Emerson publishes 4 step guide to top petrochemical plant performance

Emerson has published a new white paper on leveraging Industrial Internet of Things innovations to achieve operational efficiency in petrochemical plants.

The new white paper, available from Emerson’s website, is titled ‘4-Step Roadmap to Top Quartile Performance’. It claims that by moving from average to top quartile performance, petrochemical plants can recover significant amounts of value lost to inefficiency. Four specific categories of operation are highlighted as areas where savings can be made: Health, Safety, Security and Environment (HSSE); Reliability; Energy; and Process.

Suboptimal operating performance is responsible for approximately one trillion dollars being lost in company values each year, according to the white paper.

A number of key benefits of moving into the top quartile are listed. In terms of HSSE, there are three times fewer recorded process accidents; Reliability sees 4% higher availability with maintenance costs being halved; Energy sees 30% lower emissions and 30% less energy use; while in terms of Process, operating costs are 20% lower and utilisation rate 10% higher.

As well as benefitting the industry as whole, the white paper points out that these benefits can also lead to a 15% improvement in operating margins at individual plants.

Highlighting challenges facing petrochemical plants, such as aging equipment, working with different feedstocks and compliance, the white paper then explains a 4-step guide to achieve top quartile performance. Key to the process are new technologies and techniques, many of which are related to the IIOT.