4 CHEMICAL PROCESSORS

IMPROVE OPERATIONS WITH

WIRELESS INSTRUMENTATION
Seeing your plant in a whole new way
As a chemical industry professional, you understand the importance of TAB LE O F CO NT ENT S
instrumentation. It is your view into the process, helping you make smart decisions Your industry colleagues are
about your operation and keep your people, community and the environment safe. using constant, real-time data to
Having the right instruments in the correct places provides critical information. improve their operations. Learn
more about their experiences.
Without these eyes into the process, understanding what’s happening in the overall
operation is impossible.
1 INCREASING PRODUCTIVITY
AkzoNobel® improves storage tank heating
control and gas vent monitoring
This e-book shares the stories of four chemical-industry peers who implemented

2
wireless instrumentation solutions and achieved gains in productivity, energy SAVING ENERGY
efficiency, reliability and safety. Many of these companies started by incorporating Measuring steam flow—a critical first step
to reducing energy costs
wireless into one area or on one piece of equipment. Later, they expanded their

3
networks by installing devices in more areas of the plant. AVOIDING DOWNTIME
INEOS® uses continuous, online filter
Read on to find out how wireless technology offered these chemical processors a monitoring to avoid conveyor downtime
practical, economical path to greater process insight and improved operations.
4 ENSURING SAFETY
FH Tank Storage avoids hazardous operator
tasks with automated level monitoring

5

APPLYING INSIGHTS
Know more. Run longer.
1 INCREASING
PRODUCTIVITY
AkzoNobel, a leading global paint, coatings and
specialty chemicals company, depended on
operators to control steam flow and read gauges
manually at one plant to ensure environmental
regulation compliance and product quality.

Infrastructure and I/O constraints left little

alternative to these manual solutions.
AkzoNobel had to look beyond traditional wired
methods to capture and report critical data.

Adding wireless instrumentation gave operators

new insights into the process by providing the
needed and critical data continuously. This
eliminated tedious older methods, freeing up
operators to perform more beneficial tasks.
AkzoNobel improves temperature
control and gas vent monitoring
AkzoNobel used to keep its operators was not cost effective due to inadequate ChemiCals

akzoNobel improves storage tank heating control and

RE AD TH E
gas vent monitoring using smart Wireless technology

running around the catwalks on one of its cable infrastructure and limited ResUlTs

• Ensured final product met customer requirements

• Lowered operating costs by significantly reducing steam
WH O LE S TO RY
tank farms. With 40 tanks holding fatty I/O availability.
consumption
• Improved operator efficiency by eliminating need for
manual readings

Find out how wireless

• Saved approximately €180,000 related to cabling and
DCS changes
• Reduced cost of implementing future measurement

nitriles and amines, they had to keep an

points

“We were particularly impressed by

technology improved
aPPliCaTiON
Storage tank heating control, gas venting pipe monitoring the number and range of existing
CUsTOmeR implementations of Smart Wireless
around the world. Emerson’s

Solving the problem called for a lot of new

AkzoNobel – Ghlin (Mons), Belgium

eye on the temperature of the contents,

ChalleNGe experience was far in front of other
Existing manual measurement and control methods were vendors, and this experience gave us

productivity for AkzoNobel.

unsatisfactory for maintaining the temperature of fatty nitriles and great confidence with our own
amines in the 40 tanks where they were stored before shipment to
customers. Too much steam was sometimes used to heat the application.”
materials, and a number of customers complained that delivered
product was too hot. Nicolas Delfosse

instrumentation: temperature instruments

Process Engineer Surface Chemistry
In addition, corporate guidelines and new environmental legislation

holding each tank at the right point by

AkzoNobel
required monitoring and controlling all gas emissions. Existing
procedures for detecting potential problems required an operator to
make regular trips into the field to take ‘snap-shot’ readings from
pressure gauges on the tank farm’s venting conduits. This was
time-consuming and failed to provide continuous and immediate
information.
Additional thermal measurements were required from within same

for the tank contents, along with pressure

the venting conduits to help prevent potential fires arising from high

controlling steam heaters. Sometimes it DOWNLOAD THE

temperatures. An important issue was the short timeframe available
to install new devices to obtain these additional measurements.
All three applications would benefit from automated measurement or
control technology, but a lack of cable infrastructure, shortage of

CASE STUDY
available I/O, and tight budget constraints made traditional wired
solutions impractical.

got too hot, wasting steam and causing and temperature instruments for the vent For more information:
www.EmersonProcess.com/QBR

customer complaints. conduits. Fortunately, all the necessary

instrumentation was built on the IEC 62591
If that wasn’t enough to keep them busy, WirelessHART® communication standard KEEP E X PLO R I N G
new environmental regulations designed and could be added without any new
Learn more about wireless technology.
to control gas emissions meant they also wiring infrastructure.
Tour a virtual plant, consult an expert, access
had to perform regular rounds to read a wireless planning tool and more.
pressure gauges installed on the venting The wireless devices are entirely self-
conduits. This was time consuming contained and communicate with a
and did not provide readings with the gateway that sends data directly to a
necessary frequency, so it could only be distributed control system (DCS) using
viewed as a temporary solution. Modbus.® No additional I/O points
were needed. The DCS now controls
When requirements for new thermal heating steam flow, while pressure and
readings of the vent conduits were temperature instruments monitor the
added, it was clear a more comprehensive vent conduit continuously, and plant
solution was needed to solve all three operators have time to address more
problems simultaneously. Unfortunately, challenging tasks aimed at improving
adding traditional wired instrumentation plant efficiency.
2 SAVING ENERGY
A major silicone manufacturer in the Northeast
United States uses steam in many parts of its
plant, but consumption was increasing without
corresponding production improvements.
Where was it all going?

Existing flow instrumentation was not providing

reliable information and was a maintenance
headache. Many of the devices were also
deployed in ineffective locations.

Adding improved flow meters using wireless

communication provided the precision
data necessary to get steam consumption
under control.
Measuring steam flow—a critical first
step to reducing energy costs
Like many multi-unit manufacturing flow meters needed to be added in SPECIALTY CHEMICALS

Silicone Manufacturer Improves Energy Costs

ROSEMOUNT 3051SF

RE AD TH E
with Wireless Flowmeters

facilities, this major silicone producer locations where there was no existing RESULTS

• Improves energy cost management

• Reduced operation and maintenance costs

WH O L E S TO RY
generated steam from a central boiler plant wired infrastructure, dealing with wiring
• Increased the safety of plant personnel

Get the details about how

APPLICATION The Rosemount 3051SF
365 °F (185 °C) saturated steam flow measurement at -20 °F (-29 °C)
ambient temperature Wireless Flowmeters allowed
the customer to better account

and distributed it to the areas needing it. installation costs was a major concern.
CUSTOMER for steam usage within the
A large silicone manufacturer in the North Eastern US
plant.

wireless technology increased

CHALLENGE
This silicone manufacturer had challenges trying to keep their process units
accountable for the steam usage within the plant. The company needed to
better understand their steam usage to know if there were leaks or other

Trying to keep energy costs in line required

waste in their system.
The silicone manufacturer needed to make six flow measurements on
steam distribution lines that were located throughout their facility.

energy efficiency for this

Unreliable insertion vortex and turbine meters were not providing reliable
steam flow measurement and constantly required maintenance. These
meters would frequently fail and needed to be replaced. The
measurement points are located outside in a cold environment, requiring

The company solved the problem by

the manufacturer to consider the use of heat tracing or other measures to

figuring out where it was all going, hunting

safeguard the measurement instrument from freezing.
Not having reliable steam flow measurement constrained their ability to

silicone manufacturer.
effectively manage their energy costs by process unit. Furthermore, the
unreliable measurement instruments increased maintenance problems
that required frequent replacement of flowmeters at high installation
costs. Replacing these flowmeters required maintenance personnel to
climb scaffolding to reach the installations in icy and dangerous locations.

for parts of the process where consumption using flow meters equipped with integral
SOLUTION
The silicone manufacturer purchased four 3051SFC Compact Orifice
Wireless Flowmeters and two 3051SFA Annubar Wireless Flowmeters. The
wireless technology enabled them to install the flowmeters without the
need for wiring. They utilized new top mounting installation
recommendations for DP Flowmeters in steam service. By direct mounting Figure 1. Rosemount 3051SF Wireless Flowmeters
the transmitter above the pipe, the installation eliminated impulse lines

wireless transmitters using the IEC DOWNLOAD THE

and utilized the heat of the process to safeguard the installation from

could be reduced in order to control

freezing. This eliminated the need for costly heat tracing.

For more information:

www.rosemount.com

© 2010 Rosemount Inc. All rights reserved

CASE STUDY
overall energy costs. Unfortunately, the 62591 WirelessHART communication
flow meters deployed around the facility to standard. Four of the units installed were
measure steam flow were old, inaccurate Rosemount 3051SFC Compact Orifice KEEP E X PLO R I N G
and needed frequent maintenance. Some flow meters and the other two were
Learn more about improving energy efficiency.
were located outside and needed heat Rosemount 3051SFA Annubar designs.
Read case studies and more to uncover
tracing during winter months. Since each flow meter is entirely self- opportunities at your plant.
contained, each was installed precisely
Without accurate data, the company where needed, without concern for
had no mechanism to determine how cabling or adding I/O points to the DCS.
much each unit was using, and if there
were maintenance failures causing leaks. Once installed, the plant was able to
After studying the distribution system, understand steam usage, tracking down
the plant concluded that adding six flow and eliminating waste and maintenance
meters at strategic points around the gaps which resulted in substantial
network would provide the data needed ongoing savings. Avoiding new wiring by
to determine an accurate diagnosis using wireless flow meters reduced the
of the problems. Since some of these installation cost by around $40,000.
3 AVOIDING
DOWNTIME
INEOS Köln GmbH is a global plastics
manufacturer, producing a variety of resins and
forms. In its Cologne, Germany, plant, it moves
polyethylene pellets using pneumatic conveyors.

Maintaining product purity requires filtering

the conveying air, but the filters are subject to
clogging. Manual filter monitoring by operators
could not guarantee that blockages would be
noticed before they affected equipment efficiency.

Working in an area where radio communication

was challenging, the plant needed some
convincing that wireless would be reliable.
When the new smart wireless transmitters
were installed and quickly formed a network to
send data back to the control system, they were
instantly reassured.
INEOS uses continuous, online
filter monitoring to avoid
conveyor downtime
Within its Cologne, Germany, plant, INEOS the cost was prohibitive. Wireless
SMART WIRELESS APPLICATIONS

Emerson’s Smart Wireless Technology Enables

RE AD TH E
Online Filter Monitoring to Avoid Downtime at

moves polyethylene pellets from storage instrumentation was suggested as a

INEOS Köln GmbH
BENEFITS
•Wireless transmitters provide cost-effective measurements
where wired devices would have been to difficult to install
WH O LE S TO RY
to packaging using pneumatic conveyors. possibility, but the congested environment
•Wireless differential pressure transmitters remove need
for manual checks

Find out how INEOS has

•Filters blockages identified earlier ensuring quality of
end product
•Scheduled cleaning work minimizes cost and disruption

While air pressures are not high, there are with large metallic surfaces and moving
CHALLENGE “We are currently testing Smart

achieved greater reliability

INEOS Köln GmbH located in Cologne, Germany, “blows” polyethylene
pellets through transportation tubes using compressed air. The incoming
Wireless at eight filters in our
air is filtered to prevent any pollution of final product. The filters logistic area. The filters are very
become blocked over time and lose their efficiency, which in turn hard to reach and the high cost of
affects the quality of the end product. Liquid columns (U-tube)
installed across the filter indicating the differential pressure show installing cabling prevented us from
installing the online condition

huge volumes blown through the pipes equipment was expected to make it
when filters are becoming blocked, but identifying this early was

in its filter monitoring with

depended on the operator making his rounds at the moment the
blockage was becoming noticeable.
monitoring points we wanted.”
Frank Mehlkopf
INEOS wanted to automate the process using online differential
Maintenance Engineer, INEOS Köln GmbH
pressure meters with predetermined set points indicating when the
filter is becoming blocked. However, the filters are very hard to reach
and subsequently the high cost of installing cabling to connect the
devices was prohibitive. Also, installing wired transmitters could have

with the product. Since many airborne impossible to get the necessary reliability.
meant lengthy installation times, something that was not possible

wireless solutions.
with INEOS’ production schedule.

SOLUTION
Line-of-sight wireless solutions could not provide the reliability of
connection or the robustness INEOS required. The transmitters are
positioned in a very dense working environment with many metal
obstructions that can cause interference. There is also a large amount
of moving equipment that could cause temporary loss of signal for

substances are considered contaminants

line-of-sight wireless solutions.

For more information:

DOWNLOAD THE
INEOS installed wireless differential
www.EmersonProcess.com/SmartWireless

in the conveying air, each air inlet has a CASE STUDY

large filter to capture dirt, soot, pollen and pressure transmitters and a wireless
similar undesirable materials. gateway. Even in this difficult
environment, all the transmitters were KEEP E X PLO R I N G
Filters invariably get clogged over time, able to send and receive data reliably, at Learn more about process monitoring.
and INEOS uses u-tube manometers distances up to 150 meters.
to show when the accumulation of
collected materials is beginning to cause a Since the filters are now all monitored
blockage. Unfortunately, the manometers continuously, operators can clean them
have to be manually read by operators on as needed before they begin to lose
rounds, so there can be some time before efficiency. They can also organize their
a problem gets noticed, in the worst case maintenance schedules to perform work
causing a conveyor shutdown before when a given unit is not being heavily
clogging is detected. used, minimizing cost and potential
production disruptions.
The company wanted to install more
sophisticated instrumentation, but
without existing wiring infrastructure,
4 ENSURING SAFETY
FH Tank Storage in Kalmar, Sweden, operates
a large fuel and petrochemical storage tank
farm, with products constantly moving in and
out of the facility. Inventory and spill control
was largely a manual process, with operators
checking levels visually.

Safety regulations and potential for personal

injury, especially in the winter, called for a
more automated system, but the size of the
facility made traditional wiring a hugely
expensive proposition.

Finding a wireless solution using a minimum

number of level instrument types provided the
means to solve the problems with minimal cost
and operational disruption.
FH Tank Storage avoids hazardous
operator tasks with automated
level monitoring
In addition to the sophisticated versatile enough to minimize the number CHEMICAL

FH Tank Storage Meets Latest Safety Requirements Using

EMERSON SMART WIRELESS

RE AD TH E
instrumentation and automation systems of different device types they needed to
Smart Wireless Differential Pressure and Radar Transmitters

RESULTS
• Met latest environmental and safety requirements
• Estimated installation savings of €50,000 - €100,000 WH O LE S TO RY
available today, many facilities also rely on maintain. Using wireless instrumentation,
• Reduced delivery uncertainty
• Increased personnel safety

Find out how FH Tank

APPLICATION “As well as improving the
Overspill protection of tanks at petrochemical storage terminal monitoring of tank levels the new
system has provided a fully

human operators. Until recently, FH Tank FH Tank Storage was able to outfit all the
CUSTOMER approved overspill protection
FH Tank Storage AB - Kalmar, South-East Sweden solution.”
Lars Ferm
CHALLENGE Site Manager

Storage is a safer plant

To meet the latest environmental and safety requirements, overspill FH Tank Storage
protection was required on existing tanks storing solvents, petrol, and a
range of chemicals. Previously there was no instrumentation in place. Level
measurements were performed manually, with operators climbing on

Storage’s terminal in Kalmar, Sweden, tanks in the facility using just two different
tanks roofs. There was a risk of potential injury, especially during winter
when temperatures fall to -20 °C (-4 °F). FH Tank Storage wanted to
automate these measurements and remove any potential human error

because of wireless
when recording, calculating, and listing tank levels on a white board. Some
tanks are over 200m from the main control room and new cable
infrastructure was required. This would have involved extensive
groundwork at a cost of between €50,000 - €100,000. While these works
were being completed, fuel tanker traffic around the site would have been

performed all its level monitoring and spill instrument types: roughly half the tanks
seriously disrupted. The storage tanks varied in size and a number of the
larger tanks have floating roofs. Minimizing the number of types of level
devices was preferred to enable easier maintenance and reduced inventory.

instrumentation.
SOLUTION
Emerson’s PlantWeb digital architecture, with a plant wide Smart Wireless
network based on the IEC 62591 (WirelessHART®) standard, DeltaV™
automation system, and Rosemount® level and pressure transmitters has Wireless 3051S differential pressure transmitters

control by sending operators to the tops are equipped with wireless differential
been installed and provides both the automated tank storage level automate 14 of the solvents, petrol, and chemical
monitoring and overspill protection. tanks. Both level technologies eliminate manual
Fourteen Rosemount 3051S wireless differential pressure transmitters entry errors and improve safety.
have been deployed on smaller size tanks and 15 Rosemount 5402 non
contacting radars on larger tanks. Smart Wireless THUM™ Adapters are
connected to each of the radars to transmit the data via the wireless
network. The Rosemount 5402 devices are able to cope with very large
tanks and floating roofs. A Rosemount 848T wireless temperature

DOWNLOAD THE
transmitter with four inputs connecting four temperature sensors has also

of tanks to measure level manually. pressure transmitters, and the balance

been installed to provide continuous temperature information for four
tanks.
For more information:
www.rosemount.com

CASE STUDY
© 2011 Rosemount Inc. All rights reserved

with non-contacting radar gauges.

This was hard on workers, especially during
the winter, and evolving safety regulations These instruments all interface with a
KEEP E X PLO R I N G
made it an unacceptable method for process automation system via a wireless
Learn more about overfill prevention.
protecting against overfilling and spill gateway to provide inventory control and
accidents. With little or no instrumentation overspill protection. Five new tanks, built
installed across the expansive facility, after adoption of this system, had these
adding new devices to its numerous tanks instruments designed in from the start.
posed an enormous cost and threatened Sending an operator to the roof of a tank
operational disruptions. to measure level is no longer required,
and instrument supervision is minimized
The company wanted to upgrade, adding because each device performs its own
modern instrumentation and automation, diagnostic functions.
and realized the only practical and cost-
effective approach would be wireless. It
also wanted to choose level instruments
5 APPLYING INSIGHTS
In the four case studies in this book, you’ve
learned how companies like yours added
measurement points and implemented wireless
technologies to resolve equipment challenges
and gain new insights, leading to improved
productivity, energy efficiency, reliability
and safety.

What could more, real-time data insights

do for your operation?
Know more. Run longer.
The plants profiled in this book used wireless technology to improve upon their CO NNEC T WITH EMER SO N
existing measurement solutions. By investing in the benefits of wireless, their
Linkedin.com/company/Emerson-
improvements were more cost effective than traditional wired solutions, and Automation-Solutions
caused minimal disruption to existing operations.
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Wireless technology allows plants to implement devices one at a time, or in one
unit at a time, with each delivering immediate benefits and a quick return on
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investment. As more solutions are added, information from each can be combined
to yield additional insights and further improve operations.
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To learn more about the range of reliable Rosemount instruments that support
an effective production strategy to limit variability and preserve quality, Google.com/+RosemountMeasurement
explore the links below:

• Get a Rosemount technology overview

• Download recent white papers

• Locate an instrumentation expert near you

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00803-0200-6114, Rev AA, February 2017