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VIEWPOINTS - Internet of Things to be a game-changer in 2014
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Process Industry Trends: Viewpoint from Gareth Dean, UK sales director, Rockwell Automation:
It’s an exciting time for anyone involved in industrial automation – and I’m looking forward to seeing how the most disruptive technologies are applied by the most forward thinking companies in 2014
I firmly believe some of the developments will be game-changers. In an industry full of buzz-words and phrases, one particular phrase has risen to the top and encompassed many of the trends of recent years.
The Internet of Things (IoT) is far from simply the summit of progress in convergent technologies and connected components and the like. Rather, it is the beginning of almost limitless opportunities for those able to harness the power of mobile, cloud, big data and ‘smart things’ (connected devices and components) in a secure way to improve output, throughput or efficiency.
Our global CEO Keith Nosbusch presented a keynote speech to the Cisco Internet of Things World forum last October, which gave a more detailed view of what IoT means, especially from a manufacturing perspective, and Paul Brooks, our global business development manager, recently spoke on the same topic at Cisco Live! in Milan.
At Rockwell Automation we talk about IoT within the context of The Connected Enterprise. So why is The Connected Enterprise2 an important trend for 2014 and beyond? The context is important, as is the understanding that sustainability is an inherently global consideration in a competitive world of finite resources.
The global consumer population is growing. With more than 70 million people crossing to the middle class every year, emerging market consumerism is set to increase global appetite to the tune of 30% more water, 100% more vehicles, 80% more steel and 150% more energy by 2020 (source McKinsey).
This incredible growth will lean heavily on manufacturing and industrial processes to deliver – and to deliver more efficiently than ever before. It’s a time of great growth and opportunity for global industry and IoT principles and technology will be central to delivering it all in a sustainable way.
Industry must accelerate the adoption of the key IoT technologies such as mobile, cloud, big data and ‘smart things’ to deliver lower cost of ownership, better asset utilisation through predictive maintenance, improved reliability and quality, better lifecycle management, more effective operators, improved energy management and easier technology migration.
We are just scratching the surface of what is possible as the applications of Internet of Things technology and principles are limitless and will continue to unfold throughout 2014 and beyond.
More than a trend worth watching in 2014, IoT will be the nervous system of the industry of tomorrow.
For more information from Rockwell Automation about the IoT and related developments see the company's Connected Enterprise resource (external website link).
PIM Technology Trends: Viewpoint from Tristan Jones, regional marketing engineer, industrial & embedded systems, at National Instruments UK & Ireland:
In industrial monitoring and control applications, engineers and scientists can collect vast amounts of data in short periods of time to address reliability, availability, serviceability and manageability (RASM) of costly assets.
Large gas turbine manufacturers report that test data, from instrumented electricity generating turbines, generate over 10 terabytes of data per day.
In one asset monitoring application cited in the October 2013 Automation World article, “Big Data: Sweat the Little Stuff,” 152,000 sensor samples are taken every second, accumulating up to 4 trillion samples in a single year.
But the amount of data is not the only trait of big data.
In general, big data is characterised by a combination “Vs”—volume, variety, velocity and value. An additional “V,” visibility, is emerging as a key defining characteristic. That is, a growing need among global corporations for geographically dispersed access to business, engineering and scientific data.
For example, process engineers at plants in South America and China may need access to each other’s data to conduct comparative analysis. This results in demand for network and cloud-based IT systems, to be closely coupled to DAQ systems.
Specifically, engineers are looking at three-tier architectures, as depicted in the figure below, to create a single, integrated solution that adds insight from the real-time capture at the sensors to the analytics at the back-end IT infrastructures.
The data flow starts in tier 1 at the sensor and is captured in tier 2 system nodes. These nodes perform the initial real-time, in-motion, and early-life data analysis. In the tier 3 IT infrastructure, servers, storage and networking equipment manage, organise and further analyse the early-life or at-rest data.
Through the stages of data flow, the growing field of big data analytics is generating never-before-seen engineering and business insights and solving problems in key application areas such as machine condition asset monitoring.
For more information about Big Analog Data solutions visit ni.com/biganalogdata and more top technology trends at ni.com/trendwatch (external websites).
As potato and arable crop farmers who diversified into cold storage, bioenergy and recycling, Mike and Tim Roe’s journey into anaerobic digestion shows the value of selecting the right type of equipment at energy-from-waste facilities.
The father and son team, who are based in Bridgwater, Somerset, first ventured into cold storage in 1997, growing their business from around 200 pallets of cheese and fruit juice to over 3500 pallets stored per week.
This eventually brought about the need to move to a much larger site, with today over 10,000 tonnes of fruit juice and food ingredients stored at -14C to ambient temperatures. These quantities, however, led to much higher energy bills, which as with the global trend, have been rising steadily, year-in, year-out.
“Addressing an annual electricity bill in the region of a quarter of a million pounds became a big priority”, said Tim Roe, managing director at Cannington Enterprises, the parent company of Cannington Cold Stores, Cannington Bio Energy and Cannington Recycling Services.
“We thought there had to be a way of generating electricity from our farm land. Agricultural commodity prices were very low at the time and wind/solar tariffs weren’t around. Facing an energy gap, we had to do something, so we decided to take charge of our own destiny by building an AD plant”.
Tim remembers that with little AD knowledge around in the services industry, planning in 2008 proved pretty fraught to say the least. He says that people tended to form their own ‘uninformed opinions’ – and still do to some extent.
When planning did go through, Tim and Mike initially installed two digesters - a third six months later - in 2009, using corn silage from their farm as feedstock, plus some limited liquid waste.
Different feedstocks
“At first we were producing around 700kW”, added Tim, “which was certainly encouraging against the 300kW of power needed at the time to run the site.
"We designed our process so that it would have the flexibility for different feedstocks, installing a Landia POP-I mixer at the front end to keep solids in suspension for the main reception tank, and later a submersible Landia chopper pump feeding out of that into a feedstock holding tank.
"We’ve always been willing to test different pumps, so this Landia unit actually replaced our initial choice from a different pump manufacturer, which proved ineffective in handling the corn”.
Cannington’s AD process was working more than adequately, but in 2011 Tim and Mike chose to raise the stakes by switching exclusively from corn to food waste, which decomposes twice as quickly to produce the all-important gas much faster.
They installed two additional CHP engines to boost AD output to 1.3MW. Food waste now arriving at Cannington is shredded and de-packaged before liquids are added en route to the reception tank where the Landia POP-I mixer first handles the material (17-20% dry matter content).
Unlike many other biogas operations, there is a post-pasteurisation process at the end of the system, whereby organic waste must be heated to 70 degrees for at least one hour.
For Cannington’s pasteuriser there is also a wall-mounted POPTR-I mixer that Landia managed to install using the existing man-way, which removed the need for any additional refurbishment work. There is also a dry-mounted high-pressure MPTK-I chopper pump from Landia that has proved a key part of the operation by significantly accelerating batch times.
Tim Roe continued: “The first pump we had could manage the 35-metre head required to make the final discharge to our digestate lagoons, but it would take 24 hours and suffer from significant wear and tear.
"The Landia MPTK chopper, which also has to pump 250m horizontally as well as 35m vertically, is far more resilient and does the same job in just two and a half hours, which has created major benefits all the way back down the production line”.
Cannington have carried out 99% of the AD work themselves, making considerable savings and allowing fine tuning to their own particular requirements. Over 600,000 tonnes of dirt has been moved to facilitate the AD plant, which is very well screened from the road.
From truckloads of bulk material from food processors to collecting single wheelie bins form schools, restaurants and pubs, Cannington now process 60,000 tonnes of food waste a year. The company’s flexibility and willingness to help as an almost third party disposal/recycling center has created very good relationships with an increasingly wide customer base.
Income from waste and the AD-generated electricity that’s sold onto the UK’s National Gird now accounts for about half of Cannington’s income. 2.3MW is generated, with around 1.35MW exported to the grid after approximately 700kW is used to power the site. But it doesn’t end there.
“By the end of this year we will have a further three digesters”, added Tim. “These will mainly be for storage to stabilise and strengthen the quality and quantity of our continuous process – and we can also harness more gas from them.
Digestate from the end of the AD process also presents Cannington Enterprises with opportunities beyond renewable energy generation, with Tim and Mike, ever looking for improvement, hoping to set up their own on-site laboratory in the not too distant future to further monitor the quality of the final product.
“We’ve been using the digestate on our farm land to great effect,” said Tim, “but we’re now in a position where we have farmers queuing up for it because the nutrients in it make such a good organic fertiliser. This is another expanding part of our business and part of the joined up environmental thinking that we’re proud of”.
Mexico's state-owned power utility CFE has issued a major international tender on the power sector, UKTI has signalled. The response deadline is 17 April.
The winning company will be in charge of developing a combined cycle power plant and to deliver design, engineering, material and equipment supply, construction, installation, trials, technical support, freight, insurance, taxes, and customs fees and manage customs relationship.
All deliverables will aim for a secure and efficient operation of the power plan to be named 298 CC Valle de Mexico.
The power plant will have a net guaranteed capacity of 543.26 +/- 15% MW, summer conditions design, use natural gas a fuel, include 2-3 gas/combustion turbo generators, 2-3 heat recuperators, a steam turbine, cooler system, and all needed equipment of develop a combined cycle plant.
The project will also include underground electrical cable to connect to a 230kV substation. This substation will be launched in a separate tender.
Article by Ryan Clark, senior business manager, Progressive Global Energy & Natural Resources:
With the US oil and gas market taking centre stage over the past five years, the US continues to be a driving force within the industry.
Due in large part to the dramatic development of unconventional oil & gas across the region, technological advancements and the exploration of new resources have led to a shift in the global landscape of the industry.
But with the US shale revolution expected to require investment in excess of $5 trillion over the next 20 years is this growth sustainable?
With a mixed backdrop that has seen a dip in the gas rig-count, but continued investment in CAPEX projects in key strategic areas such as the Gulf of Mexico, the market remains buoyant with a positive outlook. Private Equity investment in SME oil and gas firms has created further stability and an influx of new jobs as a result.
The shale gas revolution is undoubtedly the biggest driver of growth across the region. Showing no signs of abating, and with much of the 19 recognised basins still in early exploratory or development stages, the volume of shale gas is set to rise exponentially. With many firms turning from dry gas to the production of liquid shale gas in order to increase profitability we've seen demand grow for specialists within this area.
Building workforces for long-term
Whilst the outlook for the sector looks positive, the industry faces a new potential threat - a lack of labour and skills to meet long-term resourcing requirements. A lack of mid-senior level specialists created by previous boom and bust oil cycles, and a subsequent lack of investment in career planning and training has led to an impending skills shortage.
Organisations now face the dilemma of balancing short-term operational and strategic needs with the long-term requirement to bring in new generations of specialists with the view to creating a sustainable workforce that will counter-balance the loss of valuable talent as they reach retirement age.
The shortage of mid-career level specialists has driven salaries up to unsustainable levels in some areas, which has resulted in organisations looking for other solutions to plug the shortfall of talent.
This has included organisations looking to international markets in order to bring in the additional resources required, however, with tight mobilisation restrictions changes to government legislation will be required if this is to prove a viable solution over the long-term.
Canada also offers a potential untapped market for talent and may well be an option to be considered if the US is to sustain its projected growth.
With measures to address the skills shortage including new college courses and re-training programmes, the industry is already implementing actions that could soon see a pipeline of new talent coming through that could serve the region for generations to come.
The outlook for specialists
Post-Macondo the industry has and will continue to become much more heavily regulated, which is creating new opportunities across the HSEQ discipline. Demand for specialists has remained high across the sector, particularly across key strategic roles that drive oil company performance such as geo-science and drilling.
On the whole the market outlook is bouyant with project pipelines extending beyond 12 months and many of the largest organisations still investing in CAPEX. This continued investment, coupled with the high demand for specialists means there are substantial opportunities for professionals across the industry, particularly contractors as organisations look to manage project requirements.
Serious about European competitiveness? Go for shale gas
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Opinion piece by Cefic director general Hubert Mandery, published on the EurActiv policy news site:
Competitiveness now attracts as much attention here in Brussels as climate and environment policy. For the first time, the European Council will hold a summit devoted exclusively to industrial competitiveness, and rightly so.
The debate over shale gas will be a part of that. The European Commission is poised to release a framework for the extraction of unconventional gas locked in the region’s sub-strata. Getting the right answers on these issues is crucial to re-energizing a continent paralysed by feeble growth.
Across the Atlantic, a shale gas revolution is sweeping the United States, helping re-vitalise an economy where gross domestic product (GDP) expanded at an annualised rate of 2.8 per cent in the third quarter and unemployment has eased to 7.3 per cent.
Pioneering exploitation of unconventional gas reserves has put the New World back on course for energy self-sufficiency, lowered the cost of energy and industrial feedstock, and unleashed $100 billion of investment in new chemical industry capacity, not to mention the billions worth of investment in other sectors.
Meantime the European economy is only now slowly emerging from recession. Eurostat predicts no growth in 2013 and an uptick of only 1.4 per cent in 2014, whilst unemployment hovers at 11 per cent.
Chemicals are the start-point for a swathe of industrial value chains, from automotive to construction and cleaning products. Hampered by high energy and feedstock costs, there is a growing risk that to stay competitive, European producers will be obliged to invest where inputs are cheaper, or watch others gobble their markets, destroying European jobs.
Europe needs to give itself a chance to compete. Exploration of Europe’s undoubted shale gas potential has been hesitant, held back by environmental concerns, the reluctance of citizens to have drilling rigs for neighbours, and legal regimes that fail to reward landowners and communities for aiding the development of reserves.
Yet, a newly-completed study by independent consultants for the International Association of Oil & Gas Producers suggests that extracting shale gas could add 1.1 million new jobs in Europe by 2050 and bolster GDP by up to €3.8 trillion. Shale gas could replace declining output from Europe’s conventional fields, reducing dependence on imports, improving security of supply and putting downward pressure on prices.
Sceptics argue that pumping chemical-laced water into bedrock to fracture it and release gas can pollute ground-water, trigger minor seismic shocks, and blight the lives of those who live near wells. Such concerns are not to be taken lightly. But each can be addressed. At EU and national level, we have sound regulations already in place and best industry practices that build on decades of US experience.
In reality, though much water is used, fracking 100 wells, as being talked about in the United Kingdom, would require a volume of water equal to just 0.03 per cent of that used there annually. Seismic shocks can be contained by prudent operation. The volumes of chemicals used are tightly-controlled. And consents can require protection of aquifers and the wellbeing of neighbours.
The economic health of Europe and its citizens should not, as so often in the past, be sacrificed to fear. The commission’s shale gas framework must require high standards, but it must also be enabling.
José Manuel Barroso, president of the commission, has promised recommendations on competitiveness to the European Council in February. For jobs and growth to be delivered, industrial competitiveness must be integrated within every policy initiative whether it concerns the environment, climate, energy or any other field.
Renewing Europe’s industrial competitiveness, like everything in the political and business world, will take resolution and courage. It is up to European leaders to take the lead and show they are serious about competitiveness. What they do with shale gas will show whether they are willing to walk – or merely talk.
Development of the UK's huge shale resources is set to gather much needed momentum following a major licencing move by Total, and new UK government support and incentives for drilling projects around the country.
Companies in the UK supply chain is also to benefit from a UK Onshore Operators Group (UKOOG) study to guide them in meeting the requirements of this potentially enormous industry.
Total E&P UK said, 13 Jan, that it had acquired a 40% interest in two shale gas exploration licences in an area of the East Midlands of England. The interests are in Petroleum Exploration & Development Licences 139 and 140 in the Gainsborough Trough area.
Stakeholder Island Gas Ltd (IGas) will be the operator of the initial exploration programme, with Total subsequently taking over operatorship as the project moves towards development.
The group is already involved in shale gas projects in the US, Argentina, China, Australia and in Europe in Poland and in Denmark.
"This opportunity is an important milestone for Total E&P UK and opens a new chapter for the subsidiary in a promising onshore play," said Patrice de Viviès, Total's senior vice president for Northern Europe.
On completion of the transaction, Total's partners in the project will be GP Energy Ltd (part of Dart Energy Europe) (17.5%); Egdon Resources UK Ltd (14.5%), IGas (14.5%) and eCorp Oil & Gas UK Ltd (13.5%).
Total's move coincided with an announcement by prime minister David Cameron that councils can keep all business rates collected from shale gas sites, instead of the usual 50%. This incentive, it said, could be worth up to £1.7 million a year for a typical site and will be directly funded by central government.
Last year, tit was announced that local communities would receive £100,000 when a test well is fracked – and a further 1% of revenues if shale gas is discovered. This could be worth £5 to £10 million for a typical producing site over its lifetime.
The industry is now to further consult on how this money can best be shared with the local community, with options including direct cash payments to people living near the site, plus the setting up of local funds directly managed by local communities.
"A key part of our long-term economic plan to secure Britain’s future is to back businesses with better infrastructure. That’s why we’re going all out for shale. It will mean more jobs and opportunities for people, and economic security for our country," said Cameron.
A recent Institute of Director report, “Getting Shale Gas Working”, identified potential for 74,000 jobs being created in the industry, peak investment of £3.7bn per year and the potential to reduce gas imports by approximately 50%.
With development now likely to ramp up in the UK, attention is turning to opportunities and challenges for the UK supply chain in supporting an emerging UK shale gas industry.
The UKOOG has launched a major supply chain and skills study to understand the needs of industry as it enters the next phase of its development.
This study which will build on work undertaken by individual onshore oil and gas operators at a regional level, will be conducted by EY (formerly Ernst & Young) and funded by the Department of Business Skills & Innovation (BIS) and UKOOG.
The study is to identify what the industry requires in terms of skills, materials and equipment to construct and operate a single pad site in production and will include all associated requirements such as water treatment facilities, transport requirements and rigs.
The findings, said UKOOP, will be extrapolated to look at the potential requirements on a UK basis and will provide a detailed inventory. It will also look at the nature of jobs that could be created – both directly in engineering, geology associated technical services, IT, construction and transport, as well as indirectly.
Chris Lewis, EY partner, commented: “EY hopes that the report will prove to be a crucial step in realising the opportunities associated with the burgeoning onshore sector.
"Engaging with suppliers and operators and assessing their capabilities and requirements will help UKOOG map out a development path that demonstrates how value can be maximised for the benefit of the wider UK economy."
A recent IHS Global Insight study found that unconventional gas activity in the US supports more than 1 million jobs currently and is projected to support a total of more than 2.4 million US jobs by 2035.
“We have a huge opportunity of creating that supply chain here in the UK, this study is the first plank in ensuring that this happens and that the UK fully benefits from the natural resources below our feet in terms of investment and jobs,” said Ken Cronin, chief executive of the UKOOG
“We want to ensure that the UK is ready to grow its supply chain and develop the necessary skills so that local communities benefit from jobs and investment," added Michael Fallon, UK business and energy minister.
“This study, which we are part-funding, will establish the UK's capability and help support the on-going work of the oil and gas industrial strategy to create new jobs, encourage investment and increase exports,” said Fallon.
The process equipment sector's ability' to overcome challenges and improve efficiency with pumping, mixing and compressor technologies has been highlighted by application reports emerging over the past month or so.
First up, Chemineer is supplying four top-entry Helix mixers to Cynar for an agitator application at a waste plastics-to-diesel facility in southern Spain.
The challenging mixer application involves taking molten plastics which flows into the tank sitting in a furnace at around 450 deg C. As the process proceeds there is a phase change, leaving a powdered char that needs to removed from the vessel by a specially designed impeller.
The application, added Chemineer, required a precision-engineered solution to provide off-wall clearance for the mixers serving a thermal chamber within a furnace.
According to a spokesman, the equipment company managed to achieve the required wall clearance of less than 10mm. The work, he said, involved close collaboration between Chemineer and the vessel supplier.
The Cynar plant in Spain can process up to 20 tonnes of waste plastics per day, producing around 19,000 litres of liquid fuels at a conversion rate of 95%. Annual throughput is said to be up to 6,000 tonnes.
Chemineer has previously supplied mixers to a Cynar plant in Avonmouth near Bristol, UK where it now has four custom-made top-entry agitators in operation.
Equipment breakdowns were the challenge faced by Alkane Energy - a UK producer of energy-from-coal-mine-methane - which needs to keep pumps running in deep-mine conditions.
Alkane operates mid-sized 'gas to power' electricity plants providing fast response capacity to the grid. It has a total of 81MW of installed generating capacity and an electricity grid capacity of 100MW.
The company had used VSDs to control the vacuum pumps on new sites but wanted to see if they could be retrofitted to existing sites, where pumps are run direct-on-line and operate at full capacity all the time. This causes extreme wear on pumps, which tend to fail after only a few months.
"As we pump gas deeper from the mine, the pumps need to work even harder,"explains Keith Mitchell of Alkane. "A failed pump can cost around £10,000 to repair. We can also lose generation revenue, as well as the cost to remove the failed pump, so it is important we know that retrofits of drives are possible on existing sites."
Henkel Central Eastern Europe (CEE) in Vienna has saved energy at its production facility for laundry detergents by establishing three air networks fed by Atlas Copco compressors with different operating pressures for various applications throughout its plant premises.
The 230 kilotonnes per annum plant operates many oil-injected screw compressors from Atlas Copco. These include its GA 160 model with variable speed drive (VSD), as well as oil-free low-pressure Class 0 ZA/ZR screw compressors.
Demand for compressed air varies depending on the application. For loading and unloading tank trucks, a low-pressure network of 3 bar is required. The control air to drive the units on the plant premises requires 7 bar working pressure, and an operating pressure of 11 bar is used in an area producing PET bottles by stretch blow moulding.
The varied requirements prompted Henkel to set up three compressed air networks with different operating pressures to achieve cost efficiencies and energy savings.
“Operating the entire network using 11 bar would mean wasted energy because each 1-bar reduction leads to an energy saving of 7 percent,” explained Di Hannes Dengg, technical director of Henkel CEE at the Vienna site.
According to Atlas Copco, the VSD on its GA and ZA/ZR compressor lines further reduces energy costs by up to 35% on average by automatically adjusting the air supply to meet demand.
At the Vienna plant, the drive outputs vary between 75 and 315 kW respectively. In addition, when speed-controlled compressors are used in the winter months, the waste heat from the air-cooled compressors is used to heat the high rack.
Cold-air absorption dryers and compressed air filters are used to ensure clean and safe production. This is critical in the production of laundry detergents, and the Class 0 certification of the ZA/ZR compressors means zero risk of oil contamination to Henkel’s products, said Atlas Copco.
ABB drives supplier Inverter Drive Systems (IDS) already supplied Alkane with VSDs for the new sites so was asked to investigate the possibility of retrofits, with a trial to be carried out at the Old Mill Lane site in Nottinghamshire.
"The existing set up uses soft starts to slowly start the pumps," said Phil Nightingale of IDS. "When the pump is at full speed, the soft start is bypassed with a contactor. The pressure was then controlled with a by-pass valve. The inverter installation does away with this valve and modulates the pump to keep the pressure constant and saves the wasted by-pass energy."
The drive chosen was a 75 kW ABB industrial drive. IDS designed a bespoke door as well as a back panel to fit the existing cabinet so that the drives' switches and connections could be accommodated.
One of the major challenges of the project was the small space available at the site, Nightingale noting: "We needed to fit the drives and panel into the space previously occupied by the soft starters and added fans to cool them. We also had only one day to fit the drive panels so we did all work off-site to minimise disruption and ensure that Alkane could achieve maximum gas pumping."
At Alkane, Mitchell reported that the VSDs allowed a fine control of the gas pumping, compared to the coarse control of the soft starts.
"As well as the money saved from cutting the number of pump repairs and the lost production, the VSDs also save around 12 kW an hour in energy that we can sell to the grid. We also now know that the older sites can be successfully retrofitted with VSDs," he added.
IDS have so far completed two retrofits, with another three to do and a potential to complete more in the future.
Wonderware advances 'mobile visualisation' offering in UK
AdministratorIn response to the increasing demand for access to plant-floor data on the move, Wonderware UK and Ireland, a division of SolutionsPT, has introduced enabling access to plant HMI securely from anywhere, using any device with full InTouch HMI functionality.
The new Wonderware InTouch Access Anywhere product is said to enable users to access their data securely inside any HTML 5.0 compliant web browser which can connect with other InTouch applications via any mobile device.
Users are not required to install any software on their devices, making it easy to manage and maintain, said an announcement from Wonderware - part of Invensys SolutionsPT division.
"Providing this level of ... secure access to real-time plant information, without compromising functionality, enables today's workforce to improve operating efficiencies and drive real-time business optimisation whilst minimising cost," said
Sue Roche, general manager at Wonderware UK and Ireland.
This new addition to Wonderware UK and Ireland's mobile range is part of a strategy to provide and improve real-time visualisation and collaboration at multiple levels of an organisation.
This new offering also brings HMI visualisation capabilities to mobile devices, extending the company's operations management software portfolio, the company said.
Wonderware's suite of mobility software, which now includes workflow, reporting, analytics, visualisation, maintenance management, operator training, data gathering and procedure management.
Three Blackmer sliding vane pumps used for the unloading and transfer of jet A1aviation fuel by the trans-Antarctic expedition – The Coldest Journey – have survived the freezing conditions of the polar winter.
Having embarked on the treacherous expedition in March, the ice train finally reached The Princess Elizabeth Research Station on the 7 November.
Led by Sir Ranulph Fiennes, the Coldest Journey was the first ever attempt to cross the Antarctic continent during the polar winter, travelling in darkness at temperatures down to below -70⁰C.
Departing from Novolazarevskaya (Novo) in March, the expedition experienced considerable difficulties from the outset and the length of the journey had to be substantial reduced.
However, the team went ahead with its valuable scientific tasks to provide unique data on glaciology, marine life, oceanography and meteorology.
Sponsored by pump distributor AxFlow Ltd, the three pumps maintained a regular fuel supply for the two Finning Caterpillar D6N track-type tractors used by the expedition to pull the two cabooses, which housed scientific research facilities, accommodation and storage, together with the 14 fuel pods containing 70,000 litres of Jet A1 aviation fuel.
The roles of the Blackmer XL1-5A and a Blackmer XB1C pumps were to unload the fuel from drums and transfer it each day to the vehicles. AxFlow selected these pumps because they are robust, are able to handle the low viscosity fuel at temperatures down to -90ºC and had been previously used in extreme cold-weather applications by NERC British Antarctic Survey.
The Blackmer sliding vane pump operates through the employment of a number of vanes that slide into or out of slots in the pump rotor when the pump is rotating. The vanes move outwards from the rotor and ride against the inner bore of the pump casing, forming pumping chambers in the process.
As the rotor revolves, the fluid enters the pumping chambers from the suction port. The fluid is circulated around the pump casing until it reaches the discharge port where it is forced out into the discharge piping. This type of design virtually eliminates any slippage, meaning that the pump’s high volumetric efficiency is maintained at all times.
Because the self-adjusting sliding vanes continuously adjust for wear, sliding vane pumps are able to maintain their near original efficiency and capacity throughout the life of the pump.
The pump speed does not need to be increased over time, making this type of pump highly energy efficient. These factors made the pumps ideal for the purposes and operating conditions encountered on the journey.
Fig. 1 Unloading the fuel from drums and transferring the fuel each day will be undertaken by Blackmer XL1-5A and a Blackmer XB1C pumps.
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New systems for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) are constantly being developed. One of the more interesting approaches is GlassPoint's solar steam generators can replace natural gas in generating the steam injected into oil wells to boost recovery, reducing CO2 emissions by up to 80%.
Supporters for the technology include Petroleum Development Oman, which has selected the technology for a solar thermal EOR demonstration project, while Shell has become an investor in Glasspoint.
Traditionally natural gas is burned to generate steam for injection into reservoirs. The steam heats thick oil, helping it to flow more freely and boost production.
Gas, however, is a valuable resource in many oil producing countries, especially in the Gulf states of the Middle East where it is needed to generate power and desalinate water.
The gas saved can then be used where it is needed the most to generate electricity for industrial applications or exported as liquefied natural gas.
But conventional solar thermal technologies can be costly; the rows of mirrors which collect sunlight are made of expensive, heavy steel, and require substantial, concrete structures that anchor them to the ground against strong winds. Dust and debris collect on the mirrors, which makes them less efficient and call for frequent, labour-intensive cleaning.
California-based Glasspoint's founders engineers Rod MacGregor and Pete von Behrens came up with the idea of putting the entire solar field in a glasshouse.
“By enclosing the troughs in an agricultural-grade glasshouse, we can use low-weight, low-cost materials to reduce the capital cost of the field by more than half,” says MacGregor.
The troughs are so light that they hang from the glass ceiling, while an automated robot cleans the glasshouse roof, reducing operations and maintenance costs and conserving water.
Independent energy company Berry Petroleum of California recognised the technology’s potential and invited GlassPoint to install a pilot plant at a 100-year-old oil field in California. The plant started up in 2011 and was the world’s first commercial solar EOR project.
This was followed by a second project, 27 times bigger than the first, for Petroleum Development Oman (PDO), the largest oil producer in Oman in which Shell has a 34% interest. The pilot plant started production in December 2012 and was officially commissioned in February 2013.
Between February and July it replaced around 400,000 m³ of gas, saving 800 tonnes of CO2 emissions that would otherwise have been emitted from the gas fired steam generators. To date, the project produces 10% more steam than originally expected.
“When Shell makes an investment in a small company like ours, potential customers take note,” said MacGregor. “Shell’s investment and interest legitimises the technology and helps put our company on the map.”
Given that getting renewable energy and energy-from-waste projects off the ground can be such as lengthy and painstaking process the growth in the number of UK projects starts is impressive.
Construction market analysts Glenigan has reported a stream of renewable energy and waste treatment projects moving forward during the second half of 2013.
While last year the level of renewable energy starts were roughly flat on 2012, Glenigan now reports "strong growth across a range of projects to generate energy-from-waste and maximise recycling have begun on site.
"Renewable energy will be the main source of growth in 2014, following a 40% increase in planning approvals this year," said Glenigan's Construction Prospects for 2014 report.
Arguably the biggest play in the space is at Drax, which has officially opened a new systems to receive, store and distribute biomass for its first converted biomass unit, which has been running since the start of April, with the second planned for next year and the third in 2016.
Drax operates six generating units, which together deliver 7-8% of the UK's power requirement.
Sembcorp Industries on 24 Dec announced 'financial close' for its new 49MW energy-from-waste project in the UK - indicating that it had secured full financial backing for the £250-million scheme, due on-stream in 2016.
The project involves the development of a facility for the Merseyside and Halton Waste Partnership at the company’s Wilton International industrial site in Teesside, UK.
Air Products says its advanced gasification plant, in Billingham, near Stockton, is on schedule to begin operations in 2014, Redhall Group has reported.
Redhall Engineering based at Middlesbrough is delivering a £3m contract to make and install pipework at the UK’s first energy-from-waste power station to use plasma technology, which generates energy by burning domestic and commercial waste destined for landfill.
Elsewhere, Advanced Plasma Power has gained planning permission from Birmingham City Council for a proposed 6MW commercial Gasplasma waste-to-energy plant in Tyseley, Birmingham.
MWH Treatment is to design, build and maintain a £47.8m biomass gasification facility for Birmingham Bio-Power Ltd. Due on-stream in early 2016, the 10.3MW plant in Tyseley, Birmingham, will burn around 67ktpa of wood waste sourced under a long-term contract with a local supplier.
The gasification technology is provided by Nexterra Systems of Canada. MWH will run and maintain the plant under a five-year contract. The project is expected to create 100 construction and 19 full time jobs.
Meanwhile, Hitachi Zozen Inova Ltd is currently seeking contractors to tender for a £40m energy-from-waste facility at the Rivenhall Site, Coggesshall Road in Braintree, Essex. Tenders are due to be returned on 31 Jan 2014.
In Spotland, SSE has the go-ahead for its proposed 600MW Coire Glas pumped storage hydroelectric scheme at Loch Lochy. The £800m project would extract, store and release energy to and from the electricity transmission system, and have energy storage capacity of up to 30GWh.
Work has started on the £81m Evermore Renewable Energy biomass renewable power plant in Northern Ireland, the Green Investment Bank said 10 Dec. The 15.8 MWe CHP plant is project is due for start-up by summer 2015, and will be built and operated by BWSC.
Finally, the much-delayed start-up of Cynar's plastics-to-diesel plant at Sita's Avonmouth site, near Bristol is likely to happen in 2014, according to a Sita spokesman.
The Avonmouth plant was scheduled to be fully commissioned over a year ago, but has yet to come on-stream. This is now expected to happen during 2014, according to a spokesman for SITA UK - a key partner in the project.
The plant, he stated, is going through "a gentle commissioning and fine-tuning phase before we hold an official opening - but I would expect this to be in the next few months."
Cynar's collaboration with Sita envisages the establishment of several sites using its process technology across the UK. Rockwell Automation is also partnering Cynar, which already has a plant up and running in Portlaoise in the Republic of Ireland and is establishing another unit in Spain.
Given that getting renewable energy and energy-from-waste projects off the ground can be such as lengthy and painstaking process the growth in the number of UK projects starts is impressive.
Air Products says its advanced gasification plant, in Billingham, near Stockton, is on schedule to begin operations in 2014, Redhall Group has reported. Redhall Engineering based at Middlesbrough is delivering a £3m contract to make and install pipework at the UK’s first energy-from-waste power station to use plasma technology, which generates energy by burning domestic and commercial waste destined for landfill.
Elsewhere, Advanced Plasma Power has gained planning permission from Birmingham City Council for a proposed 6MW commercial Gasplasma waste-to-energy plant in Tyseley, Birmingham.
MWH Treatment is to design, build and maintain a £47.8m biomass gasification facility for Birmingham Bio-Power Ltd. Due on-stream in early 2016, the 10.3MW plant in Tyseley, Birmingham, will burn around 67ktpa of wood waste sourced under a long-term contract with a local supplier.
In Spotland, SSE has the go-ahead for its proposed 600MW Coire Glas pumped storage hydroelectric scheme at Loch Lochy. The £800m project would extract, store and release energy to and from the electricity transmission system, and have energy storage capacity of up to 30GWh.
Work has started on the £81m Evermore Renewable Energy biomass renewable power plant in Northern Ireland, the Green Investment Bank said 10 Dec. The 15.8 MWe CHP plant is project is due for start-up by summer 2015, and will be built and operated by BWSC.
The plant, he stated, is going through "a gentle commissioning and fine-tuning phase before we hold an official opening - but I would expect this to be in the next few months."
Edited speech by energy minister Michael Fallon MP to the EDF supply chain conference on 9 Dec at the ExCel Conference Centre, London:
These are exciting times, particularly in respect of the UK’s new nuclear programme. Several key milestones in the Hinkley Point C programme have already been reached ... and while state-aid approval from the Commission and third-party financing is still to be secured - the significant progress made has cleared the path for starting the construction of the first new nuclear reactor to be built in the UK for 30yrs.
We have now reached the stage at which EDF Group, with their partners, cannot continue this project alone. This is the point at which the supply chain, working collaboratively, must engage and begin the process of turning the Hinkley Point C approved designs and plans into a physical reality. This is the point at which your expertise, skills and determination will take this project from the drawing board to producing 3.2GW of low-carbon power annually for the UK for over 60 years.
Hinkley represents the first of a whole fleet that will hopefully be deployed in the medium-term so it is essential to take a long-term perspective of the supply chain opportunities that new nuclear brings.
Building safe and secure nuclear power stations that generate carbon-free electricity - and doing it to time and budget - while also enhancing the UK’s industrial and economic landscape, are crucial components underpinning the broad public support for new nuclear power in the UK.
A significant failure in this regard would be to the detriment of our wider programme. The stakes are high and the challenges significant, but the opportunities are great.
It is worth taking a moment to remind ourselves on why new nuclear is important. It is without doubt, a safe, proven low carbon technology that can contribute to the UK’s future energy security, helping to ensure a diverse mix of technology and fuel sources over the long term.
And it will do this in a way that doesn’t pump harmful carbon emissions into the atmosphere.
In addition to helping the UK meet its energy needs and its environmental commitments, new nuclear power stations will create outstanding opportunities for the UK economy both via investment and jobs at Hinkley Point C and the follow-on developments.
Civil nuclear is a key growth industry that provides highly skilled jobs. The full 16GW of new build capacity planned by industry could support an estimated 29,000-41,000 jobs across the nuclear supply chain at the peak of construction activity, with industry investment equating to around £60 billion.
So I have explained why both the new nuclear programme and Hinkley Point C specifically is important to the UK, but why should it be important to you as a potential supplier. Why should you get involved? What’s in it for you?
Why be involved?
Involvement in this project gives you the opportunity take advantage of the entire UK new build programme right from the start. It gives you the opportunity to benefit from Billions of pounds worth of manufacturing contracts for Hinkley Point C alone.
It gives you the opportunity to be identified as part of the ‘baseline’ supply chain for all EPR reactors that may be built in the UK in the future and the opportunity to develop partnerships, both with other UK firms or with overseas companies to expand your offerings and provide new and innovative solutions.
It gives you the opportunity to be recognised as a suitably qualified nuclear supplier, with recent UK new build experience, to nuclear developers with an investment programme for the UK that equates to around 60 Billion pounds in total.
Finally, it gives you the opportunity to use the skills, expertise and partnerships developed on this project to strengthen your ability to look beyond the UK market and access the staggering 1.5 trillion dollars worth of new build investment in new nuclear build predicted globally by the World Nuclear Association by 2025, across circa 30 countries.
Your being here today is evidence of your desire to be involved in this project and beyond. I know that it has taken longer than we all would have wanted to in order to get to this stage.
But we are now at a stage where practical action is essential to ensure that that firms stand ready and able to access the new build opportunities when they arise and win the contracts on the strengths of their bids. In order to do that, companies need confidence that the new build programme will indeed take place.
The recent agreement announced between EdF Group and the UK Government is a clear demonstration to the supply chain of our commitment to new build. In addition, companies need much more information to be disseminated across the supply chain on the nature of the work packages involved, the estimated schedules and timeframe’s associated with projects. There also needs to be strong partnership working between the developers, their top tier contractors and the rest of the supply chain. That is why events like this one today, are so important.
I’ve explained some of the benefits I believe you will gain by being involved in this project and what can be reasonably be expected of the developers and the top tier contractors but what will be expected of you in return? No company can expect to win such a prize without effort as you are all very aware.
So what will be expected of the Hinkley Point C supply chain?
Firstly, and most importantly, we expect the highest standards of safety and compliance to all requirements of the UKs independent nuclear regulator. The British people quite rightly expect, and trust, that the new nuclear programme will not compromise the very high safety record that has built up over decades of safe nuclear operations and decommissioning activity across the UK. The ongoing acceptability of nuclear power in the UK and beyond depends upon this.
You have an obligation to ensure that nothing you do in any of your operations has a detrimental effect on the trust that has been placed on you and the UK nuclear industry.
Secondly, all suppliers must comply with the proscribed codes and standards for this design. I know that these will be the subject of further discussion during the event today, as EDF Energy and their partners provide more detail of these, so I will not dwell on these.
Thirdly, all suppliers must be cost competitive. No company should expect to win a contract on this project unless they are cost competitive. No company can expect to win a contract just because they are British, or indeed, just because they may be part of an established developer supply chain.
This is important not just for the developer but also for the UK taxpayer who as the right to expect, as promised in the 2008 white paper, that nuclear power is cost competitive with other forms of low carbon energy.
These three requirements are simple to explain but, I know are not always simple to achieve so, quite rightly the government will be right alongside you in helping you to achieve these.
The British government is committed to providing the supply chain with the support needed to ensure they have both the capability and capacity to take full benefit from the opportunities I outlined earlier. The newly formed Nuclear Industry Council has been created to ensure both Government and Industry do just that.
Specifically for the manufacturing supply chain this support comes, to name just three of many groups, from;
•The Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre to help both develop the capability of individual firms and to ensure, via use of our world class R & D facility in Rotherham, that we can develop the advanced manufacturing techniques required to support both this and the next generation of reactor designs.
•The Manufacturing Advisory Service to provide tailored business support in order to help you, the manufacturer, streamline your processes, reduce waste, become more energy efficient and generally improve and grow your businesses
•And the National Skills Academy for Nuclear Manufacturing to both identify and develop the highly skilled resource that is the bedrock of the manufacturing supply chain.
Members of these groups are here today, along with many others who will be providing much more information on all the support available to you.
In addition to these I am delighted to announce that early in 2014, up to £13 million will be made available jointly by the UK’s Innovation Agency, the Technology Strategy Board, the Department of Energy and Climate Change and the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority to help UK-based businesses take advantage of the opportunities that arise from the UK’s new nuclear programme.
This is part of a drive to grow a robust and sustainable UK supply chain by developing innovative products and services for the nuclear sector. The initiative will focus on key technology areas such as construction, manufacturing, operation, maintenance and decommissioning & waste. This funding competition will open on the 17th March 2014.
Finally I want to strongly welcome the earlier announcement made by Humphrey Cadoux-Hudson on the launch of the Nuclear Supply Chain SME Partnership. Developing strong partnerships and regular, shared communications across the supply chain will be critical to the successful delivery of the UK’s Nuclear programme and I believe that this group will be a vital component in achieving this.
The Hinkley Point C project is a fantastic opportunity for you to become part of the firm foundations on which the UK’s new nuclear renaissance will be built.
GSK's manufacturing site in Irvine, Scotland is widely regarded as a leading example of what can be achieved in the areas of low-carbon manufacturing and overall sustainability.
The largest energy and water consumer of the pharmaceuticals group’s 80 manufacturing sites worldwide, GSK Irvine is well on the way to reaching its ambitious goals of coming off the national electricity grid, and zero carbon from energy by 2020.
To achieve these targets, the Scottish operation has, since 2009, developed a sustainability programme involving the engagement of all staff and the appointment of 'energy 'Kaizens' to research and instigate energy-saving initiatives.
"The site produces two main pharmaceutical products, 6APA and 'clav' blends," explains Mark Dunn, sustainable manufacturing manager at GSK Irvine. "These operations are both targeted within our sustainability programme, via focus teams within each production area and for the services supplied from the utilities and wastewater treatment areas."
Around 50 projects have so far been implemented under the sustainability programme, which has delivered a 24% reduction in carbon from energy over the last five years.
Many of these involved rigorous measuring and monitoring to identify improvements that have already led to the implementation of steam traps, IE3 motors, heat recovery, HVAC, LEDs and combined heat and power (CHP).
Currently £20 million is being invested in two major projects: wind turbines to supply a projected 12% of electricity needs; and anaerobic digestion of fermentation waste that will produce methane to power a CHP plant and take wastewater treatment off-grid.
According to Dunn, the AD project is currently under construction and will be commissioned from January 2014.
"Commissioning to full output takes several months so full environmental and energy benefits will be delivered from the second quarter of 2014," he said.
Looking further ahead, Dunn said new targets for GSK Irvine range from "improvements in efficiency of well-established technologies to identifying local sustainable fuel sources that can be applied to energy generation on site.
"This extends to assessing the carbon footprint of alternative techniques for conversion of our raw material into the final product."
Though he declined to identify specific process technologies under review, the sustainable manufacturing leader concluded: "GSK Irvine is continuing to review all potential opportunities towards meeting its energy and carbon goals by 2020."