Ethernet APL is a game changer for networking at field level – especially for the process industry. It offers consistent networking with a single protocol, high speeds for cable lengths of up to 1000 metres and intrinsic safety for areas at risk of explosion.
Digital Plant Asset Management is a topic that often comes up in discussions about process engineering facilities. Today, while intelligent field devices might be the standard, system owners have yet to exploit their full potential. To provide the connectivity needed, Softing offers the right solutions with the smartLink product family.
In December 2023, KROHNE made Ethernet-APL demo devices available to selected customers. This step marks an important milestone in the company's own Ethernet APL development project for various sensor types.
For easier access to diagnostic data of sensors
Today, the majority of consumer goods and everyday items are made from petroleum-based plastics. In Germany alone, around six million tonnes of plastic waste is generated every year. About half of this is mechanically recycled into new materials; the rest is used for energy recovery. The incineration of this waste results in the release of CO2, a greenhouse gas. It is therefore important to keep more plastics in the material cycle for climate and environmental reasons. Eight Fraunhofer Institutes are developing new ideas and processes to significantly improve the mechanical recycling rate of plastics as part of the Waste4Future flagship project.
Methane emission regulations and reduction targets such as “Fit for 55” transform the technology used for pipeline shutdown
Under the heading "Forging Tomorrow – Unleashing the Industrial AI Benefits", a panel on the assessment of artificial intelligence by experts from the industry took place at the Emerson Exchange.
The session at the Emerson Exchange EMEA 2024 described improvements for a tank terminal in Antwerp. Dirk van Baelen, Emerson Area Sales Manager for Measurement Solutions in Flanders, described the improvement process in detail.
In the keynote at Emerson Exchange 2024 in Düsseldorf, Emersons’s Chief Sustainability Officer Mike Train and Chief Technology Officer Peter Zornio spoke about different aspects of their company's and customer's sustainability journey
For accurate, low maintenance measurement online water analysis system
Reliable measurements despite films and adhesion
Bringing sensors directly to the cloud
Dr Klaus Endress, CEO of the Endress+Hauser Group for many years and president of the Supervisory Board since 2014, celebrated his 75th birthday. As previously announced, he will end his active involvement in the family-owned business at the end of the year. However, he will remain closely associated with the Group as a shareholder and chairman of the Endress Family Council.
Titan Enterprises maintains certification for their Beverage flow meters and 800 Series turbine flowmeters under NSF/ANSI 169 as equipment for food products. This accreditation is especially important for food and drink manufacturers, food production and handling machinery, and processing and dispensing, as these flow meters can be installed securely in the knowledge that they meet NSF standards. These...
Jørgen Andersen, the founder, is still active as chairman of the board for the camera manufacturer.
Simplified collaborative engineering for automation projects
A digital twin is not only the basis for a holistic view of the system and the individual processes. It is also the basis for automatic routines that react autonomously to changes in the process. It helps applications identify unwanted situations and the countermeasures to be taken often long before the plant comes to a standstill. Predictive maintenance is a key to the efficient operation of a process plant. However, digital processes are not a question of individual products or components, but require the seamless interaction of people and systems.
To date, the KHS coating of wafer-thin, chemically pure glass on the inside wall of PET bottles was primarily applied to improve the quality and shelf life of sensitive soft drinks and juice. VILSA-BRUNNEN Otto Rodekohr GmbH is now the first mineral water bottling plant to profit from Plasmax technology. The family business is consistently investing in its product quality and the long-lasting freshness protection of its premium beverages – and in doing so is setting standards on the market.
Food and packaging machinery pose special challenges for drive and automation solutions. Functional safety concepts are of particular importance to overcome these challenges.
For level measurement in a hygienic environment
A PCN Europe Interview with Steve Biegacki, Managing Director of the FDT Group
As a pillar of the global economy, the process industry is facing major challenges: high energy consumption and high use of fossil fuels, rising energy costs and stricter legal regulations make the decarbonization of the industry increasingly urgent. In order to achieve CO2 reductions and higher energy efficiency in their own operations, it is essential that companies drive the digitalization and automation of their entire production process. Author: Axel Lorenz, CEO Process Automation, Siemens
Flow Meter Reliability is Critical for On-Line Analysers Servicing the Oil and Gas Industry
Using a Smart Safety Test by safety specialist HIMA, specialty chemicals manufacturer Evonik in Marl, Germany, was able to increase the availability of a propene distillation unit. With the help of partial stroke tests on safety-relevant butterfly valves, the cycles between plant shutdowns can be extended from one to three years. The successful project is being acclaimed as groundbreaking because of its economic significance.
German Fraunhofer researchers have developed an extremely heat-resistant ceramic-based ink. For the first time, this enables metal components processed in the automotive industry at temperatures over 1,000 °C to be marked with a code. This opens up wide-ranging possibilities for designing process chains in the industry more efficiently and reducing their carbon footprint significantly.
Cocoa plays an important role in Brazilian agriculture. However, the fruit of the cacao tree (cocoa pods) is prone to fungal diseases. pest infestations are responsible for crop losses of up to 40 percent worldwide. In collaboration with the State University of Campinas (Unicamp), Brazil, researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Process Engineering and Packaging IVV are looking to establish new ways of using damaged cocoa pods as part of the Damaged Beans project.
The world is facing a fundamental change to its entire energy supply. All current methods of generating energy are under scrutiny. Nuclear energy has fallen into disrepute for a number of reasons. Meanwhile, hydropower has its own limitations in terms of scope, one of which is its immense impact on the landscape and the associated consequences for flora and fauna. Biomass is another option, but it competes with food production and is also a limited resource. Author: Wolfgang Weber, Pepperl+Fuchs
PCN Europe interviewed Rob Watkinson, Customer Support Manager at Resolve Optics about the design for optics able to withstand the high levels of radiation found in and around nuclear plants.
The distribution logistics in food retail are changing: To overcome the challenges posed by online retail, more and more retailers are using micro-fulfillment centers (MFCs), meaning that orders are picked in proximity to the customer. The sensor technology needed for the order picking must meet certain requirements. Leuze offers tailored solutions for this application.
Whereas in the past only one category of product was usually run on aseptic lines, bottlers of sensitive beverages now face an ever-growing demand for flexibility. Beverage producers who process both aseptically filled beverages and juice and carbonated soft drinks need to use 38-millimeter bottle necks for the former and containers with 28-millimeter openings for the latter. If the bottle neck is to be changed on a PET line, however, to date a comparatively large amount of effort was required to convert the stretch blow molder in particular.
One year of stable operation demonstrates this next-generation control technology can decrease environmental impact, achieve stable quality, and transform operations
Permanent monitoring of temperature, vibration and seal condition
New plug-ins support efficient and flexible safety controller programming
Ammonia could play a decisive role in the transition from fossil fuels to climate-friendly alternatives if produced from green hydrogen. Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Microengineering and Microsystems IMM are developing ammonia-based systems for a mobile, decentralized energy supply in the infrastructure, transportation and industry sectors.
We spoke with Hubertus von Monschaw, Global Director HANNOVER MESSE at Deutsche Messe AG about HANNOVER MESSE 2023 in a challenging environment
Product platform for liquid measurements in a wide applicational range
The list of challenges facing industry is long, in Europe and all over the world: climate change, energy shortages, disrupted supply chains and a shortage of skilled labor.
In the past fiscal year, the German machine and plant manufacturer ystral continued to grow strongly and achieved a new record order intake with a volume of 52.2 million euros (+13%).
Variable mechanical thermostat for ATEX and SIL applications
Simplified commissioning and operation for a wide range of applications
Digital Edition Download PDF
