PCN Europe April 2011
Compostable bags for biodegradable waste
AWB and BASF start pilot project
BASFâs biodegradable plastic Ecovio FS Film is being used in a pilot project by the waste management service AWB, in the district of Bad Dürkheim, Germany. Starting on April 6, 2011, a three-month test will be conducted to determine whether the bags are suitable for collecting organic waste and how these bags behave on a large scale at an organic composting plant in Grünstadt owned by the waste management company GML Abfallwirtschaftsgesellschaft mbH. At the beginning of the project, each of the approximately 65,000 households in the district of Bad Dürkheim will receive 10 bags free of charge by mail along with information material. Additional bags will be available at a number of distribution points throughout the district . Residents are encouraged to use the bags to collect food waste and then dispose of them via the organic waste bin. Garbage bags made of Ecovio make the collection and disposal of biodegradable waste cleaner, more hygienic and easier: They not only prevent unpleasant odors and keep out insects, but also mean that it is no longer necessary to wash and clean the waste pail in the kitchen. Thanks to the excellent wet strength of the bags, liquids from teabags or fruit leftovers cannot leak through and the bags remain stable. The bags are not suitable for home composting; industrial composting plants, however, provide the conditions needed to ensure residue-free degradation. The seedling logo that is printed on the bags indicates that the bags as well as the products Ecovio and Ecoflex meet the stringent statutory requirements of European standard EN 13432 which governs the biodegradation and the compostability of packaging. âIn addition, an extensive series of tests conducted by BASF at the organic composting plant in Grünstadt at the end of 2009 has demonstrated that the bags are also well-suited for the short cycle times of professional composting plants. Of the plastic bags tested, only organic waste bags made from Ecovio were degraded completely and quickly enough,â explained Jürgen Keck, head of the global business with biodegradable plastics at BASF in Ludwigshafen, Germany.
Metso and Petrobras sign service contract
covering 11 refineries in Brazil
Metso and Brazilian energy company Petrobras have signed a service contract covering the supply of spare parts and maintenance services for Metso's valves, actuators and positioners for 11 refineries in Brazil. The contract also includes intelligent tools for preventive and predictive maintenance planning developed by Metso. Metso won the contract after the excellent performance of one Petrobras refinery in São Paulo, which was serving as a test pilot for two years. Satisfied with Metso's commitment, valve quality and local service capabilities, Petrobras decided to expand the pilot contract for 10 of its other refineries in Brazil.
"During the testing period, Metso was able to demonstrate that its tools for managing valve inventories and spare part purchases proved to work in practice when targeting lower maintenance costs,'' Mr. Candido Franco, Petrobras explains. "With this agreement, we have systematic standardization of the installed valve base, which makes it easier to manage valve inventories and valve maintenance. This has resulted in a positive impact on the capital tied to valve inventories,'' Franco continues.
Another significant advantage for Petrobras is related to the capabilities of Metso's intelligent tools to monitor and analyze valve condition while the process is running. Conventional methods require stopping the process, and removing and dismantling the valves for closer inspection.
Mr. Franco confirms that one key element in successful and economical valve maintenance is planning. "With the on-line monitoring tools, we can now plan our maintenance schedule in advance, so any disruption to the process is kept to a minimum. Also maintenance activities can be directly focused on those valves needing it most. A constant awareness of overall valve condition prevents unexpected breakdowns, which can result in stopping the process completely, which is extremely costly".
Nominees of 2011 Hermes Award
prizewinners to be announced at the opening ceremony for Hannover Messe
An independent jury under the chairmanship of Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Wahlster, who heads the German Research Centre for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI), has nominated the five finalists for the 2011 Hermes Award. Rated as one of the world's most prestigious prizes for technological achievement, the Award will be presented at the opening ceremony for Hannover Messe 2011 on 3 April 2011. "Despite the large number of very different innovations submitted for this year's Award, all the products nominated by the jury are notable for their commitment to reliability and the responsible use of resources. I am pleased to note that this year for the first time the list of five nominees includes two foreign companies. This can only serve to enhance the international standing of the Hermes Award", says Wahlster. The following five companies have been nominated for the 2011 prize awarded by Hannover Messe (listed here in alphabetical order): FerRobotics, Linz, Austria: The nominated product is a so-called active contact flange. This ingenious device makes it possible to automate tasks that hitherto had to be performed manually due to the degree of dexterity and sensitivity required. The contact flange can be fitted to any standard industrial robot. The device is touch-sensitive and force-controlled as it combines the functions of an actuator and sensor in a single unit. Krautzberger, Eltville: The family enterprise that invented the spray gun as we know it back in 1902 has been nominated for an innovative steam spraying system. With this technology, atomization is effected by steam instead of the more conventional compressed air. Krautzberger's adoption of steam as the atomizing medium is a world first. Omega Air, Ljubljana, Slovenia: The nominated product is an electronic pressure drop indicator used to monitor air filters in compressed air systems. The change in pressure is recorded in the conventional way with the aid of a membrane by the displacement of a magnet attached to a pre-tensioned spring. What is new is the positional displacement of the magnet. For the first time the displacement of a drop is now capacitively registered from a ferrofluid, which is a fluid that can be magnetized. Tailorlux, Steinfurt: The nominated product is known as Tailor-Safe. This is a new security system for protecting products of all kinds against counterfeiting and plagiarism. The products in question are authenticated by the application of special luminescent pigments. 300 billion unique combinations of luminescent materials are possible, and it is a simple matter to check a product's unique "light signature" against the manufacturer's database with the aid of a mobile spectrometer linked to the Internet. Wenglor Sensoric, Tettnang: The product nominated for the Award is a transit time sensor that can detect the position of objects with great accuracy, yet has all the practical advantages of a very compact format. The WinTec software used in this new generation of sensors ensures reliable switching performance on reflective surfaces and black surfaces alike.
Fieldbus Foundation appoints OâBrien Global Marketing Manager
The Fieldbus Foundation today announced the appointment of Larry OâBrien as global marketing manager. Formerly of ARC Advisory Group, OâBrien has 18 years of experience in the process automation business as a research director and analyst at ARC, and has been closely tracking and reporting on developments surrounding FOUNDATION fieldbus for much of his career.
As global marketing manager, OâBrien will be responsible for developing the strategic marketing direction for FOUNDATION technology worldwide. He will oversee activities such as fieldbus seminar programs, trade show exhibitions, technical demonstrations and marketing communications.
âI am very excited to begin my work at the Fieldbus Foundation,â said OâBrien. âFor many years, I have been writing about the business value proposition of FOUNDATION fieldbus at ARC. Now I get to use the knowledge and experience I have gained to raise the level of awareness of this technology for both end users and suppliers. ARC has always believed that FOUNDATION fieldbus offers a true process automation infrastructure providing significant lifecycle cost benefits and a path to superior asset managementâ.
Fieldbus Foundation President and CEO Rich Timoney welcomed OâBrien to the key post with his organisation. âWe are excited to have Larry as part of our team, and look forward to his leadership of our global marketing program in support of FOUNDATION fieldbus,â said Timoney. âFrom his time with ARC, Larry has gained an extensive background in the area of digital plant automation. His qualifications will be very helpful in expanding the presence of FOUNDATION technology around the world â particularly in developing industrial markets such as India, China, Latin America and the Middle East.â
Report on Wireless Networks:
connecting with industrial users
The world shipments of industrial products that are wireless-enabled are set to grow from an estimated 1.2 million in 2009 to over 3 million in 2015, equating to a CAGR of 18%, according to the upcoming report by IMS Research:
"The World Market for Wireless Communications in Factory and Process Automation - 2011".
âWireless automation has been a star performer â many vendors grew their business during the recession. This is because many users consider installing wireless communication very valuable â many are seeing a return on investment within a year. Future growth will be driven by finding new use cases for wireless. âAfter end users have made the initial investment in wireless infrastructure, expanding wireless into more and more applications becomes even increasingly attractiveâ said automation analyst Toby Colquhoun.
Confusion over different wireless technologies remains an issue for end users in process automation; despite this, vendors are selling much wireless hardware today. However, the lack of standardization will become more important in future applications with a longer payback period. End users have to be certain that they can source replacement parts for many years, if investment in these applications is to be attractive.
Yokogawa joins PROFIBUS user organisation
Yokogawa Electric Corporation has joined the PROFIBUS Nutzerorganisation e.V. (PNO), an interest group for the PROFIBUS and PROFINET standard communication protocols that are widely used in industrial automation applications. Originally developed to meet the needs of the manufacturing industry, PROFIBUS has evolved into a fieldbus standard for both discrete manufacturing and process automation. PROFIBUS and PROFINET are standardised under a range of international standards, the most important being IEC 61158 and 61784. Masatoshi Nakahara, General Manager of the Marketing Center at the Yokogawa Industrial Automation Business Headquarters, commented as follows regarding Yokogawa's membership in the PNO: "In addition to FOUNDATION fieldbus and the HART protocols, we see PROFIBUS DP and PROFINET as especially important protocols for industrial automation - not only in central Europe and other mature markets, but increasingly in the Asia-Pacific region and China. Yokogawa currently offers a range of PROFIBUS based products and solutions, and we are committed to expanding our portfolio in the future." "With some 19,500 employees worldwide and a turnover of well over US$3 billion, we perceive ourselves to be among the leading suppliers of industrial automation solutions, with our main focus on the process industries. Along with our strong worldwide presence, we believe that we are the market leader in the Asia-Pacific region, China, and Japan - a situation that will benefit PROFIBUS technology in general."
Milton Roy Europe appoints General Manager
Olivier Guiot is appointed General Manager of Milton Roy Europe SA with effect on January 1st, 2011. He will report directly to Jean-Claude Pharamond, President of Milton Roy, and will be based in Pont Saint Pierre (Normandy, France). In this position, he will provide strategic direction, and will be responsible for planning, directing and controlling all activities at Milton Roy Europe, ensuring the organization meets its objectives. Milton Roy is part of the Industrial division of Hamilton Sundstrand, itself belonging to United Technologies Corporation, Hamilton Sundstrand, Otis, Pratt & Whitney, Sikorsky, UTC Fire & Security, UTC Power. Milton Roy is a leader in dosing and mixing technologies. It offers a comprehensive range of dosing pumps, mixers and custom-made units sold under the brand names Milton Roy, LMI, Dosapro, Helisem, Robin, Williams, Linc, Hartell, Haskel, BuTech, YZ Systems Dosatron and PPI. Created in 1936, Milton Roy employs 1,200 staff and its turnover is in excess of 300M$. Olivier Guiot joined Milton Roy Europe in 2006 as EMEA Sales Manager, before being appointed also Product Business Unit Manager in 2009. Before that he had worked with Rockwell Automation, in position of sales and management in Brussels (Belgium), Paris (France), Munich (Germany) Edited by Constanze Schmitz
Honeywell at Sasol plant in Germany
- contract to upgrade the DCS and PLC systems
Honeywell announced it has been awarded a contract by Sasol Solvents Germany GmbH to upgrade the Distributed Control System (DCS) and Programmable Logic Control (PLC) systems at Sasolâs gas-fired power plant in Moers, Germany. The upgrades, which include the installation of Experion Process Knowledge System (PKS) and Safety Manager, are part of a nine month project that will see Honeywellâs process solutions become standardized throughout the site, significantly boosting energy efficiency and reducing ongoing maintenance costs. The company will also provide engineering support and manage the installation and start up procedures. Situated near Germanyâs industrial region of Ruhr, Sasolâs Moers power plant generates steam for the adjoining solvents manufacturing plant. Sasol selected Honeywell because of the positive experience and seamless integration provided with an Experion PKS installed at its solvents manufacturing facility. The new operating environment will run off a universal network and interface, greatly improving management by allowing operators to access the same system from anywhere on the Moers site. âA large proportion of the Moers site is already controlled by Honeywell technology, so when the time came to upgrade the remaining systems, Honeywell was the natural choice,â said Dr. Christian Kramer, Management Technical Service Electro, Instrumentation and Process Control, Sasol Solvents. âWith the new system in place, we will be able to streamline production and greatly improve the siteâs energy efficiency.â âAs Sasol continues to grow its solvents business in Northern Europe its IT and production capabilities must also expand,â said Elgonda La Grange, regional general manager, Honeywell. âPutting Honeywellâs Experion PKS platform and Safety Manager into action at the Moers power plant will reduce maintenance spending and help further improve day-to-day operations across the whole site by unifying all the systems.â Edited by Constanze Schmitz
Managing Director for Whitehouse Scientific
Whitehouse Scientific, a producer of glass microspheres for calibration, has started 2011 with the promotion of Jamie Storey to the position of Managing Director. Jamie Storey has worked at Whitehouse Scientific for almost 10 years and in his new role assumes management responsibility for the company while founder Dr Graham Rideal continues to steer as CEO. Director Lauren Prince leads the companyâs sales and marketing activities. âI am delighted to welcome Jamie to his new role,â said Graham Rideal. âNot only has he been involved in managing the company over recent years, he has also been running the lab and has overseen production. This combination of experience and expertise means he has a unique insight into our products, as well as understanding our customers and their needs.â Explaining the change to his own role Dr Rideal, who is recognised internationally as an expert in the calibration field, is looking forward to focusing even more on scientific affairs: âAs CEO I intend to concentrate on the companyâs scientific and product development, and will also be able to accept the many invitations to participate in industry conferences, provide input to international standards committees, and fulfil an increasing number of speaking engagements. â Edited by Constanze Schmitz
ISA technical report for EDDL users
intended as a guideline in the use of the existing IEC 61804-3 international standard
The ISA Standards & Practices Board has approved a new technical report, ISA-TR104.00.03, "EDDL: Meeting the requirements for integrating Fieldbus devices in engineering tools for field devices." This technical report is intended as a guideline in the use of the existing IEC 61804-3 international standard, "Function blocks (FB) for process control - Part 3: Electronic Device Description Language (EDDL)." "While the IEC 61804-3 standard provides specifications for device and system developers, this new ISA technical report provides guidance for device and system users,â stated ISA104 standards committee member and editor, Jonas Berge. "We have passed a major milestone with this publication," said Terry Blevins, chair of the ISA104 standards committee, which developed the technical report. "Once the technical report receives approval by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), expected in early February 2011, end users around the world will be able to rely on an ANSI/ISA technical report developed in an open, consensus forum." The ISA104 standards committee brings together device integration experts representing diverse industrial and technical interests from around the world. The committee was established by the International Society of Automation (ISA) to address device integration in control systems over the lifecycle of devices and systems. The committee's focus has been to improve the understanding of the EDDL approach and to provide criteria for procuring and implementing device integration technology in the control systems environment. ISA-TR104.00.03 is intended to provide factual guidance in using EDDL for device integration. The technical report reviews how end user requirements for device integration are met by the EDDL standard. Although prior evaluations have already demonstrated that EDDL meets usersâ lifecycle needs as defined in NAMUR NE 105, ISA-TR104.00.03 explains in greater detail these requirements and how EDDL meets them. Edited by Constanze Schmitz