwide. Under the terms of this alliance, KBR will incorporate Yokogawa’s high value-added process control solutions in the FAP.

The fertiliser automation package will couple KBR’s ammonia process technology expertise with Yokogawa’s knowhow in process control systems to streamline work processes, standardise configurations, and simplify product interfaces. Yokogawa will supply the CENTUM integrated production control system, the ProSafe-RS safety instrumented system, and selected solution-based software. KBR will provide knowhow for the enhancement of the distributed control system (DCS) configuration and advanced applications used in operation management, performance monitoring, advanced process control, operator training, and dynamic simulation at fertiliser plants. It is expected that this package will improve plant reliability, reduce energy, increase capacity and improve operator effectiveness in fertiliser plants. Further consolidation of these functions will reduce lifecycle costs for plant control, automation and management systems. Furthermore, it is believed that this alliance will provide measureable economic benefits and lead to improved process performance at fertiliser plants across the globe.

“This alliance is consistent with KBR Technology’s growth strategy for its fertiliser business,” said John Derbyshire, President, KBR Technology. “We are very proud that Yokogawa has agreed to partner with KBR and we look forward to pursuing opportunities to apply the fertiliser package in both our new and numerous existing facilities worldwide.”

“Through our alliance with KBR, Yokogawa is demonstrating its long-term commitment to providing high quality and innovative technology to the ammonia and fertiliser industry,” said Satoru Kurosu, President, Yokogawa Electric International.