Productivity & Yield Improvement in Discontinuous Processes Chris Morse - Honeywell
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Raw Material Costs in the Chemicals Industry
• Raw Materials after feedstock significant cost element for Chemicals Manufacturers
• Optimization of raw material usage reduces cost of goods sold
• Automation of Raw Material additions using Experion increases efficiency & productivity
• Techniques shown applicable to Batch & other discontinuous processes
Typical Financial Basis for Chemicals Manufacturing
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Raw Material Automation - Challenges
• Physical/Chemical material characteristics vary
• Automation equipment requires tuning for different materials
• Manual actions are prone to error
• Processes/Formulations change over time
• Certain materials e.g. catalysts or modifiers are high cost items
• Raw Material Addition accuracy has significant QA impact
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Experion Functions Available to Help
• Experion Batch Manager - Scalable for many sequential processes
• Sequential Control Modules - Raw material additions
• Advanced Sequence Visualization - Operator sees status & problems
• Control Modules - Advanced totalizer & controller facilities - Auxiliary Calculation
• Procedure Analyst - Raw Material Usage Report
REG PV
REG CTL
LOG
DIG COMP
HPM Tools
ExperionTools
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Experion Batch Manager – Cycle Time Reduction
Batch 52 Start
Mix Sample Discharge Material 2 Material 1 Mixer Start
Reactor Start
Server Based Mixer Cycle Time
Batch 53 Start
Mix Sample Discharge
Material 2
Material 1 Mixer Start Reactor Start
Controller Based Mixer Cycle Time Cycle Time Reduction
6-12 secs
2 secs
12 Sec
2 Sec
Serv
er s
tep
trans
ition
tim
es
Con
trolle
r ste
p tra
nsiti
on ti
mes
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• Material flows differ affecting cut-off point
• Wide variation in quantities – same equipment
• Flow measurement characteristics vary by material
Flowmeter Feed Addition
Material A
Material B
Material C
FT
Continuous Process
Autoclave
Tank T
Setup/Start Totalizer
Open Valve T
Open Valve A/B/C
Start Pump
Close Valve A/B/C
Stop Pump
Close Valve T
Material Qty Units
Material A 187.0 Kg
Material B 19.8 Kg
Material C 24.5 Kg
Flowrate
Mat B Mat C Mat A
Target Value
Flowrate
Mat B Mat C Mat A
Pre Target 4
Pre Target 3
Pre Target 2
Pre Target x Reached Challenges:
• Up to 4 pre-targets per totalize
• Switch between multiple totalizers in an SCM
• Reduce cycle time of totalizer min 50 mSec
Optimization Levers:
Pre Optimized Flows
Optimized Flows
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Flow Control Material Addition
Material A
Material B
Material C
FI
Continuous Process
Autoclave
Tank T
FC
Flowrate Material A
Pre Target 2
Pre Target 1
Mode = Auto SP = Full Flow
Mode = Auto SP = Trickle Flow
Mode = Man OP = 0%
Slope determined by OPROC
Setup/Start Totalizer
Open Valve T
Mode = Auto SP= Full
Start Pump
Mode = Auto SP = Trickle
Mode = Man OP = 0%
Stop Pump
Pre Target 2 Reached
Pre Target 1 Reached
OPCV = 0%
Close Valve T
Mode = Man OP=100%
Line Drain Time Complete
Material Qty Units
Material A 187.0 Kg
Material B 19.8 Kg
Material C 24.5 Kg
• Minimise dosing time with accurate cutoff
• Post target cutoff content of line can affect cost/quantity
• Maintenance of flow & cutoff values
Addition challenges:
• Experiment with controller modes & flow set points for minimum addition target deviation
• Drain line & offset against line content – may be equipment specific value
• Maintain values as Material or Equipment value – not recipe parameters
Optimization Levers:
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Gain in Weight Addition
W1
Tank S1
32% Dry
Matter
Mixer 2 m3
Intermediate Storage 5 m3
Final Storage 10 m3 Paper Machine
Coating Station
Open Vale T1
Calculate Target
Open Valve S1
Start Pump
Close Valve W1
Wait for Stabilization
Stop Pump
Target Reached
In Tolerance?
Close Valve S1
No Yes
Tare 1
Tare 2
Weight Tolerance
Un-Discharged
Stabilization Time
• Reaching a Stable weight value
• In flight error – varies with time & material
• Residual material on sides of hopper
• Material lot to lot variation
Challenges:
• Tune out instability
• Compensate for in flight error & material differences in a calculated target
• Alert Operator to un-discharged material
Optimization Levers:
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Material Quantity Target Tuning
B101
B102
B103
B104
B105
+ve Tolerance Recipe Target 24.2Kg -ve Tolerance
Improvement: Maintain Accuracy for each Batch
Material A Addition over 5 Batches
B101
B102
B103
B104
B105
+ve Tolerance Recipe Target 24.2Kg -ve Tolerance
Normal Variation with Giveaway Applying Material A Bias to next batch over 5 Batches
B101 B012 B105 B104 B105 Mean Bias
over 10 Batches
- 0.2 -0.4 +0.3 -0.2 -0.3 -0.05
B101 B012 B105 B104 B105 Mean Bias
over 10 Batches
+0.2 +0.3 +0.4 +0.5 +0.6 +0.25
In spec but with material giveaway &
possible quality impact
Bias correction calculated for each batch applied to recipe target.
In spec & consistently
closer to target for better yield
and quality
Mean bias over several batches alert raised if absolute value gets too high
–before spec deviation
Bias calculation tries to correct low delivery but the root cause is an
equipment problem. Deviation will eventually occur
Bias monitoring for Equipment Problem Detection
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Next Batch Compensation & Real Time Release
B101
B102
B103
B105
B105
Material B
Material A
Mix
Monitoring
Sample Set Batch Status
In Tolerance?
No Yes
End: Release/Quarantine/Reject End: Release
Positive difference vs target
Negative difference vs target
Calculated compensation vs normal target
“Normal” Target Value
-ve Tolerance
+ve Tolerance
Mixer Operation
• Accurate measurements are available
• Batches feed to a downstream process
• Quality values can be calculated or inferred
Assumptions
Real Time Release – no quality deviations detected. Batch moves to next stage – downstream/packaging
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Reduced Sampling = Further Cycle Time Reduction
Batch 53 Start
Mix Discharge
Material 2
Material 1 Mixer Start Reactor Start
Cycle Time Reduction
Batch 53 Start
Mix Sample Discharge
Material 2
Material 1 Mixer Start Reactor Start
Monitoring
Sampling Once Per Batch
Reduced Sampling – Deviations Only
• Checks for raw material qty deviations
• Checks other quality variables which can be automated – e.g. mix time
• Alerts operator to quality problems
• Sets status of batch: Released/Quarantine/Rejected
• MAY have Supervisor Access
Monitoring Phase
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Procedure Analyst - Materials Usage Reporting
• Material Usage Report ‒ Show target, actual and deviation material amount on a per batch basis
between specified start and end dates ‒ Search for target value deviations ‒ Any material addition SCM can be recorded for reporting
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Raw Materials Optimization – Calculating the Value
• Assumptions: ‒ Production is 340 days/year 24 hours/day ‒ Production Rate 480 Tons/day ‒ Revenue $1500/ton ‒ Raw Material Costs 35% of revenue
• Annual Revenue $244M • Annual Raw Material Costs $85M • 1% Reduction in Raw Material savings $850K
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Questions to Ask
• Can our raw material additions be automated? • Can material addition measurements be
improved? • How could variations in raw material additions be
smoothed out? • What data is available for raw material usage? • Can quality checks be automated? • Is there a better way of adding some
materials?
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What is the value of 1% Raw Material Savings?