Kemira Reduces Maintenance Costs Thanks to Robust Dissolved Oxygen System

Transcription

1 Chemical Perspectives in Liquid Process Analytics 15 News INGOLD Leading Process Analytics Kemira Reduces Maintenance Costs Thanks to Robust Dissolved Oxygen System Kemira was experiencing poor performance from a dissolved oxygen measurement system, resulting in unnecessarily high maintenance costs. A METTLER TOLEDO solution provided the reliability and the reduced maintenance they required. Water treatment technology With expertise in fiber, chemical water treatment and water separation technologies, Finnish chemical industry group Kemira has created an extensive product portfolio. At its UK facility in Bradford, Kemira manufactures organic flocculants for use in the water treatment industry. Kemira s flocculants are high molecular weight water-soluble polymers and are available in a wide range of charge type, chemistry, charge density, molecular weight and architecture. Polymerization The application in question is a copolymerization involving acrylamide and a quaternary ammonium compound. Monomers and polymer initiators are combined immediately prior to injection into the reactor, which is blanketed with nitrogen. The polymerization takes place as material enters the reactor. At the reactor outlet the polymeric product passes through a series of cutting processes which break the solid material into small pieces ready for drying and packaging. Oxygen acts as an inhibitor to the polymerization, i.e. if oxygen levels are not kept below a certain level sufficient polymerization will not take place. If this happens there is a risk of un-reacted monomers entering the cutting system causing a potential environmental issue and undesirable process downtime. Measurement of the dissolved oxygen level in the monomers is therefore critical in preventing

2 out-of-spec material entering the reactor stage of the process. High quality membranes METTLER TOLEDO was approached after Kemira experienced problems with their existing dissolved oxygen measurement system. They were seeing unexpected membrane failures in their DO equipment and generally poor membrane lifetime lasting anything from a couple of weeks, down to only a few days in extreme cases. Before a METTLER TOLEDO system was put in place, samples of the monomers were taken back to our lab so that the suitability of our dissolved oxygen membranes could be evaluated. At the end of the trials no significant change or damage to the membranes was observed. Rugged performance Following this successful evaluation Kemira purchased a system to install on one of their monomer lines. The system chosen comprised the InPro 6800 DO sensor and M700 multi-parameter transmitter. The M700 was selected because it would allow access to raw signal data and calibration statistics, which would help in Kemira s management and long term evaluation of the system. The installation has now been in place for several months without any membrane problems and hence no maintenance requirement. Less maintenance As a result, Kemira has recently purchased a second system, this time upgrading to the new InPro 6850 i digital sensor allowing them to take advantage of Intelligent Sensor Management (ISM) technology. ISM uses advanced diagnostics to provide real-time information on sensor condition. By using the predictive maintenance functions of the M700 transmitter, maintenance tasks at Kemira can be performed before a critical drop in sensor performance occurs. The result is reduced maintenance costs with higher process availability and a very satisfied customer. Best Practice Does your current DO system know when the sensor is going to fail? The Dynamic Lifetime Indicator in the M700 transmitter calculates and displays the remaining lifetime of the InPro 6850 i DO sensor. With METTLER TOLEDO s ISM technology, expensive process downtimes to replace failed sensors have become a thing of the past. Discover more at: To reduce maintenance costs at your facility, go to: Publisher / Production Mettler-Toledo AG Process Analytics Im Hackacker 15 CH-8902 Urdorf Switzerland Illustrations Mettler-Toledo AG Jinchuan Group Kronos Titan Nostal6ie, Rx3ajl Dreamstime.com Subject to technical changes. Mettler-Toledo AG 12/09 Printed in Switzerland. Dissolved oxygen sensor InPro 6850 i Multi-parameter transmitter M700 2 METTLER TOLEDO Chemical News 15

3 F O2 Gas Measurement Measure Oxygen Where it Really Matters Directly in Your Process Performance of gaseous oxygen measurement is now redefined with METTLER TOLEDO s amperometric systems. They not only allow reliable and stable measurement, they are inexpensive to maintain and, what s more, do not require any gas sampling system. Unwanted oxygen Oxygen levels in industrial processes are heavily controlled to contain the risk of explosion of flammable liquids and dusts, as well as to protect products against oxidation. Not only is oxygen monitoring a critical issue in transport systems, storage tanks or centrifuges, it can also negatively affect the yield of a chemical reaction in a vessel. Many solutions which is best? When selecting a vendor for a measurement system, technologies and solutions abound, but in many cases a trade-off exists between sufficient performance and reliability, and reasonable maintenance effort and system availability. In order to function correctly, paramagnetic systems need to protect the measurement cell from heat, moisture and / or corrosive gases. However, the more instruments there are between the process and the sensor, the longer the response time will be and the higher the probability of system failure. Amperometric: simple and reliable Looking at the field of dissolved oxygen measurement however, membrane-based amperometric sensors using the Clark principle offer an alternative. For decades they have demonstrated optimum performance in a wide range of applications ranging from fermentation processes in breweries, in biopharmaceutical industries or in chemical process applications. Paramagnetic system The sample path through a paramagentic system is long and slow. This technology, with a proven industrial track record due to its simplicity and ruggedness, is ideally suited for the in-situ measurement of gaseous oxygen. METTLER TOLEDO offers a comprehensive range of amperometric systems with sensors for wide application coverage, retractable housings for sensor extraction without process interruption, and transmitters for signal conversion and connection to process control systems using HART, FOUNDATION fieldbus or PROFIBUS. Naturally, the complete measurement system is available with ATEX Zone 0 / FM Class 1 Div 1 approval if required. Amperometric sensors can be maintained in two minutes, with minimum impact on your running process. All that is required is to replace the membrane body and fill it with fresh electrolyte solution. Subsequent calibration can be performed on site using air as a calibration gas. O 2 N 2 in METTLER TOLEDO solution The METTLER TOLEDO solution measures directly in the vessel immediately. Intelligent sensors for smart processes All amperometric sensors from METTLER TOLEDO are available in digital versions equipped with Intelligent Sensor Management (ISM) technology. With the Plug and Measure feature, pre-calibrated sensors can be immediately used in the process, minimizing the time necessary for maintenance and without the need for specialist know-how. Additionally, ISM sensors have built-in self-diagnostic abilities in order to detect early signs of failure such as low electrolyte levels, and alert users before measurement quality or process availability is impacted. If you want to save costs on O 2 measurement at your facility, go to: METTLER TOLEDO Chemical News 15 3

4 Precise ph Measurement Achieving High Product Quality in Cobalt Oxide Synthesis The demand for cobalt oxide is increasing worldwide. For a Chinese producer, accurately measuring ph in their process was problematic. METTLER TOLEDO s automated cleaning system improved reliability, thus making high product quality a certainty, even in harsh conditions. Increasing demand Located in Gansu Province, China, Jinchuan Group Limited is a large-scale, non-ferrous metallurgical enterprise, specialized in the production of nickel and cobalt materials. It ranks fourth in the world and first in Asia among nickel material providers. With the popularization of portable electronic devices such as the notebook computer, mobile phone, PDA and MP3 player, and the rapid development of hybrid electric vehicles and pure battery-powered vehicles, the demand for chargeable lithium ion batteries is rising year on year. Cobalt (II,III) oxide (Co 3 O 4 ) is an important raw material in lithium ion battery production, the grade of which can directly affect the quality of the finished batteries. Wet synthesis The production of Co 3 O 4 comprises two processes: wet synthesis and thermal treatment. The wet synthesis process directly affects the microscopic pattern and chemical composition of Co 3 O 4. Using a water bath, the reactor is kept at a stable temperature and the reactants are fed at a constant rate. A specially designed agitator is used to ensure the evenness of the product, and during the process ph must be maintained at a precise level. As the reaction progresses, cobalt hydroxide precipitates and is converted into Co 3 O 4 through heating. Monitoring system The control of the cobalt hydroxide synthesis reactor is vital to successful wet synthesis. The temperature inside the reactor, the ph value and the mixing speed are major control parameters. The temperature and the mixing speed can be easily controlled by using the hot water tank circulation method and the general converter, respectively. However, due to the complexity of the precipitant solutions (which include acid, alkaline and ammonium) and given that the precipitation of cobalt hydroxide generated comprises micron level particles that easily adhere to and pollute the electrode, accurate measurement of the ph value is difficult. Unreliable measurements can lead to reduced product quality, so to try and solve the problem Jinchuan Group trialed several solutions from a number of manufacturers. They finally decided that a METTLER TOLEDO system best met their needs. The selected solution comprised the following: InPro 4800 electrode: Its two electrolyte chambers and PTFE annular junction make it eminently suitable for use in applications where polluting materials and large changes in temperature are present. ph 2100 e transmitter: An extremely stable and reliable unit which features SensoCheck for continuous monitoring of the glass and reference electrodes. InTrac 777 housing: The housing chosen is air-powered, retractable and includes a flushing chamber in which the electrode can be cleaned and calibrated. The InTrac 777 is equipped with a location detection feedback element so that its operating status can be determined remotely. Automated cleaning and calibration system at Jinchuan Group 4 METTLER TOLEDO Chemical News 15

5 Best Practice Save costs by switching to automatic sensor cleaning and calibration Cobalt oxide is an important raw material of rechargeable batteries EasyClean 300 cleaning / calibration system: In combination with the InTrac 777 housing the EasyClean 300 provides completely automatic electrode cleaning and calibration. Since installation at Jinchuan Group s facility, the EasyClean 300 has been superseded by the even more advanced EasyClean 350 e. Installation and programming The METTLER TOLEDO system was interlinked with the PLC of the facility s Central Control Room (CCR) so as to constitute a fully automatic in-line ph measurement and control solution. The hardware configuration means that real-time monitoring of ph is conducted in the CCR. The status of the ph measurement system as well as the location information from the housing, and maintenance requirements, are also monitored so that use of the system becomes safer, easier and quicker. During the cobalt hydroxide synthesis process, fixing the alkali flow and adjusting the acid flow are based on the ph value. Controlling the valve aperture through adjustment of a PID parameter in the PLC allows stable control of ph during the whole reaction process. An automatic sensor cleaning and calibration system has many clear benefits: More efficient: Downtimes caused by insufficiently maintained sensors are eliminated Less inventory: Regularly maintained sensors have a longer lifespan Safer: No engineer exposure to hazardous media or high temperatures Find out more at To meet the requirement of free-from-site operation, signals between the ph measurement point and the CCR are transmitted via hard wire, the ph value signals are sent via 4~20mA signals, while the housing operation and the electrode location feedback are transmitted through the node signals. Excellent results Engineers at Jinchuan Group report that the system runs very stably and reliably, and completely meets the design requirements. The operation of the automatic ph measurement and control system has proven far superior to the previous method, which relied on manual cleaning and calibration. Now, ph control precision during the synthesis process reaches ±0.02pH. This helps Jinchuan Group provide a strong guarantee of high product quality to their many customers, and helps them keep up with ever increasing demand. Discover more at: Automatic sensor cleaning and calibration system EasyClean 350 e ph electrode InPro 4800 METTLER TOLEDO Chemical News 15 5

6 Longer Sensor Life ISM Increases the Lifespan of ph Electrodes in Titanium Dioxide Production at Kronos Titanium dioxide is the world s most widely used white pigment. For producer Kronos Titan, digital ph electrodes with their own diagnostic functions provide outstanding performance and a reduced maintenance requirement. Titanium dioxide the most important white pigment Due to its non-toxicity Titanium Dioxide is used in a very wide range of products including paint, toothpaste, paper and food. The two common modifications of TiO 2 are anatase (as a rule manufactured using the sulfate process) and rutile (generally manufactured using the more modern chloride process), which can be used in a variety of applications by virtue of its very high light refraction properties. TiO 2 is made from ilmenite, a titanium ore which contains iron. In production using the sulfate process a secondary product, iron sulfate, is produced; this substance is used as a flocculent in wastewater treatment. With a total turnover of 1.1 billion U.S. $ in 2007, Kronos Titan is one of the world s largest manufacturers of titanium dioxide. Two out of their six plants are in Germany. In Nordenham, Kronos produce titanium dioxide by the sulphate process. In Leverkusen, as well as using the sulfate process, titanium dioxide is produced by the chloride process. Chemical treatment provides the desired optical properties In a wet-chemical procedure the actual TiO 2 pigment is provided with a covering treatment in order to specifically affect optical properties. The particular proper- ties of this coating are governed by the intended use of the pigment. The ph for this production step is a defining parameter for product quality and must be strictly controlled. At its Leverkusen plant, Kronos uses several treatment vats (80 m 3 capacity) in which the ph is measured in a by-pass circuit into which the TiO 2 suspension is transferred by pump. InPro 4260 i ph electrodes lower operating costs In the past, Kronos had to battle with the very short lifespan of another manufacturer s ph electrodes. After a test installation of METTLER TOLEDO InPro 4260 i ph electrodes, the 12-hour lifespan previously experienced was extended to at least two weeks! Today, eight vats are equipped with Intelligent Sensor Management (ISM) InPro 4260 i electrodes in conjunction with the M700 transmitter. Since installation, the operating costs for ph measurement have been lowered significantly. The InPro 4260 i ph electrode s unique reference system is particularly well suited for use in pigment suspensions. With electrodes using conventional ceramic diaphragms, the small pores clogged very rapidly. This caused unreliable measurements because contamination of the diaphragm resulted in undesirable diffusion potentials that distorted the readings. The METTLER TOLEDO InPro 4260 i ph electrode features Xerolyt, a solid polymer electrolyte that eliminates the need for a diaphragm. Instead, the reference system communicates via two open junctions with the measuring medium. The extremely fine particles that deposit in the junctions can then be rinsed away. This predisposes the InPro 4260 i for use in applications that would quickly result in contamination of other electrodes. Solution ground prevents destruction of the reference system Contamination of the electrodes was just one problem. Destructive electrical potentials in the production plant combined with the flow of current through the reference system, destroyed competitors ph electrodes in a very short time. The METTLER TOLEDO InPro 4260 i features an integrated platinum auxiliary electrode (solution ground) that dissipates the damaging external potential and effi- Measuring solution Open reference junction Glass Open junction Xerolyt solid polymer electrolyte 6 METTLER TOLEDO Chemical News 15

7 Best Practice ciently protects the reference system from electrolytic destruction. Digital ISM sensors optimize process control Mr Sebastian Kühnel, PLT operations engineer for After-treatment Production Operations, identified other process optimizations through the use of ISM technology. ISM sensors feature diagnostic functions that make it possible to quickly and easily analyze the measuring system in the event of malfunction; this is critically important for him. The Sensor Network Diagram displayed on the M700 transmitter (see Best Practice, right) shows an overview of the status of the ph electrode based on the sensor s most important performance parameters. The need for maintenance operations such as cleaning, calibration or replacement of the sensor can therefore be easily determined. Thanks to the Plug and Measure functionality the entire expenditure for maintenance and service for ph measurements is reduced. But it is not only measurement malfunctions themselves that can be more easily identified and resolved. ISM sensors also indicate process errors that until now were difficult to recognize. A connection between unusually short sensor life and undesired process conditions can therefore be demonstrated. The electrodes are now serviced off-line of production directly on a PC in a control room on which METTLER TOLEDO s isense Asset Suite software is installed. Using the software, the electrodes can be easily evaluated, calibrated and managed. Easy handling The electrodes are conditioned by storing them in KCl solution when they come back from production and are also cleaned. After the isense software is used for evaluation, Kronos employees can decide whether an electrode can continue to be used or if it must be replaced. The possible lifespan of each electrode is thus optimally utilized. METTLER TOLEDO transmitters can help prevent process downtimes Before starting a batch, you want to be sure that your analytical sensors will not fail during the process. The Sensor Network Diagram on METTLER TOLEDO s M700 transmitter provides at-a-glance information about critical sensor parameters, allowing you to determine whether a sensor needs cleaning or replacing before the batch starts. Find out more at To benefit from digital sensors at your facility, go to: ph electrode InPro 4260 i METTLER TOLEDO Chemical News 15 7

8 Comprehensive Website The Information you Want is at The METTLER TOLEDO Process Analytics website contains a vast amount of up-to-date information on all our products and services. Content is localized for your country and tailored to suit your selections. Simple layout allows you to quickly find the information and features you are looking for. A typical Product page: with Features and Benefits and quick access to relevant application information, related products and downloads n Learn about our most recent product developments n Register for free webinars n Request further information on products and services n Obtain a quote quickly and easily n Download our latest white papers n Read case studies relevant to your industry n Access buffer and electrolyte solution certificates n and more... 8 METTLER TOLEDO Chemical News 15

9 Search by Product or by Application n Read the latest product news n Access our Newsletter archive n Find out when our next Trade Show or Exhibition is in your area n Register for free webinars presented by our industry experts Application pages help guide you to the products that are right for your processes n Download our White Papers METTLER TOLEDO Chemical News 15 9

10 Intelligent Sensor Management Intelligent Sensor Management Reduces Life Cycle Costs and Improves Process Safety Intelligent Sensor Management (ISM) ISM reduces the installation, maintenance and calibration effort for METTLER TOLEDO s digital sensors to a minimum. This considerably improves process reliability, productivity and system availability. Reliable installation Digital communication between sensor and transmitter means signal is always reliable and unaffected by moisture. Plug and Measure Sensors are immediately recognized when connected to the transmitter eliminating difficult configuration procedures. Operational availability of measurement point within seconds. Intelligence starts in the head ISM sensors are equipped with integrated electronics in the sensor head that store all relevant sensor parameters and includes algorithms for enhanced sensor diagnostics. Predictive maintenance Intelligent diagnostics information is calculated and displayed on the sensor s transmitter and tells you if the sensor needs maintenance or replacement no more downtimes due to sensor failure! System integration Key ISM parameters can be fully integrated in a process control system via PROFIBUS PA or FOUNDATION Fieldbus. Wireless module available for transmission from sensor to transmitter no need for costly cable installation. Sensors can be pre-calibrated in the lab and stored for later use, saving time and increasing operational availability. METTLER TOLEDO s ISM product range includes a wide range of sensors for ph dissolved and gaseous O 2 conductivity turbidity 10 METTLER TOLEDO Chemical News 15

11 Intelligence starts in the head / ISM Diagnostics Maximum Performance Any sensor maintenance requirement is recognized at an early stage, reducing downtimes and minimizing plant operation costs. Dynamic Lifetime Indicator estimates in real time the remaining lifetime of the sensor. CIP / SIP cycles counted automatically. Sensor spider diagram for fast troubleshooting. isense Asset Suite software offers you a unique means of optimizing the performance of ISM sensors for enhanced reliability and process safety. Key Performance Table enables you to evaluate the condition of an ISM sensor at a glance, without the need of a transmitter. Documentation of every calibration as well as the entire sensor history documentation requirements to regulatory standards are easily met. advanced single- and multi-channel transmitters 4-wire 2-wire wireless module software applications isense Asset Suite ph data logger METTLER TOLEDO Chemical News 15 11

12 Get in-line with METTLER TOLEDO Trouble-free Conductivity Measurement a Completely New Solution Reduce your operating costs right from measurement point installation down to configuration and maintenance. This is all possible with the advanced M400 transmitter line from METTLER TOLEDO. It offers conductivity measurement based on ISM sensors as a new feature thus providing the benefits of ISM technology for applications in the field of concentration measurement. Conductivity sensors with Intelligent Sensor Management (ISM) technology carry their own calibration data for easy commissioning. They can monitor themselves and provide real-time information for up-to-date sensor diagnostics. With ISM, installation costs are significantly reduced. Mettler-Toledo Ingold, Inc. 36 Middlesex Turnpike Bedford, MA 01730, USA Tel: Fax: Toll Free: mtprous@mt.com Visit for more information