Lurgi Metallurgie Constructs a Solution
Johann Student builds plants-large plants that, among other
things turn iron into useful steel. It's part of his job as
manager of electrical engineering and control systems and
deputy director of project execution of Frankfurt, Germany
based Lurgi Metallurgie GmBH.
For the most part Lurgi Metallurgie builds plants for others.
But the company also directs ongoing research and development
into the direct reduction of iron ore. This could potentially
eliminate a number of manufacturing steps. For its own test
and demonstration plant for direct ore reduction, Lurgi Metallurgie
selected a FOUNDATION fieldbus solution from Emerson Process Management.
Reduced Installation and Maintenance Costs
With experience at Lurgi Metallurgie's own facility, Student
has seen for himself what PlantWeb field-based architecture
with FOUNDATION fieldbus can do. He reports, for instance,
that there are significant cost savings. Since this is a pilot
plant, an exact number is hard to extract. Ongoing plant maintenance
costs, however, have been substantially reduced.
"I think 30 to 40 percent savings in maintenance is
a good figure," remarks Student. One advantage FOUNDATION
fieldbus offers over competing solutions is plug and play
technology. With plug and play, wiring polarity isn't a problem.
Plug and play also enables the online addition of field devices,
as well as interoperability with other vendors' FOUNDATION
fieldbus-compliant products.
 For
Student, a key advantage of FOUNDATION fieldbus is distributed
control across an entire plant. He says this allows closed
loop control in the field, a key requirement for a number
of benefits.
Improved Process Control
"This gives us better process control due to synchronized
scheduling between measurement, control algorithm and action -- and,
therefore, reduced process variability and improved maintenance
strategies for a much better process availability," Student
says.
As a constructor of plants, Lurgi Metallurgie doesn't have
the final say in which control systems are installed. That's
something the company's clients specify. But that doesn't
mean that Lurgi Metallurgie refuses to offer suggestions based
on its own experience.
On that subject, Student says, "We would recommend
the Emerson system to our client."
back to top
|
