Q: Will the Fertilizer Plants Advanced Control solution only work with Experion?A: No. The Fertilizer Advanced Control Solution can be applied to other Honeywell DCS and third-party DCS platforms. However, it is only with the Experion Process Knowledge System™ that you gain the complete benefit of a solution tightly integrated with: business objectives via production management tools, people effectiveness tools such as combined alarm and event analysis, and asset effectiveness tools monitoring and reporting the performance of all aspects of the solution—from basic control loops to complete multi-unit optimization strategies.
Q: What experience does Honeywell have in providing this solution?A: Honeywell has implemented Advanced Control Solutions on over 500 different process units and provided process automation to more than 100 fertilizer plants. Honeywell has implemented Profit Controller solutions on approximately six steam-methane reformers.
Q: Do customers need the complete solution in order to realize significant benefits?A: No. Honeywell’s unique layered approach to providing advanced controls means you only apply as much of the solution as needed to achieve the desired level of benefits. Honeywell can provide the benefits study that will help determine the expected return on investment. Even the lowest level of loop performance analysis and tuning typically provides an attractive payback of less than six months.
Q: Does Honeywell provide user support?A: Yes. Honeywell provides complete lifecycle support for Advanced Controls from design, implementation and commissioning, including operator and engineer training. Once operational, Honeywell can provide long term solution support including technology refresh and training, application enhancement, remote performance monitoring and reporting, migration to new platforms and a 24-hour Technical Assistance Center for remote support in all regions (Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia-Pacific and Americas).
Q: Will this solution work for a user with a Krupp Uhde ammonia plant and a Stamicarbon urea plant?A: Honeywell’s Advanced Control solution will work for all major fertilizer process technologies, including ammonia plants by KBR, KBR-KAAP, Krupp-Uhde and Haldor-Topsoe; and urea plants by Stamicarbon, Snamprogetti and Toyo Engineering processes.
Q: Can Honeywell Advanced Control help maximize plant production?A: Yes. Honeywell’s solution can reduce the amount of methane slippage leaving the reformers, while at the same time maintaining control of the steam/carbon feed ratio. These capabilities, along with controlling excess oxygen, will increase the reformer efficiency and reduce the incremental cost of each tonne of ammonia produced. Balancing changes in urea production with changes in the upstream ammonia plant help reduce the necessity to vent valuable CO2, and will also lower production costs. Honeywell’s Advanced Controls provide a more stable operation close to multiple operating constraints, helping users to avoid upsets and reduce unexpected shutdowns.
Q: Is this solution too complex for sites that do not have Advanced Controls?A: No. The initial layers of the solution involve analyzing and improving the existing basic control loops on the units today. This alone can help stabilize the operation and provide substantial benefits by avoiding unexpected shutdowns. In the next level, key complex loops can be tackled, such as controlling the steam/carbon ratio in the reformer or the hydrogen/nitrogen ratio in the ammonia synthesis reactor using advanced regulatory control tools such as Profit Loop. Once operators are comfortable with these actions, small multivariable controllers can be implemented—such as a Profit Controller around the primary reformer controlling reformer severity. Then other strategies can be linked around the secondary reformer, the ammonia synthesis reactor, the shift converters and CO2 absorption unit until an entire ammonia plant is covered. The pace at which new strategies are implemented can be adjusted according to each customer’s comfort level.
Q: How long does it take to implement this solution?A: The initial layers of the solution can be implemented in just a few weeks, and you can begin to realize the benefits right away. The complete solution across a single facility, such as an ammonia plant, takes approximately 6-9 months to implement.