Emerson awarded contract to install PlantWeb at University of Manchester institute to support research of next-generation technology

PlantWeb digital plant architecture with DeltaV digital automation system to be installed on a major research and educational pilot plant at leading UK university.

The University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST) has announced the selection of Emerson Process Management to automate the CEMIST (Chemical Engineering Measurement by In-Situ Techniques) process plant within their Chemical Engineering department. Previously known as the "pilot plant," the CEMIST facility has 14 separate processing areas spread across five floors. The plant's scale of operation within a university based research facility makes it unique worldwide.

The process area is run by industry-trained personnel. The research equipment and all the utility equipment are used to teach engineering students the principles of plant operation and design, and run experimental projects. The pilot plant is seen as an important element in the undergraduate and post-graduate courses that are offered. Postgraduate student Andrew Dell said "The pilot plant laboratory practice proved invaluable in helping to improve my understanding of lecture courses."

As part of the $10 million grant-aided upgrade, PlantWeb digital plant architecture from Emerson Process Management will be installed. The architecture will use the power of FOUNDATION fieldbus and HART communications to control and manage the processes and field equipment. Professor Peter Heggs, who led the team that put the proposal together, commented "This investment is key to the advances in science needed to support the chemical industry in its new directions. It means that we can continue to attract the best scientists from across the world, and lead in this field that is so important to the UK."

"The facility typically contains 12-14 separate processing areas. Two or three of the areas are changed each year, as the research activities demand," said Brian Donohue, the UMIST project manager. "As part of the specification we put forward to Jacobs Engineering, the management contractor, we asked for an industrial type control system that would be highly flexible as well as having a huge capacity to collect and analyze data."

John Townend, control and instrumentation manager from Jacobs, explained that they needed to install a state-of-the-art infrastructure that was capable of supporting the research requirements of today and still be right for the future. "We had to second guess the functionality that may be required over the next ten to twenty years," said Townend. "It may be that future research will rely more heavily on FOUNDATION fieldbus, and advanced or batch control." Further, the chosen supplier had to put the right support structure in place to ensure the UMIST technicians were able to support the plant over its lifetime. Emerson put forward an innovative approach to providing this support.

The PlantWeb digital plant architecture from Emerson will use its DeltaV digital automation system with two remote I/O modules on each of the five floors of the plant, giving a potential for 5000 I/O in total. The DeltaV system will communicate with field devices using a combination of conventional signals, FOUNDATION fieldbus, and HART protocols.

"We were tasked with providing a flexible infrastructure for education and research rather than a fixed process plant," said Neil Burnside, the project manager from Jacobs Engineering. "Although we did look at other options, we felt that the PlantWeb digital plant architecture from Emerson was most capable of providing us with the flexibility we required."

Travis Hesketh, the UK systems sales director for Emerson Process Management, said "We are delighted to be selected by Jacobs and UMIST to supply the equipment for this project. We feel that it is important that engineers of the future are fully conversant with the latest technology available, so that they can take and apply that knowledge within their workplaces. It is by applying the latest technologies that our manufacturing industries will maintain their competitive edge."

About UMIST

The University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST) was founded in 1824 by Manchester's business community. It continues to have excellent links with business and industry both in the UK and abroad. UMIST has a strong reputation for innovation; it was the first UK university to offer chemical engineering undergraduate degree programs, the first to study management, the first to study marketing, the first to set up an industrial liaison unit, and the only UK university to have a Paper Science department.

In a recent independent survey, employers were asked to rate universities for their ability to produce good job applicants in a range of subject areas. UMIST was rated first for Science and Engineering and third over all fields. UMIST graduates also top the salary league table, earning the highest graduate salaries in Britain, says a Sunday Times survey.

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