Control Systems
Statement of Requirements:
Finite resources of oil and gas make it imperative for continuous improvements of quality and efficiency of the hydrocarbon based manufacture. In the polymer manufacturing industry the quest for quality and efficiency is manifest in ever more use of computer control of the processes, often termed APC. APC sets out to control the individual loops of the reaction in the main using conventional control techniques. This is often supplemented by modelling when direct process measurements, such as molecular weight, are unavailable in suitable form. In such cases process corrections are usually made by infrequent laboratory based measurements.
The progress of APC has therefore been constrained by the lack of development of some important support technologies.
Rheology potentially allows the computer control to work in an overall corrective mode and to accurately calibrate the process in terms of finished product quality and polymer properties.
Polymer Process Modelling potentially allows the computer control to work in a predictive mode and to define more precisely the polymer structure produced by the reaction.
Integrated Systems, incorporating APC, Polymer Modelling and Rheology are clearly suited for optimisation of the entire process as well as production of the desired article.
Scope of Supply
From a good working knowledge of the totality of Integrated Systems, Molecular Control Systems Ltd. (MCS) operates in the niche concerning polymer process control. Services of Specialist Consultancy and Plant Audit can be undertaken. MCS do not manufacture.
- Audit – MCS can advise appropriate control packages and specialised instrumentation in relation to a wide variety of polymerisation processes.
- Specialist Consultancy – Object to optimise process efficiency and product quality. MCS can provide consultancy services in close cooperation with customer consultants in the specialist fields of process control and QC.
- Manufacture - At-Line rheometers, suitable for the most exacting duties of Process Control and Quality Control manufactured and sold by Optical Control Systems GmbH.
Our immediate target is to complement the now widely accepted APC control practice for resin plants. The objective is to replace the calculation of primary variables, such as average molecular weight, with very reliable measurement. This non-trivial exercise requires specialised and highly confidential knowledge.
The immediate benefit is to make the overall control system more robust and much less susceptible to costly process excursions from feedstock impurities etc. Grade changes are optimised and a tighter definition of molecular structure leads to more predictable processing of the end product.