COMPUTERS & CONTROL


Middle East - is for 10 years with an option to extend for an additional four. QAFCO was founded in 1969 as


Qatar’s first large-scale venture to support diversification of the country’s economy whilst using its extensive natural gas reserves. After successfully implementing several expansion projects over the past three decades, QAFCO has evolved into a world-class fertiliser producer currently exporting ammonia and urea to more than 35 countries. The agreement covers six ammonia


plants, six urea plants and a melamine plant, and will involve the provision of Honeywell’s Distributed Control Systems, Emergency Shutdown Systems, and advanced application systems, such as Plant Information Management Systems, Laboratory Information Management Systems, Advanced Process Control, and Operator Training Simulators. Such long-term agreements are rare for


companies in the Middle East, making this latest contract a significant show of QAFCO’s faith in Honeywell’s industrial technology. The latest agreement increases the scope of the previous partnership and incorporates QAFCO’s future business needs, allowing QAFCO to utilise Honeywell’s local support capabilities with minimal technical and commercial execution risk. Honeywell says it is unique among


automation suppliers to the fertiliser industry in that it owns and operates an ammonia plant which provides QAFCO with a highly experienced automation partner.


Shampoo blending challenge Unilever has installed six Micro Motion ELITE and F-Series Coriolis flowmeters from Emerson Process Management to measure the mass flow of silicone feedstock used to manufacture shampoo products. The flowmeters’ highly accurate mass flow


measurements have improved product quality and reduced production time by 10-15 per cent at the Unilever facility in Gebze, Turkey - one of the world’s largest manufacturing plants for detergent, household and personal care products (Fig. 1).


Silicone mixers A new automatic silicone mixer line for shampoo products is part of a major investment programme by Unilever to meet increased demand for these products, including its Clear, Clear Cosmo, Dove and Elidor brands. The accuracy of the blending process on


the mixer line is critically important to the quality of the final products, but after the new mixing line was started, Unilever discovered that the original Coriolis flowmeters (which were not Emerson products) were unable to measure feedstock flow because of entrained gas in the silicone. To ensure production could continue with


the best product quality, Unilever decided to use a process of weigh scales and load cells to replace the unsuccessful flow measurement system. However, the resulting handling, transport and storage of over 7000 bbl/y of silicone increased production time, operating costs, and health and safety risks. Wastage increased because 1-2 per cent


of the silicone was left in the empty barrels. The equipment used to handle the barrels also increased plant energy usage and costs. Most importantly, the silicone measurement accuracy from the weigh scales was lower than expected and not sufficient to meet Unilever’s exacting quality standards. To eliminate the weighing process, Unilever


required a highly accurate measurement system based on mass flow. However, the presence of entrained gas


in the silicone feedstock used in the blending process made this a challenging application


Refinery power deal A


BB has won an order worth around US$11 million (€8.5 million), from EPC contractor JSC OGCC KazStroy Service for equipment that will facilitate power supply to a new hydrocarbons production complex being built as part of the Atyrau refinery in Kazakhstan.


As part of the order, ABB will supply substation automation equipment equipped with the latest generation of protection and control equipment, compliant with global IEC 61850 standards, to enable open communication,


monitoring and control.


“ABB’s power products will play an important role in supplying quality power, efficiently and reliably to this refinery,” said Giandomenico Rivetti, head of ABB’s high voltage products business, a part of the company’s power products division. “We are pleased to contribute to the country’s development of its industrial and power infrastructure,” he added.


The Atyrau Refinery is the largest refinery in Kazakhstan, with a capacity of 100,000 bbl/d of crude oil.


The plant was put into operation in 1945. The new hydrocarbons complex is in line with the country’s drive to bring in the latest technologies to modernise its infrastructure as part of its national development strategy, and is expected to make an important contribution to economic development in Kazakhstan. In the first phase the project will help in enhancing the quality of gasoline and diesel to Euro-4 standards. The second phase will focus on producing benzene and paraxylene to serve the petrochemical industry. ❒


ECE 12


- as demonstrated by the failure of the previous Coriolis meters. This challenge was compounded by the need to operate at a vacuum of -700 mbarg, to help separate bubbles from the silicone and improve the quality of mixing. Unilever evaluated several types of Coriolis


flowmeters supplied by various vendors, but the tests were unsuccessful under these extreme operating conditions. To address these issues, Emerson worked


with Unilever to investigate how Micro Motion ELITE Coriolis flowmeters, which were not included in the previous evaluation, would perform in the same conditions.


Low-frequency flow sensors Emerson’s Micro Motion ELITE Coriolis flowmeters feature low-frequency flow sensors that increase flow accuracy in the presence of two-phase flow. Multivariable digital (MVD) technology considerably improves the accuracy and stability of the Coriolis signals from the flow sensor. Enhanced signal processing, as well as sensor stability and design, ensures accurate measurements even under entrained gas conditions. Extensive onsite tests proved the performance of the Micro Motion ELITE Coriolis flowmeter. Installing the Micro Motion flowmeters


enabled Unilever to eliminate the process of weigh scales and load cells, reducing operating costs by 17 per cent. In addition, the reduced handling of the silicone feedstock has reduced health and safety issues and minimised the risk of accidental spills that could damage the environment. Based on the performance of Emerson’s


Coriolis flowmeters, Unilever installed an additional 12 Micro Motion ELITE and F-Series Coriolis flowmeters at Gebze when the capacity of the line was increased with two more mixers. ❒


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