Page 186 - CW E-Magazine (7-11-2023)

Special Report Special Report

Why there is no way around the digitalisation of the are overtaxed in view of the abundance case and thus the motivation to invest in data previously stranded in fi eld devices
of optimisation goals and infl uencing digitalisation. Even within companies, can be used for optimisation applica-
process industry variables: the key to holistic optimisa- there are gaps in data: a now classic tions – for example in cloud applica-
example is the information technology tions: for example, to detect anomalies
tion also therefore lies in digital tools.
ore chemical production, but and towards a circu- ARMIN SCHEUERMANN gap between plant planning and the ope- or to reduce maintenance costs, energy
net zero emissions – this will lar economy in which Chemical engineer and AI and ML require consistent data rating phase: in digitisation projects, and raw material consumption. The
Mnot work without a sophisti- products at the end freelance trade journalist The industry expects great benefi ts data often has to be painstakingly re- modular automation approach promises
cated circular economy. For this to of their life cycle and support in decision-making from constructed that was already available fl exibility: the Module Type Package
become reality, data must fl ow seam- become raw materials decisions can be made to achieve the new tools based on machine learning digitally in the planning phase, but was (MTP) is used to describe plant modules
lessly in parallel to material fl ows. for new chemicals. Net Zero goal. (ML) and artifi cial intelligence (AI). not passed on in a digitally readable in a standardised way – this massively
Process automation plays an important But for this to hap- These come into their own wherever format due to different responsibilities. reduces the integration effort when
role in this – but it must be thought of pen, the digital twin must grow up and In addition, there is another level of large amounts of data are available – In a future circular economy, informa- assembling modular plant components.
in a larger and holistic way against no longer revolve around the factory complexity: the transformation of the and this is where the crux lies: although tion about a product must also be passed MTP is expected to save up to 70% of
this background. alone: The entire supply chain must energy system is leading to more and chemical companies are already pro- on throughout its life cycle – here, among the engineering time alone. And another
become part of the virtual image. more processes being switched from ducing more data today than ever other things, the use of blockchain acronym is important in this context:
When twins enter puberty, growing fossil fuels to electricity from renew- before, the data stock is often incon- solutions could ensure continuous infor- OPA-S. With the Open Process Automa-
pains are pre-programmed. The digital Circular economy needs transparent able sources – the electrifi cation of sistent and often lacks context – for mation fl ows in the value chain. The tion Standard, a standardised and manu-
twin is no exception. For a little more data the chemical industry is already in full example, about the relationships in examples show: Those responsible for facturer-independent architecture for the
than a decade, automation and digita- In a circular economy, stakeholders swing. But electricity from wind and material cycles. digitalisation must focus on the entire automation of process plants is currently
lisation experts have been expecting across company boundaries are interes- solar energy is not continuously avail- value chain. being created. Above all, the interoper-
great benefi ts from the representation of ted in which feedstocks are available able. Where up to now plants have been The problem is well known, and the ability between devices and systems
real plants in the digital world: scenarios where and in what quality. Disruptions planned for continuous operation on the industry has long been working on solu- The role of process automation is from different manufacturers is to be
and options can be simulated with it for in the supply chain must be taken into basis of energy sources and raw materi- tions: In the DEXPI initiative founded changing promoted in this way. This will enable
process optimisation, prospective plant account as well as their consequences als available at all times, in future ope- in 2011 by BASF, Bayer and Evonik, In this context, the role of process plant operators to scale and expand their
operators use it for training purposes, for production and the ability to deliver. rators will gain economic advantages for example, a neutral data format was automators is also changing: on the systems more easily and to better access
and maintenance personnel supplement If this data is transparent and available by fl exibly aligning their processes to defi ned with which process information one hand, they create the conditions data from different sources.
the twin with analysis tools, in order in real time, production processes can the energy and raw material supply. can be exchanged between software for consistent data fl ows, on the other
to recognise maintenance needs at an also be planned, retooled, or adapted to In addition, there is the overarching products from different engineering hand, they contribute to managing the CONCLUSION
early stage and to optimally plan main- changed raw materials. Transparency is goal of linking energy management, tool manufacturers. The current Manu- data fl ows. The fact that the bounda- Without digitalisation, the chemical
tenance. also important so that emissions can be industry, transport, and buildings in the facturing X initiative goes one step fur- ries between IT (information techno- industry will not achieve its ambitious
accurately balanced for each product – sense of sector coupling and optimis- ther: the stakeholders of the Industrie logy) and OT (operational techno- goals with regard to net zero emissions
However, the same applies to the this not only prevents competition- ing them together. This dimension also 4.0 platform have thus set themselves logy) are blurring can already be and the circular economy. So far, there
digital twin in the chemical industry distorting greenwashing, but also makes makes the control of chemical produc- the goal of realising the Industrie 4.0 observed in numerous companies in the is often a lack of end-to-end data consis-
as to the digitisation of the industry as it easier to draw up sustainability balan- tion more complex. And here at the lat- data space and the transformation to a chemical industry – Industry 4.0 and tency and a holistic view. Process auto-
a whole: the process industry is still a ces – on the basis of which the right est it becomes clear that humans alone digitally networked industry across the the digital transformation are leading mation and the digital twin are central
long way from comprehensive use and board. Ultimately, this is how a data- to an increased convergence of IT and building blocks of digitalisation, where-
continuous data streams. However, based economy is to be created. OT and the integration and networking by their implementation must go far
these are necessary if the goal of a cli- of systems. In the chemical industry, beyond pure plant automation in order
mate-neutral chemical industry is to be But the same basic prerequisite however, this must always take place to map the entire value chain. Current
achieved. After all, by 2050 – the year applies to all these initiatives as to the against the background of high security process automation initiatives and tech-
declared by most chemical nations as circular economy: they require trans- requirements. nologies such as APL, NOA, MTP and
the year from which climate neutra- parency about processes and resources OPA-S offer promising approaches for
lity is to be achieved – the demand for used throughout the entire value chain; The current initiatives of the pro- implementation. However, they are only
chemicals will continue to rise. It will and they presuppose that data is also cess automation companies are also a small part of a holistic overall picture
not be possible to produce these quanti- shared across company boundaries part of the target picture of a digitalised of digital business processes. To take full
ties in a climate-neutral way using without this leading to a know-how chemistry: The Ethernet-based com- advantage of digitalisation, data must be
the traditional methods of petroleum drain at the companies. And often the munication technology APL (Advanced shared and used fl uently, consistently
or natural gas. The chemical industry benefi ts from digitalisation – for exam- Physical Layer) is intended to help the and in the right context. Only then will
must and will embark on a transfor- ple in production – arise in a completely digitalisation of the fi eld (sensors, actu- the digital twin really come of age.
mation path that leads away from the different place; without a holistic view, ators) achieve a breakthrough. With
linear economy (take-produce-dispose) process operators often lack the business the Namur Open Architecture (NOA), [Source: ACHEMA Trend Report]

186 Chemical Weekly November 7, 2023 Chemical Weekly November 7, 2023 187

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