By Florin Omota, Fellow on Process Control and Functional Safety - Fluor

The automation of industrial processes normally relies on two systems, a Basic Process Control System (BPCS) accessible to the operator and an independent Safety Instrumented System (SIS).
The Basic Process Control System (BPCS) is a system which handles process control and monitoring for a facility or piece of equipment. It takes inputs from process instrumentations or sensors to provide outputs based on design control strategy. The Basic Process Control System is responsible for maintaining the process parameters at optimum operating conditions within the required boundaries, therefore being also the first layer of protection against hazards.
The Safety Instrumented System (SIS) is designed according to IEC 61511:2016 standard to implement very specific Safety Instrumented Functions (SIF’s). A SIF is composed of one or more sensors, a logic solver and one or more final elements (e.g. pumps to stop or valves to close).
Sharing a sensor signal in BPCS and SIS is often seen as unacceptable in risk analysis studies, like Hazard and Operability (HAZOP) and Layer of Protection Analysis (LOPA). An innovative approach is proposed to quantify the level of protection provided by BPCS in conjunction to the classical SIL verification method. Any extra BPCS protection layer can offer risk reduction for the SIS. Without considering the safety contribution of the BPCS, the SIS system would be overdesigned resulting in extra cost.
As a case study, sharing three sensors between SIS and BPCS will be explained in more detail. SIS offers the possibility of using the same three sensors in 2 out of 3 (2oo3) voting configuration. BPCS is using the middle out of three (Moo3) value for more reliable process control and additional protection.
This study demonstrates that sharing BPCS and SIS instrumentation can improve both safety and controllability, increase the overall availability of the plant and reduce both CAPEX and OPEX. 

Presentation file here

 By Egbert de Jong ‐ EMEA Business Development Leader Heavy Industry and Hydrogen and Joël Van der Borght ‐ Sr Vertical Leader Power and Mining Europe/CIS ‐ Veolia

Green hydrogen projects require high purity water. Egbert de Jong covers the production of ultrapure water from every quality of water that is available. This can be sea water, well water, river or surface water or treated wastewater. Technologies that are used comprise flotation or clarification, ultrafiltration, reverse osmosis and multi effect distillation and EDI or IX. The produced hydrogen product gas needs conditioning, for this the Veolia Deoxygenation and Dehydration solutions are presented. Cooling systems can benefit from Veolia services for chemical conditioning of cooling water. Water treatment processes can benefit from Veolia services for membrane protection. The above standard engineered solutions following robust proven supplier standards bring down the cost of hydrogen production.

Carbon Capture is necessary, in addition to Green H2, to limit the average temperature increase to a maximum of 1.5 °C in 2100, as agreed in the COP21 (Paris Agreement). The contribution of CCUS within all efforts to achieve this will be addressed. The ratio between CCS and CCU will be discussed with also the link to e‐Methanol, e‐Fuels and SAF within CCU, where the raw materials for the Fischer‐Tropsch reaction are Green H2 and CO2. The operation of a classic Amine Unit to capture CO2 with focus on the solvent chemistry will be outlined.
The different types of solvent with their advantages and disadvantages and how they 'degrade' over time will be addressed. Finally, the main topic will be presented. The reclaiming, and thus recovering / recycling, of the solvent via the ED reclaiming service, as offered by VWTS. This prevents the costly bleed and feed, which is not sustainable in comparison to the reduced CO2 footprint when applying
ED reclaiming.

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 By Jan-Jaap Riegman, Senior Product Development Engineer,  Technip Energies

Hydrogen and syngas are important components of the (petro-) chemical industry. Traditionally it is manufactured by steam methane reforming and the CO2 formed as a byproduct is emitted to the atmosphere. As a result, traditional hydrogen production is one of the largest single point emissions sources in refineries, in ammonia plants and methanol plants. While traditional steam methane reforming technologies degrade high-grade process heat to generate high-pressure steam, new technologies offer the possibility to utilize the high-value heat. The Enhanced Annular Reforming Tube (EARTH®) for hydrogen / syngas production is a novel recuperative reforming technology that utilizes more high-level heat and produces additional hydrogen / syngas, while saving energy (and operating costs) by reducing the firing duty of the reformer.
For EARTH®, Technip Energies (T.EN) and Clariant have joined their collective expertise in process, heat transfer and catalysis technology to develop and deliver EARTH® technology to the market. The technology can be applied in both grassroot and revamp projects. Recent successful installations and start-ups of EARTH® applications in large European refineries highlight the benefits of the technology and showcase the technology plays an important role in decarbonization. This can be further emphasized with additional synergistic design changes which are all part of Blue H2 by T.EN™ suite.
This presentation will provide an insight in EARTH® technology and the role it can play in the decarbonization of the hydrogen and syngas production.

Presentation file here

 By Masoud Zabeti, Business Development Manager, Ketjen

 Biofuels are made from renewable sources such as agricultural crops and waste, and are an environmentally friendly alternative to fossil fuels offering benefits over traditional fossil fuels, including reduced carbon emissions, increased energy security, and the potential to create jobs in rural areas. Currently, the global use of biofuels for transportation and chemicals is estimated at around 12 % and 5 % respectively. This is projected to increase to around 20 % and 8 % respectively by the year 2050. In addition, the use of biofuels for electricity generation is expected to increase significantly, from around 1 % currently to around 10 % by 2050. The European Commission’s Renewable Energy Directive (RED II) sets a target of 32 % of energy from renewable sources by 2030. This includes a target of 14 % renewable energy from transport fuels, which includes biofuels. This could lead to a further increase in the share of biofuels in Europe to around 20 – 25 % in the next 5 – 10 years.
Current leading technologies for biofuels in Europe are biodiesel and bioethanol. These technologies are expected to continue to develop in the next 5 - 10 years with advancements in cellulosic ethanol, advanced biofuels and the development of new feedstock. Additionally, waste-to-energy, hydrogen-based fuels, and synthetic fuels are expected to become more prominent in the next decade.
This presentation will give an overview of some of the current and future process technologies for biofuels and Ketjen’s 20-year track record in field. Finally, it will speak to the impact of feedstock regulations in the EU.

Presentation file here