Emerson Process Management staged its annual user meeting in San Antonio. More than 2100 persons were on hand to keep up with the latest developments, be part of the networking community and play an active role in new product development process. Read on to find out what contributions users were able to make.

Under the 12 million dollar ‘Sustainable Catalysis for Clean Growth’ project, BP, Johnson Matthey along with the Cardiff University and The University of Manchester have collaborated to explore new catalyst technology for a net zero future. The partnership aims to convert CO2, waste and sustainable biomass into clean and sustainable fuels and products.

The reliability of technical test methods and models designed to forecast the behaviour of components under stress has increased over recent years. Nevertheless, insufficient maintenance or unsuitable strategies still sometimes result in failures and significant damage in process plants. The right overall strategy must be customised to each plant, taking individual features into account. This approach helps to reduce both costs and damage.

Heating or cooling of granulate or powder bulk materials plays a crucial role in
a wide range of production and processing applications. The following article describes current enhancements to and the advantages of a bulk material heat exchanger which is based on indirect heat exchange and a lean
design.

The Gravejo (Poland) plant of particle board manufacturer Pfleiderer was too frequently replacing high-pressure pumps on its production lines. The pumps play an essential part in the main continuous production process, delivering resinous glue to nozzles where it is sprayed on to the wood fibers.

Ethernet-based communication systems are gaining ground in automation engineering. Their ability to integrate network structures across whole companies provide important benefits. An Ethernet-based technology that takes account of the special requirements of the process industries is now available in the form of Profinet.

Users increasingly look at the foreseeable lifetime costs of a planned investment when making their investment decisions. Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) is, in that regard, always also a question of how good the seal engineering is. How long do seals in fact last? The Parker Seals group has developed processes which not only investigate this question, but provide the answers. They make forecasting of lifetimes possible where previously they were impossible in this way.

The CSL30 laser coder from Linx Printing Technologies is providing a craft beer start-up with an enhanced coding and marking solution to support its growth. Edinburgh Beer Factory is benefitting from improved codes, reliability, and ease of use from the Linx CSL30, which also has the potential to handle more production and new bottle sizes as the business continues to expand and enter export markets.

Celanese announced the expansion of its Pibiflex and Riteflex TPC (thermoplastic co-polyester) production unit at the Donegani facility in Ferrara, Italy. This step is intended support the continued growth of its global engineered materials business.

With an aim to meet India’s new Bharat Stage VI low-sulphur emissions standards, Indian Oil has chosen Emerson as its automation contractor. The global technology and engineering company will be responsible for modernising and enhancing emissions control operations of the company’s refineries.