Emerson introduces "Partnering for Pulp & Paper":
a results-driven path to guaranteed mill performance improvement
Pulp and Paper Industry Center combines expertise, expanded services and advanced technologies to deliver improved mill results
Expanding on the expertise and offerings of its Pulp
& Paper Industry Center, Emerson Process Management today introduced
"Partnering for Pulp & Paper," a tailored, results-oriented
mill improvement methodology. This unique approach combines industry expertise,
a comprehensive portfolio of process automation and asset optimization
services and technologies currently available for pulp and paper mills.
Process and performance guarantees of efficiency and savings are available
on complete solutions projects.
With "Partnering for Pulp & Paper,"
capital projects involving new or upgraded facilities realize significant
startup and commissioning savings plus ongoing operations improvements. Existing
facilities realize significant asset optimization improvements resulting in up
to 1-to-3% increase in mill operating margins and up to 50% maintenance cost
reduction. Capital project benefits, for example, were realized by Fraser Papers
in New Brunswick, Canada, where a $2.2 million annual savings resulted from
Emerson implementation of bleach plant and washing/screening upgrade. The
existing mill operations at Weyerhaeuser in Alberta Canada realized the benefits
of avoiding unscheduled shutdown through use of asset optimization information.
In the "Partnering" approach, Emerson
brings together a unique combination of expertise, services, and individuals with
deep roots in the pulp and paper industry. Working cooperatively with mill
management and operating personnel, the Emerson experts engage in a
results-oriented methodology to identify needs and then apply advanced
technologies and expert services to optimize the performance of new and upgraded
units and improve the availability and productivity of existing facilities.
Emerson achieves mill objectives by delivering reduced process variability,
greater process reliability, increased operating efficiencies, and reduced
operating and maintenance costs, all through harnessing and applying a vast
amount of field-generated information that is useful for business-related
purposes. In the end, results are measured against established benchmarks, with
savings frequently reaching into the millions of dollars for Emerson's pulp
and paper industry customers.
The Emerson Pulp & Paper Industry Center in
Atlanta provides engineering services, consulting, and application expertise to
improve the economics of pulp and paper production, principally for capital
projects involving new or upgraded process control systems. Control system
upgrades may extend from initial field studies to all aspects of design
engineering and construction for efficient pulp and paper manufacturing. Emerson
designs are based on industry-proven innovative technologies, with special
emphasis on advanced control systems, as well as control room design and
construction derived from human ergonomics studies of man/machine interfaces.
Projects frequently involve one-third engineering services, one-third product
solutions, and one-third installation/construction, all of which are managed by
the Emerson Pulp & Paper Industry Center. On complete solution projects,
process and performance guarantees specify that established production
efficiency or cost reduction goals will be achieved.
For example, advanced controls in the bleach
plant and washing/screening area at Fraser Papers in Edmunston, New Brunswick,
were engineered, installed, and started up by the Pulp & Paper Industry
Center. Since startup in June 2000, Fraser Papers has documented annualized
savings of $2.2 million (Canadian), amounting to 100 percent of the company's
goal and 101 percent of the performance guarantee provided at the outset.
Savings were primarily from reduced bleach chemical consumption, fast startup
due to automatic sequencing, and increased production, which continues.
Emerson also addresses the needs of existing
mills for greater processing and production efficiency and solutions to
problems, including unrecognized deficiencies. Emerson's broad and growing
Asset Optimization offering enables customers to get the most from field
instrumentation, mechanical equipment, and control systems on a continuing
basis. Solutions based on performance and condition monitoring of existing
facilities assure that mill assets are maintained to prevent the profit drain
that occurs when equipment continues to operate below design specifications.
Asset Optimization services address both immediate and long term issues that
affect instrumentation performance and maintenance programs, and include
capabilities for remote diagnostics, process variability management programs,
outage management, electrical system audits, energy management, and
reliability-based maintenance programs — all designed to maximize profitability.
For example, technicians using Emerson's AMS
software at the Weyerhaeuser Pulp Mill in Grande Prairie, Alberta, were able to
prevent the unscheduled shutdown of a finishing line due to the lack of pressure
control on a critically important 170-lb steam valve on a Flakt dryer. Plans had
been made to shut down the line for a minimum of three hours to replace the
valve. However, the use of AMS to view the valve's actual working condition
revealed the root cause of the problem as stickiness at one point in its stroke,
which operators able to work around until a scheduled shutdown at a later time.
Based on the information provided by AMS, immediate replacement of the valve was
postponed and costly unwanted downtime was avoided.
This is just one example of the way Emerson meets
the varied needs of pulp & paper mills. A broad range of technologies is
available, beginning with control system solutions based on the industry-leading
PlantWeb digital plant architecture and DeltaV™ digital automation system.
PlantWeb innovations enable mill operators to make smarter, cost-effective
decisions by incorporating field intelligence into day-to-day operations. Using
the industry standard HART® and FOUNDATION™ fieldbus
communications protocols, pulp and paper mills can link diagnostics information
from intelligent field instrumentation. The AMS software, which can be built
directly into a DeltaV automation system, is a key tool for reducing startup and
maintenance costs while improving equipment reliability and performance.
Complete pre-engineered, turnkey packages, such as CyberBLEACH™ for bleach
plants, CyberCOOK™ for digesters, and CyberSTEAM™ for boilers, often fit in
perfectly for major upgrades. In addition, well-respected components from
Emerson, such as Fisher® valves and FIELDVUE® digital
valve controllers, Rosemount® measurement instruments and
transmitters, and Micro Motion® flow measurement devices, add to the
strength of the PlantWeb solution for the pulp and paper industry.
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