Temperature transmitter for high accuracy, flexible use, safe operation
Endress+Hauser’s newly developed iTEMP TMT31 temperature transmitter (FIG. 1) for analog 4-20mA signals is characterized by its long-term stability, high accuracy and ease of use for reliable temperature measurement.
Temperature transmitters are an important link between temperature sensors in the field and higher levels of automation and analysis in the process industries.
The iTEMP TMT31 improves upon its RTD transmitter predecessors with better connection technology, available in two optimized formats. The first incorporates push-in terminals, enabling tool-free, secure field wiring in a matter of seconds. It is also available in the classic screw terminal format, with an optimized design that makes wire terminations in the connection head easier. Corrosion-free contacts ensure maximum reliability of measured value transmission for both connection variants.
For fast commissioning, users have the option to receive the TMT31 transmitter conveniently pre-configured from the factory, or to apply custom parameterization onsite with free configuration software, such as Endress+Hauser FieldCare or DeviceCare. These software packages run conveniently on a host of operating systems, both on laptops and tablets. The USB configuration kits required for this, such as TXU10 or Commubox FXA291, are also available from Endress+Hauser as accessories.
The TMT31 is approved for safe operation in Zone 2/Div. 2 hazardous areas (non-sparking) in accordance with ATEX and CSA C/US standards, along with Pt100 and Pt1000 sensors. Additionally, the sensor adjustment parameter in the head transmitter can be modified according to Callendar-Van Dusen equations (CvD) to match the connected RTD sensor characteristics, further refining the temperature measurement accuracy of the entire system.
For more information, check out iTEMP TMT31 temperature transmitter.
Clariant introduces product carbon footprint tool to accelerate emissions reduction
Climate change is the biggest challenge of our time and transparency on carbon emissions has never been more important. Clariant has marked another milestone in its sustainability journey with the launch of its product carbon footprint (PCF) tool «CliMate».
The automated carbon footprint calculator «CliMate» enables Clariant to offer consistent cradle-to-gate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions data for hundreds of finished products and solutions from across its whole portfolio, in line with the ISO 14067 norm. Clariant is pursuing ambitious science-based climate targets and the «CliMate» tool will play a crucial role in the company’s efforts to reduce GHG emissions in its value chains.
Public policy initiatives aimed at making sustainable products the norm strengthen the need for increased transparency. For example, in the European Union (EU), new legal requirements are already under development that will require businesses and manufacturers to demonstrate the sustainability performance of their products, including measurements of the carbon footprint. «CliMate» can therefore also support Clariant and its customers in anticipating and addressing this trend.
The powerful new tool is based on leading standards for PCF calculations, including ISO 14067, one of the most commonly used standards in that area. «CliMate» has also been validated by the independent organization TÜV Rheinland. Clariant’s internal team of experts used existing GHG tracking systems information and combined it with its product recipes to develop this bespoke solution with support from industry specialists.
«CliMate» will enable Clariant to showcase, in a consistent way, PCF improvements over time as it continues to achieve ongoing reductions in emissions within its own operations and from purchased goods and services. The information provided by the calculations will also be used by Clariant to uncover improvement opportunities within its supply chains.
Clariant’s current PCF portfolio coverage will expand to ever-wider application areas as supporting information becomes increasingly available from suppliers through the company’s supplier engagement program. Clariant continues to engage with its raw material suppliers to share their carbon footprint data and demonstrate the GHG emissions reductions expected by Clariant from its strategic suppliers.
The launch of «CliMate» is just one example of Clariant’s focus on expanding information and transparency for industry value chains around the carbon footprint of its products. Through its membership of the Together for Sustainability initiative, it contributed to the development of a chemical industry guideline on product carbon footprints and corporate accounting for Scope 3 emissions. The guideline, announced by Together for Sustainability in September 2022, harmonizes PCF calculation approaches across the industry and is applicable to the vast majority of chemical products. In the future, this will allow consumers and the wider market to directly compare and assess the climate impact of products. Clariant is also part of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development’s SOS 1.5 Pathfinder Framework on the methodological guidance for the calculation of product carbon footprints. The overall aim is a harmonized and state-of-the-art methodology.
For more information about «CliMate» visit: https://www.clariant.com/en/Sustainability/Climate-Change/Product-Carbon-Footprint-Calculations
Remote monitoring, control and data acquisition of odor control systems
Ecosorb, a worldwide leader in industrial odor elimination, has released EcoLink, an online portal for remote monitoring and control of industrial odor neutralization systems. With this advancement, users can now manage their equipment from anywhere in the world with any device capable of hosting a web browser, such as a smart phone, tablet or PC.
Using EcoLink, Ecosorb units can be managed remotely in the cloud, lifting local limitations for monitoring operations and making adjustments. EcoLink provides a host of benefits to industrial users, including the ability to:
The EcoLink system was designed using cybersecurity best practices to ensure access for only authorized users. At the hardware level, EcoLink leverages an Ewon Flexy device to encrypt and transmit data to a professionally-hosted cloud server. From there, the data is made available for consumption on a mobile device or PC via the standard HTTPS secure web protocol. In the event remote access throttling is desired, an optional switch can be added to the Flexy for enabling and disabling cloud communication. When disabled, connectivity with the cloud is completely blocked.
EcoLink is ideal for a variety of industries, including:
Ecosorb industrial systems are more convenient to operate than ever before with these new 24/7 remote connectivity and management capabilities (FIG. 2). Authorized users can access their units from any smartphone, tablet, computer or other device capable of hosting a web browser, without the need to install and maintain any software on the device.
With EcoLink, users can monitor live data on customized dashboards, make operational adjustments in real time, and review historical performance statistics with tailored KPIs. This information empowers plant personnel to manage multiple units simultaneously, analyze data, receive alerts and make informed decisions for operational optimization from anywhere in the world. These remote capabilities also enable companies to optimize onsite staffing, lowering operational expenditures.
EcoLink ships standard on Ecosorb vaporization systems. To learn more about Ecosorb products and services, visit ecosorbindustrial.com.
Robotic grit blasting with service module
TubeMaster Inc. has received orders to design and build GritMaster Robotic Systems™ and climate-controlled reactor service modules.
The GritMaster Robotic System™ (GRS) is the world’s first robotic grit blast device for grit blasting the ID of tubes in multi-tubular chemical reactors. The GRS operates within a reactor service module (RSM) enclosure (FIG. 3) so grit blasting can be done in a humidity-controlled environment. Together, the GRS and RSM eliminate catalyst professionals from line-of-fire hazards associated with grit blasting and improve safety with better quality and speed.
The patent-pending GRS secures grit flow if a tube is fouled, eliminating blowback. Fouled tube locations are logged automatically. Optimal nozzle alignment is achieved by the blast head design, ensuring grit is directed down the tube centerline, avoiding tube damage while blasting the entire tube entire length in one step. Sensors ensure open tubes are blasted only once, while the locations of supports, blank tube sheet areas and plugs are not. The GRS features a multi-nozzle head to blast multiple tubes at the same time, completing the task much faster and automatically.
RSMs are weather-tight with double latch access doors allowing personnel and equipment access. Low-voltage LED lighting, AC outlets and other tools and connections are incorporated into each RSM. Composed of industrial-quality fabric and aluminum trusses and beams, the RSM, as well as the GRS, break down for storage and transport.
For more information, go to www.tubemasterinc.com.
Update for modeling software
KBC (A Yokogawa Company) has released an update to expand the features and capabilities of its Multiflash® modeling software that enhances accuracy and fluid predictions across several disciplines and applications. Multiflash is a flexible PVT (pressure-volume-temperature) and physical properties package that can easily integrate with custom solutions and workflows. This release helps process engineers automate and optimize workflows and improve model predictions.
This update is another example of KBC’s commitment to deliver leading technologies to support industry partners on their digital transformation journey towards sustainable energy savings, emissions reductions and decarbonization. Among other things, the new tool, ThermoBuilder, launched with Multiflash 7.3 technology, expands the software's tuning and data regression capabilities to offer engineers a common, accurate and customizable PVT engine for process and production optimization, assisting the industry in the journey to net-zero. As the industry adapts to deeper automation through the deployment of integrated digital solutions, Multiflash 7.3 technology offers a highly reliable common platform for PVT modeling.
Key capabilities and features of Multiflash 7.3 modeling software include:
With enhanced user-friendly features and the quality of models’ predictions, Multiflash 7.3 software gives engineers the ability to elevate quality and efficiency as they aim for decarbonization and automation. To find out more, contact a local KBC (info@kbc.global) representative or a local Yokogawa sales representative.
New additive manufacturing service set to disrupt flow control MRO market
The use of additive manufacturing has the potential to revolutionize in-field control valve maintenance, potentially saving process and industrial plants millions of euros a year in maintenance, repair and operation (MRO) costs.
The impact of high-velocity media within a valve trim is one of the leading causes of cavitation, erosion and vibration—all of which can combine to cause poor process control, premature failure and unplanned downtime for critical flow control applications.
Full valve replacements typically incur huge OPEX and CAPEX commitments given the significant logistical requirements. However, a new high-performance valve trim replacement service that combines additive and traditional manufacturing methods is set to disrupt the valve MRO market.
Retrofit3D, pioneered by IMI Critical Engineering, focuses on the engineering of bespoke drop-in replacement internal components. These include disk stacks and valve trims (inclusive of seat and plugs), ensuring the body of the valve can remain in situ throughout the process.
The use of additive manufacturing technology represents a game-changing shift in valve replacement services, as it enables the design and production of parts that would not be possible using only traditional manufacturing processes. Each replacement part can be custom-made to the specific process conditions of the valve in question, in a fraction of the time, weight and cost.
Unlike like-for-like legacy component replacements, Retrofit3D components integrate IMI Critical Engineering’s DRAG® technology, which divides the flow into a series of right-angled smaller passages. The multi-stage, multi-path DRAG technology directs the medium through a tortuous path to incrementally reduce the differential pressure and increase control, preventing the root cause of the original problem from reoccurring.
The service is now capable of producing drop-in replacement trims for valves up to 20-in. diameter and can be used in a broad range of critical pipeline applications, including bypass valves and large anti-surge valves. Retrofit3D produces replacement trims for valves manufactured by IMI Critical Engineering, as well as those from other valve manufacturers.
The integration of DRAG technology will provide better flow control across the valve opening to tackle noise, cavitation and erosion issues. Additionally, the use of additive and traditional manufacturing technologies ensures bespoke replacement parts can be designed, produced, shipped and installed in a fraction of the time it would take to undergo a full valve replacement.
For more information, please visit: www.imi-critical.com/aftermarket/parts-spares-and-service/retrofit3d
Reinvented pressure relief valves to improve performance, reduce emissions
Emerson has released two new-to-the-world technologies for the Crosby™ J-Series pressure relief valve (PRV) product line. The first is a Balanced Diaphragm, which eliminates the need for bellows in PRVs, while providing balanced operation against backpressure to lower cost of ownership and enhance performance. The second technology is Bellows Leak Detection, enabling remote detection of bellows ruptures in PRVs, with the capability to reduce and accurately calculate volumetric emissions in real time.
Where backpressure is present, spring-loaded PRVs often utilize bellows to ensure balanced operation. Data analysis from 30,000 PRV service records across different industries and valve brands shows a bellows failure rate of 2%–6%. In other words, a plant with 1,000 bellows PRVs may have between 20 and 60 PRVs continuously operating with damaged bellows. The most common causes of bellows failures are excessive backpressure and rapid cycling. Ruptured bellows will cause fugitive emissions and may prevent valve operation at the designed set pressure, with the risk of catastrophic overpressure events.
The Crosby Balanced Diaphragm (FIG. 4) can replace bellows in PRV applications to address these and other issues. Its innovative design extends the backpressure limits from 60% to 80% and increases the Kb backpressure correction factor by up to 15%, expanding the application range of spring-loaded PRVs. The Kb factor is used to size PRVs when they are installed in closed systems subject to backpressure. Extending the backpressure limit and increasing the Kb factor often permits the use of smaller valves. In addition, diaphragms are inherently more resilient than bellows for higher backpressures and rapid cycling applications. Upgrading to a Balanced Diaphragm therefore lowers maintenance costs, improves reliability and increases stability.
The second technology, Bellows Leak Detection (FIG. 5), addresses the problem of bellows failures, which are challenging to detect and often remain unnoticed for years until removal of the valve for periodic service. Leak detection and repair (LDAR) programs may include PRVs, but their target sources for leakage detection are flanges or valve seats, so bellows ruptures will generate fugitive emissions through the PRV bonnet vent that may not be in the LDAR scope. In addition, PRV installations are often difficult to access and in hazardous locations, making leak detection difficult.
The Bellows Leak Detection solution is a safer and more efficient method for detecting bellows failures and emissions. It consists of a backup piston and a Rosemount™ wireless or wired pressure transmitter. The backup piston can reduce emissions by more than 90% in the event of a bellows rupture because it has a much smaller clearance than a standard bonnet vent, and it ensures balanced operation. The pressure transmitter provides instant time-stamped notification of bellows failure and emissions volume data in real time.
Upgrade kits for existing Crosby J-Series PRVs are available for both new technologies, and new PRVs can be purchased with these features pre-installed.
To learn more about the Balanced Diaphragm and Bellows Leak Detection solutions, please visit: https://go.emersonautomation.com/ReinventingPRVs. HP