Successful business owners and managers usually learn an important lesson early: data is necessary for effective decision making, but it cost money to collect it. Finding out what’s going on in your process so you can improve and optimize it requires sensors and instruments capable of measuring the variables of interest. New technologies and networking mechanisms connected with the IIoT have reduced the cost of gathering data, so better decisions can be made with less cost.
This is the heart of the argument that Mark Menezes makes in his article, Industrial Internet of Things in Energy Management, which is in the October 2018 issue of Flow Control. Let’s let Mark put it in his own words:
The Internet of Things (IoT) leverages low-cost, low-power microprocessors and radios with the internet to improve the usability, safety and energy efficiency of vehicles and common objects found in homes, stores and offices. The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) can provide the same benefits while meeting industrial expectations of security, reliability, and conformance to standards. This article reviews how industrial users apply IIoT concepts to improve plant energy efficiency.
The actions an oil refiner takes to optimize its processes are much different than a food processor, but the need for efficient energy use is universal. Every type of manufacturer wants to use less energy, and measuring how energy gets used is key to controlling it. Mark shows some examples of very common energy-related devices that can benefit from improved monitoring.
Steam traps serve two purposes. First, they ensure the steam used for process or space heating is free of condensate and noncondensable fluids. Second, they ensure that no live steam is returned to the condensate system. Steam traps are mechanical components, so they have no means to detect and signal a failure electronically. Some failure modes lead to ongoing wasted energy, reduced production or worse.
So how does the IIoT help with steam trap monitoring? It sounds like there is a technological gap which would have to be bridged, which is exactly where Emerson comes in.
While steam traps cannot monitor themselves, it is possible to add an acoustic device upstream of the steam trap to listen for sounds characteristic of a properly or improperly functioning steam trap. Identifying those requiring attention can help a maintenance department fix problems quickly, thereby reducing ongoing energy cost, improving process throughput and reducing the risk of freezing. Identifying a cold trap could even prevent a catastrophic piping system failure.
The kind of acoustic device Mark is talking about is the Rosemount 708 Wireless Acoustic Monitor which communicates on a WirelessHART network. The whole wireless element is critical to the discussion because it is one of the main areas where savings are realized.
Industrial users are familiar with the HART open protocol, which is used with more than 80 percent of smart wired transmitters today. While new or existing HART wired sensors can be integrated into an IIoT application, most new installations use the wireless version of HART — referred to as WirelessHART, HART 7 or IEC-62591. Key benefits of wireless include reduced cost and space, simpler and faster installation and no need for a process shutdown in many cases.
So, it’s the combination of new sensors and instruments capable of gathering new kinds of data at a lower cost using these new networking mechanisms that makes the difference for manufacturers. Read the whole article because there are other similar ideas to help users, and you will want to know them all.
You can find more information like this and meet with other people looking at the same kinds of situations in the Emerson Exchange365 community. It’s a place where you can communicate and exchange information with experts and peers in all sorts of industries around the world. Look for the WirelessHART and IIoT Groups and other specialty areas for suggestions and answers.