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Digital control proves Petrobras polystyrene production gains
01 June 2008
Digital automation systems have produced significant production gains and reduced plant downtime at Petrobras Zarate, a polystyrene manufacturing facility 80km north of Buenos Aires, Argentina. The plant, which produces high impact, general purpose crystal and bioriented sheet polystyrene, is part of Petrobras Energia, an integrated energy company in Buenos Aires.
Installer, Emerson Process Management claims that through the modernisation, production rose by up to 5% to 66,000 tons per year. Plant availability is now 99% and product reliability is up by 2 to 3 percent.
Emerson provided consulting, staff training, and installation of its PlantWeb digital architecture, AMS Suite asset management software, and DeltaV automation system. The project modernised the plant's high impact and crystal polystyrene facilities, including the water, steam and air utilities and the reactor operations.
Polystyrene production at Petrobras Zarate had been limited by a 1980s-era distributed control system. The transformation to digital was implemented in stages between 2002 and 2005. Petrobras Zarate saved
$1.13 million in 2005 when, with Emerson's assistance and aided by its digital valve and instrument technology, plant personnel completed the final hot cutover of operations control to the automation system without stopping production. Annual plant stoppages have been reduced by half, to once every two years, because plant staff can now make decisions based on more reliable data about their operations.
The Petrobras Zarate plant uses Foundation fieldbus communications to network the automation system with instrumentation and digital valve controllers.
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