Many industrial processes require thermal energy as part of the production process. Steam is often the heat carrier because it highly absorbs this thermal energy and transports easily via piping. Industrial boilers are used to convert the energy in fuel to the thermal...
Equipment monitoring plays a large role in a manufacturer's reliability program. The health of this equipment can also affect energy consumption levels. For motor-driven pumps, fans, compressors, etc., monitoring the electrical energy usage provides an additional...
Controlling industrial combustion-based units such as boilers, heaters and furnace has historically relied on the use of fuel-to-air curves. These curves represent the amount of fuel and air required for a given load. In this 4:28 video, Patented Combustion Solution...
With the emphasis on improving energy efficiency and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, process manufacturers have turned to pneumatic low-bleed and zero-bleed valve positioners. Emerson's Riyaz Ali copied me on an email about a recent article that mentioned a...
If you're unfamiliar with the phrase "heat rate" used in the electrical power generation industry, it means the amount of heat energy in BTUs as input to the turbine generators divided by the amount of electricity generated in kilowatts. Accurate level measurement in...
CERAWeek is "...the premier annual international gathering of energy industry leaders, experts, government officials and policymakers, leaders from the technology, financial, and industrial communities – and energy technology innovators." I'll be here this week in...
Steam is a critical part of many process manufacturing processes and the energy to produce it can be a significant source of operational costs. I recently caught up with process automation hall-of-fame member Greg McMillan and Emerson's Scott Pettigrew at the Emerson...
At the Emerson Exchange conference in Austin, Emerson's Jim Dunbar presented Steam Management and Optimization. His abstract: Sipchem facility includes utility plant supplying steam to seven downstream production plants. Utility plant was struggling with reliability...
Last week in a post, Reducing Demand Charges in Energy Bills, we highlighted the opportunity for process manufacturers and producers to optimize energy costs. Today, we'll look at how to better identify these opportunities for energy savings. Emerson's Bill Thackston...
The cost of electrical power has grown more complex over time. It used to be that your kilowatt-hours (kwh) consumed were tallied to arrive at the cost. As the metering has grown more sophisticated, variable rates have emerged based on peak energy usage, time of day,...
Process manufacturers and producers are under constant pressure to improve performance to remain competitive and maintain ongoing profitability. Technology can help play a large role in increasing performance through reliability, production availability, energy and...
Plan. Do. Check. Act. From Wikipedia: PDCA (plan–do–check–act or plan–do–check–adjust) is an iterative four-step management method used in business for the control and continual improvement of processes and products. It is also known as the Deming circle/cycle/wheel,...
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This blog features expert perspectives from Emerson's automation professionals on industry trends, technologies, and best practices. The information shared here is intended to inform and educate our global community of users and partners.