Chemical Focus
Boost in efficiency for chemical distribution company
Control panel continuously monitors the pH readings and records them along with the effluent discharge flow rate.
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or a company involved in chemical storage, manufacture and distribution, the relationship with the local water authority is understandably well established. It was required to provide regular pH and flow readings for its discharge of effluent, however this had become a very time consuming and inefficient exercise. The end of life equipment was in need of
replacement and improvement at the same time; a task that required expert knowledge of both design and installation.
As a company that takes its responsibilities to the environment very seriously, chemical distribution company Brenntag decided that a new system was required that would provide automatic pH readings, pH adjustments and flow readings – all of which could be logged and reported to the local water authority. Furthermore, possible improvements were
also identified with the batch control systems for producing sodium hypochlorite, sodium hydroxide and hydrochloric acid. These systems also needed to be replaced with a design that improved efficiency and productivity. The entire project was awarded to Bürkert Fluid Control Systems. Originally, the effluent plant on site had to be visited
twice a day by an engineer to manually measure the pH as well as the tank levels. Once these readings had been established, the engineer had to determine how much hydrochloric acid or sodium hydroxide (caustic soda) to add to the tanks to balance the pH readings. This was a very time consuming exercise and far from being efficient. In addition, the local water authority was also
looking to improve the monitoring of discharge levels, which would require further support from the onsite engineer if the original equipment was maintained. Having made the initial site visit to establish the
scope of the project and established the design criteria, Bürkert designed a complete system that included pH sensors and level sensors in the tanks as well as on/ off valves for the chemical dosing equipment and flow sensors on the discharge pipe work. This was all controlled by a bespoke, custom-built panel that included a PLC and an HMI. The control system was specifically designed for Brenntag and the software specially written to meet the client’s specifications. Once the designs had been finalised, the installation
Fig. 1. The control system was specifically designed for Brenntag and the software specially written to meet the client’s specifications.
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process could begin. Working closely with the site maintenance team, Bürkert was able to install the new equipment without disrupting the production process and also ensuring that all the necessary records for the local water authority were maintained. This did entail some out-of-hours working, but the end result was an updated and improved control system, which incorporated the latest design and components to ensure long service life.
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