Activity
  • Improving Production, Safety and Reliability in Midstream Lithium Production

    In our continuing series on the lithium supply chain from mining through battery production , we look at the midstream process where the battery cathode, anode and electrolytes are produced. We explored ways to improve production quality in a post, Improving Quality in Midstream Lithium Production . Today, we’ll look at production optimization, safety, and reliability. One of the challenges expressed by lithium battery…
  • Embedded Tools Drive Better Loop Tuning

    Properly tuned loops are critical to efficient, effective plant performance. However, constant changes in the plant environment mean that proportional-integral-derivative (PID) tuning cannot be a set-and-forget procedure. This poses a problem for many modern plants, as few have the deep bench of experienced personnel they used to. When loops need tuning, that often means other critical tasks must be put on hold. Today…
  • Improving Quality in Midstream Lithium Production

    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…
  • Role of Automation in Achieving Environmental Sustainability

    When we think about new large-scale decarbonisation projects in the UK, the focus will be on the coastal manufacturing and power generation clusters. Carbon capture utilisation and storage (CCUS) will be a critical element of decarbonisation, together with the transition to low carbon energy sources. Covering industries in Teesside and Humberside, the `East Coast Cluster’ is one of the first projects to be selected for…
  • Ready to Own your Virtualization Infrastructure?

    Over the last decade or so we’ve seen rack after rack of servers disappear as organizations have embraced virtualization technology. Not only does moving to a virtualized backbone reduce equipment footprint, but it also dramatically reduces energy usage to help plants improve their sustainability and efficiency. However, virtualized systems are often complex, making them difficult for operational technology (OT) teams…
  • Anytime, Anywhere Simulation and Engineering via the Cloud

    In the last five years, simulation technologies have been a critical tool used to drive digital transformation of automated processes. In simulated environments, organizations can provide comprehensive training for personnel and test new control configurations without the safety and production risks of accessing real-world equipment. Many organizations are also turning to collaborative engineering tools to leverage…
  • Solving Battery Production Growth Challenges

    Sung Heon Lee and I collaborated on the content in this post. Although Lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries have received a lot of media attention in the past couple of years, they were first commercialized by Sony in 1991. Since then, these batteries have enabled many technological advances. Without it, our lives would look very different today. Li-ion batteries have shaped how we communicate and work – through mobile devices…
  • Mining Process Optimization

    Wouldn’t it be great if a production process kept the same performance over time? Unfortunately, the dynamics change as the assets wear and production rates vary. Production performance consultants work to adjust the tuning and control strategies to address these changes and maintain optimum performance. One of Emerson’s Principle Consultants, Lou Heavner , was recently asked a series of questions about process optimization…
  • Process Alarm and Event Data in Non-Traditional Cloud-Based Applications

    Note from Jim Cahill : Our team at Emerson Impact Partner, Spartan Controls , recently worked with a major oil & gas client to implement this use case of bring DeltaV Alarms & Events data to the Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud using Emerson’s Plantweb Optics platform —a holistic data management platform unifying Operational Technology (OT) data into actionable information. Background The data available in OT including…
  • Improve Speed to Market with Closed-Loop Process Control using Spectral PAT

    We have witnessed an incredible change the last few years in how life sciences manufacturers deliver treatments . Today’s focus is on fast results, and that means products patients rely on cannot sit on shelves for weeks or months waiting on quality validation. In a recent article in Pharmaceutical Processing World , Emerson’s Bob Lenich and Bruce Greenwald explored a strategy plants are using to digitally transform…
  • Take Better Control of Security with Integrated Patch Management

    These days it seems as if we are hearing about new cybersecurity threats to industrial operations nearly every month. Whether it is a ransomware attack, an outage due to malware, or an attack via a new, unanticipated vector, the risks associated with a cyberattack can be immense. As I’ve written about in the past, there are steps you can take to better secure your control systems to prevent intrusion. One key step is…
  • MTP Unlocks Faster Integration for Smoother Capital Projects

    Because automation is typically on the critical path of any capital project, delays in integration can have significant impacts on project timelines and costs. One of the most common areas where integrating equipment can delay project completion and startup is with intelligent devices (IDs). In a recent article in Chemical Processing , Emerson’s Juan Carlos Bravo addressed this issue and explained how Module Type Package…
  • Defense-in-depth Approach Helps Prevent Unauthorized Changes in Safety Logic

    One of the main concerns from users of process safety systems is how to effectively protect the SIS against unauthorized changes of the safety logic. The traditional protection approach is based on a key switch on the safety PLC; before somebody can alter the safety logic, the key switch must be placed in the proper position. While the key switch approach enforces physical presence before the safety logic can be modified…
  • Episodio 33: Protección Cibernética en Sistemas Instrumentados de Seguridad

    En este episodio el experto en Sistemas de Control y Sistemas Instrumentados de Seguridad, Sergio Díaz, nos comenta sobre las consideraciones más importantes en términos de ciberseguridad en los sistemas de las plantas. Hablamos sobre arquitecturas recomendables, tendencias actuales y mejores prácticas para proteger los sistemas de control y sistemas instrumentados de seguridad de ataques cibernéticos. Escucha el…
  • Episodio 33: Protección Cibernética en Sistemas Instrumentados de Seguridad

    En este episodio el experto en Sistemas de Control y Sistemas Instrumentados de Seguridad, Sergio Díaz, nos comenta sobre las consideraciones más importantes en términos de ciberseguridad en los sistemas de las plantas. Hablamos sobre arquitecturas recomendables, tendencias actuales y mejores prácticas para proteger los sistemas de control y sistemas instrumentados de seguridad de ataques cibernéticos. Escucha el…
  • Increasing Life Sciences Manufacturing Capacity

    Supply chain disruptions have forced manufacturers and producers across the globe to reexamine how they source raw materials, inventory, produce, and disseminate what they produce. In an Australasian BioTechnology article, Facilities for a Strong Future , Emerson’s Michalle Adkins and Makarand Mujumdar share how pharmaceutical and biotech manufacturers can improve local capacity to meet the needs of the regions in which…
  • A Step Closer to Plug-and-Play Engineering with Module Type Package

    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…
  • Episodio 30: Innovación en el mantenimiento preventivo de Sistemas de Control DeltaV

    Llegamos al episodio 30 de nuestro podcast. En este episodio especial, conversamos con el experto en Servicios del Ciclo de Vida – Carlos Huertas sobre las innovaciones en optimización del ciclo de vida de las plantas y los servicios que Emerson ofrece en el mantenimiento de Sistemas de Control, específicamente DeltaV. Escucha el episodio completo y suscríbete a nuestro canal para conocer más sobre las diferentes innovaciones…
  • Episodio 30: Innovación en el mantenimiento preventivo de Sistemas de Control DeltaV

    Llegamos al episodio 30 de nuestro podcast. En este episodio especial, conversamos con el experto en Servicios del Ciclo de Vida – Carlos Huertas sobre las innovaciones en optimización del ciclo de vida de las plantas y los servicios que Emerson ofrece en el mantenimiento de Sistemas de Control, específicamente DeltaV. Escucha el episodio completo y suscríbete a nuestro canal para conocer más sobre las diferentes innovaciones…
  • Integrated Control and Safety is More Valuable than Ever

    There can be little doubt that COVID-19 has significantly changed the way we all work, and a key example of that change is a massive increase in remote connectivity across industries. In a recent Control Design article examining how COVID has altered the manufacturing landscape, Emerson’s Sergio Diaz shared how the need for increased security has contributed to a rise in demand for integrated control and safety systems…
  • Driving Sustainable Operations with Advanced Process Controls

    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…
  • Flare Control Strategies for Regulatory Compliance

    Emerson’s Dustin Beebe presented EPA Compliance for Flare Control at the 2021 4C Health, Safety & Environmental conference . Here is his presentation abstract: Environmental compliance for flare operations has been updated with changes to 40 CFR §63.670/1. The primary goal of the control algorithms on flare steam and supplemental gas is to maintain destruction efficiency of 98% by keeping the combustion zone net heating…
  • Flare Event Predictive Analytics

    Emerson’s Richard Xu presented, Early Prediction of Flare – Big Data at the 2021 4C Health, Safety & Environmental conference . Here is the presentation abstract: A Data Analytics System able to predict 79% of the flare events. We present the successful application of a hierarchically distributed monitoring approach for flare event prediction in a refinery with a flare gas recovery system installed. We use various data…
  • Avoiding Unplanned Downtime in Life Sciences Industry

    For manufacturers in the Life Sciences industry, production challenges often occur in these four areas—production readiness, equipment reliability, personnel effectiveness and facility/line efficiency. In this post, I’ll focus on equipment reliability, and specifically, unplanned downtime. Maintenance Scheduling Click to enlarge Equipment reliability spans several areas—asset performance, line and unit performance…
  • Fast Tracking Adaptable Manufacturing in Life Sciences

    To inoculate people worldwide as soon as vaccines are proven requires the pharmaceutical industry to ramp up quickly to unprecedented volumes of supply. And technology transfer—moving the knowledge about and the ability to produce a vaccine from development to manufacturing—is a primary determinant of how fast it happens. In a presentation at the ACHEMA Pulse virtual conference this year, Emerson’s Alan Johnston shared…