NEWS


COMMENT


POLYMERS & COATINGS Downtime is money Polyols from CO2 MARIA BURKE Lee Sullivan | COPA-DATA UK


Few things can damage the financial stability of a manufacturing facility more than unexpected downtime. On average, it is estimated that manufacturers experience 30% or more downtime during their scheduled production time, which can cost £17,000/minute in some industry sectors. Unplanned downtime may be beyond the control of a manufacturer


– caused by infrastructure failures, human error or even natural catastrophes. But these five steps should reduce the risks. Data for business decisions Collecting and archiving company-wide production data is hugely beneficial, but can be difficult to obtain. Today, 68% of manufacturers are investing in data analytics. The most intelligent automation software is built around usability, however, effective applications will also provide graphical visualisation of production data and generate customised statistical reports. To reap the benefits of big data, manufacturers must consume data in a clear and insightful way, eg by using them to establish where production bottlenecks are, analyse the requirements and justify the solution. Increasing automation According to the Annual Manufacturing Report 2017 by Hennik Research, two-thirds of UK manufacturers have made investments in automation in the past 12 months. However, once the investment has been confirmed, the installation of automation into production needs to run smoothly. Smart automation software, incorporating smart checklists, embedded standard operating procedures and tailored alarm controls, ensures users can learn new installations quickly, and can even reduce training needs. Automated machinery can also dramatically speed production times and reduce the potential for human error. Real-time monitoring Investments in automation have greatly increased its the deployment on the factory floor. Modern automation software such as COPA-DATA’s zenon allow manufacturers to incorporate real- time production data from any relevant source across the production facility, regardless of the age of the hardware or how distributed the infrastructure. By gaining a full overview of the value stream map, manufacturers can make fast business decisions based on real-time events. Predictive analytics and preventive maintenance Predictive analytics technology can review production data to assess whether the machinery being monitored is on an obvious or immediate downward slide to failure. Pattern recognition can also decode the relationships between certain types of events and machine failures. For example, if a component fails after being used for a specific product run, the pattern recognition can identify the stresses unique that could have caused the failure.


Instant insight clouds Cloud storage has been hailed as the obvious solution for the ever-growing expanse of production data generated from automated manufacturing. However, for manufacturers with more than one production facility, the cloud can do much more. Providing a meaningful evaluation of the state of a manufacturing facility is only possible when its production figures are available in a complete manner. Using a software application with cloud integration allows facilities managers to track these data on a global scale, regardless of their location or the geographical distribution of their facilities.


A British company is pioneering a way to enable manufacturers to convert CO2


make polyols and allow into polyols, a building


block of polyurethanes used to make furniture and bedding, insulation foams and coatings for flooring. A byproduct of many industrial


processes, CO2 is an attractive


feedstock for polymers that scientists have investigated for over 40 years. But while readily available, it is unreactive and needs to be activated using a catalyst. Econic Technologies in Alderley


Edge, Manchester, says its catalyst technology provides one of the few commercially viable routes to chemically modify CO2


. It has


a patent-protected family of homogeneous organometallic catalysts with two active metal, often magnesium or zinc, sites. These catalysts enable co-polymerisation of CO2


with


epoxides to form polycarbonate polyols, either long-chain polycarbonates or short-chain polycarbonate polyols that can be processed into valuable polyurethane products. The market for polyols is valued at £15bn, and growing, according to Econic. The CO2


could replace


expensive oil-based feedstocks to


manufacturers to use their CO2 emissions as a raw material. In this way, the catalysts could save a typical production unit with an annual output of 50,000t more than £36m/year. Significantly, the catalysts are


‘tunable’. The researchers can dial up or down the amount of CO2


to


be incorporated into the polymer depending on performance requirements. The company claims the catalysts enable the maximum theoretical uptake of CO2


. It all


happens at low pressures using equipment that is retrofitted easily and economically to existing production plants, it adds. The process is reported to work both with purified CO2


and with CO2


supplied from carbon capture and storage sites, eliminating the need for purification stages. The process would also lower emissions as, for every 1t of carbon dioxide incorporated into polymers, 2t of emitted CO2


would


be saved. Econic hopes that, by 2027, 30% of all polyol production uses the catalyst, saving 3.5m t of CO2


emissions each year – the


equivalent to taking 2m cars off the road.


‘As the tunable catalyst moves out the lab and into mainstream use, we are aiming to work with our customers to totally transform polyurethane manufacturing: making it greener, cheaper and safer,’ says Econic CEO Rowena Sellens. Separately, in


September 2017, Econic signed a joint development agreement with Thai petrochemical company SCG Chemicals to develop processes to manufacture -based


novel CO2 high molecular


weight polymers as a new family of thermoplastics.


6 08 | 2017


GETTY


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