Activity

  • Building a Portfolio of Sustainability

    Jim Cahill
    I joined a breakout session at the 2022 ARC Industry Forum, Building a Portfolio for Sustainability , hosted by ARC Advisory Group’s Peter Reynolds . Included in the panel accompanying this session was AspenTech’s Paige Morse . Here is the description of this session: The energy transition and move toward a circular economy is causing investors, energy, and chemicals companies to re-align capital, priorities, and projects…

  • How High-Temperature Tolerant Flue Gas Analyzers Simplify Continuous Emissions Monitoring

    Jim Cahill
    In a Chemical Processing article , David and Katherine look at how new gas analyzer technologies optimize emissions monitoring in chemical plants and refineries. It is difficult to find a process industry application that doesn’t burn some kind of fuel to generate heat. And where there’s combustion, environmental regulators won’t be far behind because industrial-scale fired heaters, boilers, and other processes invariably…

  • Improving Quality in Midstream Lithium Production

    Jim Cahill
    In an earlier post, Solving Battery Production Growth Challenges , we touched on the upstream, midstream, and downstream production from lithium mining to lithium battery production. Today, we’ll focus on the midstream production process. Again, Sung Heon Lee and I collaborated on the content of this post. The midstream part of the lithium value chain involves manufacturing the Cathode, Anode, Electrolyte, and Separator…

  • Effective Radar Level Measurement in Reactor Applications

    Jim Cahill
    For chemical and specialty chemical manufacturers, reactors are used to perform many of the chemical reactions in the path to finished products. These reactors can be batch or continuously operated depending on the type of chemical reactions sought. In a World of Chemicals article, Improving Process Batch Performance in the Chemical Industry , Emerson’s Varshneya Sridharan shares considerations for effective reactor level…

  • Chemical Industry Solutions for Safety Performance Improvements

    Jim Cahill
    We often highlight how advancements in technology enable digital transformation initiatives to drive improvements in production, reliability and sustainability. But what about safety? In an AIChE recorded webinar, Digital Innovations for Improving Safety in Chemical Plants , Emerson’s Michael Machuca and Marty McDonough highlight was to drive safety improvements for this important industry. Michael and Marty discussed…

  • One Protocol to Simplify Growing Sensor Deployments

    Jim Cahill
    FDI combines the best features of EDDL and FDT packages. Historically, differing asset monitoring devices, even if mounted on the same installation, might have very different ways of sending their data or configuration methods. Such a situation leaves project teams in a bind—do they stick with only one type of sensor, potentially eliminating their ability to use devices that are a better fit, or do they support multiple…

  • Driving Repeatable Chemical Manufacturing Batch Operations

    Jim Cahill
    A key performance indicator (KPI) for many batch manufacturers is right the first time. Automation plays a large role in driving success in this KPI. In a recorded webinar, Achieving Repeatable Golden Batch Outcomes , Chemical Engineering magazine’s Scott Jenkins hosts Emerson’s Michael Machuca and Marty McDonough to discuss some of the automation solutions that can improve the Right First Time metric. They discuss…

  • A Step Closer to Plug-and-Play Engineering with Module Type Package

    Jim Cahill
    In the chemical industry, manufacturers often need to change operations or accommodate new products to meet customer demand. However, the extensive integration efforts required to connect manufacturing equipment and automation systems often complicate engineering, slowing projects and impeding speed to market. Emerson’s MTP-capable products like the DeltaV Distributed Control System seamlessly integrate to further reduce…

  • Emerson’s Solids Level Measurement Solutions Help Lime Plant Operate Safer and More Efficiently

    Jim Cahill
    Advanced automation technology from Emerson is helping to solve a range of solids level measurement challenges at a large lime processing plant in the US. The need to reduce costs and increase operational efficiency is driving greater adoption of automation technology. For producers of lime, limestone and clay products, automation is key to continuous production. However, due to the processes involved and the nature…

  • Remote Proof-Testing of Level Measurement Devices Supports Safer Tank Operations

    Jim Cahill
    Storage tanks containing hazardous materials require safety instrumented systems (SIS) to prevent overfills. Digital technology in the latest level measurement devices used in SIS enables them to be proof-tested remotely, which provides significant advantages. The consequences of a safety incident such as an overfill can be catastrophic at industrial facilities where tanks contain hazardous, flammable or explosive materials…

  • Driving Sustainable Operations with Advanced Process Controls

    Jim Cahill
    Today, at the Carbon Black World 2021 conference, Emerson’s Tiffany Tang presents with Tokai CB’s Roshan Ali, Mission Possible – Reaching Net-Zero Carbon Emissions with Advanced Process Control. Here is the abstract from their presentation: Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) has received increased attentions by the Carbon Black Industry over the last decade to conserve energy consumptions and reduce carbon…

  • Avoid Taking a Successful Reliability Program for Granted by Improving Its Use

    Jim Cahill
    Success must be supported so it can be sustained. As Chris Jensen and H.P. Slater discuss in an article in the July issue of Process Heating , this line of thinking is no less true in predictive maintenance (PdM) than in anything else. Some companies are impressed with the initial savings that PdM programs generate through improved production and lower maintenance costs, but New PdM programs typically identify many…

  • Analyzing Combustion – Looking for Leftover Oxygen

    Jim Cahill
    In an automation.com article, Emerson’s Jesse Sumstad and Neil Widmer explain how accurate measurement of excess oxygen in flue gas can be used to improve combustion control. These days, industrial facilities operating combustion processes face multiple concerns, including: Burner efficiency Fuel costs Emission restrictions Public perception of a company’s carbon footprint and overall environmental responsibility…

  • Giving More People Instant Access to Critical Tank Data via Mobile Devices

    Jim Cahill
    Mobile software solutions are now enabling a broader range of job functions to gain immediate, secure access to up-to-date tank data. Being able to instantly access up-to-date critical tank data is vital for many stakeholders in the tank storage and terminals industry. This includes operations and maintenance workers, finance departments, management and corporate level personnel, as well as suppliers, customers, traders…

  • ISAConnect Members-Only Peer Communities

    Jim Cahill
    The International Society of Automation (ISA) is growing nice online communities in their members-only ISAConnect section of the website . One of the active groups, Chemical and Petroleum Industries Division (ChemPID) , is led by Emerson’s David Lee . David is an Operator Performance Senior Consultant. ChemPID’s mission is: …to contribute to the professional involved in the processing of chemicals, petrochemicals, petroleum…

  • Solving Level Measurement Challenges in Tough Process Conditions in the Chemical Industry

    Jim Cahill
    According to OSHA, the chemical industry has one of the most stringent safety regulations. Regular inspections, servicing, and maintenance work are required due to the intense stress that is often placed on the equipment due to exposure to very aggressive substances and extremely high temperatures and pressures. Depending on the size and type of plants and operations concerned, maintenance often involves a complete shutdown…

  • Five Things You Can Do, Starting Today, to Improve Your Cybersecurity Defenses

    Jim Cahill
    Recent world events—from the expansion of remote access in response to COVID restrictions to high-profile industrial cyberattacks—have put a renewed focus on cybersecurity. While cybersecurity needs vary from organization to organization, there are common, critical steps every company can follow to improve their cybersecurity posture.   Alexandre Peixoto and Lee Neitzel explore five of these strategies in automation.com…

  • Deliver better control, reliability, and safety in today’s demanding steam operations with Rosemount 8800 MultiVariable Vortex Flow Meter

    Jim Cahill
    Vortex flow measurement is uniquely adaptive when it comes to handling difficult applications. By virtue of its science, utilizing the von Kármán effect, these instruments are accurate across a wide operating range and effective at withstanding high process pressures and temperatures. In this post, we’re highlighting the latest in our 8800 Flow Meter product portfolio – the MultiVariable Vortex Flow Meter. Designed with…

  • INVISTA Improves Uptime with State Based Control

    Jim Cahill
    Operators are the heart of any process. Experience, skill, and attentiveness give the best operators an intuitive feel for processes that helps ensure uptime, safety, repeatability, and quality—even in the most infrequent process situations. But with a major shortage of skilled personnel, plants find themselves needing to maintain exceptional performance and safety while simultaneously helping new operators gain experience…

  • Digital Transformation Impacting Chlor-Alkali Plants

    Jim Cahill
    Seems that “digital transformation” is the buzzword in industry today. Almost everyone is digitally transforming something – for good reason, it turns out! By adding sensors and automating data collection and analysis, modernizing business practices to use new technologies and providing easy access to insightful data to all levels of the organization, companies are finding ways to unlock value never seen before in the…

  • Improving Chemical Manufacturing Process Efficiencies

    Jim Cahill
    The good news for manufacturers in the chemical industry are that feedstock prices have been low, in part due to the global COVID pandemic. But with hydrocarbon and other feedstock prices climbing recently, the need to drive higher process efficiencies and cost savings throughout the chemical value chain grows in importance. Emerson’s Michael Machuca alerted me to a series of chemical industry webinars beginning later…

  • Understanding the Importance of Gas Detectors, Even When the Safety Standard Doesn’t Help

    Jim Cahill
    In an Industrial Compliance article, Emerson’s Nick Pinto stresses the importance of gas detection for a safety system. Anyone designing or working with safety systems for refineries and chemical plants must be fluent in the language of standards created by ISA, ANSI, IEC, UL, NFPA and other alphabet-soup regulatory organizations. When it comes to fire detection and suppression systems in the U.S., the National Fire…

  • Wireless Protocols Vie for Industrial Markets, but Which is Best for Your Application?

    Jim Cahill
    In a Flow Control article, Emerson’s Tom Bass looks at new wireless protocols, including 5G, and opines on the validity of each. Any company that has developed a new product for a specific market and purpose will eventually ask, “Where else can we sell this thing? What other industries have a similar use case where it could fit?” It’s a natural question since finding new markets means greater sales potential. Here…

  • How to Select the Right Sensors for Wastewater Monitoring

    Jim Cahill
    In a Hydrocarbon Engineering article, Emerson’s Andrew Smith looks at the sensors used to measure effluents in refinery wastewater. For those people responsible for compliance with EPA and other environmental regulations, it can seem like there are many hoops to jump through, but the right instrumentation makes compliance easier. Monitoring water quality is the primary concern of my article in the November issue of…

  • Applying the Full Reach of Digital Transformation

    Jim Cahill
    One of the things companies often struggle with when exploring digital transformation initially is where to begin efforts. Digital transformation is a forest, in the sense that it covers many, if not all areas in a manufacturing organization. But the forest is made up of individual trees, meaning it is composed of many applications, and choosing which ones to prioritize is where companies can get stuck. I discuss this…

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