Automation and Control Solutions for Hydrogen Production and Alternative Energy

One of the most important ways to reduce CO2 emissions in the chemical, oil, gas, paper, energy and transportation sectors is to generate and use green hydrogen from renewable sources. Electrolysis can convert electricity generated from wind, hydropower, or solar energy into hydrogen, which can then be stored in tanks, transported, and used whenever and wherever needed. Hydrogen's use is ubiquitous -  in CO2-neutral transportation, such as fuel cell vehicles, the chemical industry, steel manufacturing, and power plants. 

Process control is a primary and centralized function that responds to changes in operational consistency and load demand. Online monitoring and remote sensing advances, particularly for open-loop operations, are operated by controls and automation to develop actionable information for closed-loop control functions. In these situations, innovative automation solutions, such as those specified and implemented by Ives Equipment with flexible and integrated control technology, are required. 

With a focus on technical and economic feasibility for producing alternative energy and hydrogen fuels, Ives Equipment automation expertise provides exceptional control system experience that saves time and money and improves safety.

Ives Equipment

610-768-1600

https://ivesequipment.com

100% Hygienic Tank Cleaning Coverage & Water and Chemical Savings with Alfa Laval PlusClean® Nozzle

In the food, dairy beverage farmer, and personal care industries, sufficient tank cleaning can challenge certain products. It's not just about the tank walls. Internals like agitators connections and coils can create shadow areas with a high risk of product contamination. Solving this has meant techniques like spray balls, retractable cleaning devices, or the fill and dump method. These consume time, significant cleaning media, and energy, and they compromise hygienic safety.

Alfa Laval PlusClean® makes this challenge a thing of the past. This new cleaning nozzle ensures 100% cleaning coverage, even in shadow areas. Installed flush with the tank wall it, doesn't interfere with other internals in the tank and can even be used in tanks with components close to the walls.

Activated during cleaning-in-place, PlusClean® reduces water and chemical consumption by up to 80 percent and delivers a spray pattern optimized to cover shadow areas. It thereby guarantees 100 cleaning coverage regardless of your specific tank design, while a revolutionary built-in adjustment function makes installation and operation effective and easy.

PlusClean® is available with a pneumatic driven option combined with alpha level think top for intelligent control. It also comes in an ultra-pure version with the comprehensive Alfa Laval Q-doc documentation package.

With 100 cleaning coverage, the alpha level PlusClean® cleaning nozzle eliminates risk while reducing water and cleaning media consumption. It's easy to install, simple to use, and delivers rapid payback time.

For more information, contact:

Ives Equipment

https://ivesequipment.com

(877) 768-1600 

Lead-Free Solenoid Valves

Lead is a highly poisonous substance. Manufacturers of drinking water fountains, reverse osmosis systems, coffee makers, and commercial kitchen equipment are affected by strict US safety standards. Soldering flux having a lead content of more than 0.2 percent, or a weighted average of 0.25 percent lead in the wetted surfaces of pipes, pipe fittings, plumbing fittings, and fixtures, cannot be used in a lead-free system. Lead-free is a cumulative term under the law. 

As a result, Ives Equipment and ASCO offer various lead-free valve options that comply with the new rules, are NSF certified, and are available in the industry's most comprehensive range of pipe sizes, pressure or temperature ratings, and flow coefficients. 

Customers can meet the safety regulations for components of purifying water systems by using reliable, readily available NSF-certified fluid control products and solutions.  ASCO offers the broadest selection of pipe size, pressure or temperature ratings, and flow coefficients in the market, all of which meet the new rules. 

LEAD-FREE BRASS SOLENOID VALVES

ASCO offers lead-free brass construction in their general service solenoid valves with the same proven performance, reliability, and quick availability as their brass solenoid valve equivalents. 

PLASTIC AND COMPOSITE SOLENOID VALVES

Solenoid valves made of composites or plastics have the benefit of being lead-free from the outset. They come in a variety of pipe diameters and shapes, including those used in drinking water systems. For residential and commercial drinking water services, these valves are presently possibly the most popular option. ASCO offers a comprehensive selection of NSF-certified composite valves to fulfill the needs of the industry. 

STAINLESS STEEL VALVES

Stainless steel, another lead-free option, provides compliance in a durable metal body. This material's valves have the most extensive range of properties in categories, including pipe size, pressure or temperature ratings, and flow coefficient in the industry (Cv).

For more information, contact Ives Equipment.
877-768-1600
https://ivesequipment.com

Don't Risk Equipment or Safety: Freeze Protect Your Plant Now

Don't let this happen at your plant.

Winter is here in its full glory. Plant engineers and plant maintenance have to pay special care in preventing freezing in pipelines, tanks, Vessels, conveyors, and impulse lines.  The cold temperatures in the Mid-Atlantic can often damage or destroy process equipment and it's valuable contents. Most commonly, pipes, instrumentation, and valves are the vulnerable items affected by the sudden drop in temperatures, causing devastating consequences, including costly downtime and unplanned outages. But there's also safety issues to be considered with snow and ice build up, so attention must be paid to snow and ice melting.

Main Categories for Industrial Heat Tracing

• Industrial Pipe Tracing Cable
• Industrial Tank and Vessel Heating
• Industrial Snow Melting
• Industrial Roof Gutter Deicing

Responsible facility management includes protecting buildings and equipment against freeze damage. There are many items in any given manufacturing plant to protect, including piping systems, process instrumentation, holding tanks, transfer vessels, and valves. For each of these items, there's a good freeze protection solution to be applied. Here are some of the more common heat tracing products used in these applications.

Self-regulating Heat Tracing Cable

These self-regulating, cut-to-length cables are normally installed in commercial and light industrial applications, to maintain pipe temperature and/or prevent freezing. These heating cables are available in 120 and 240 voltages and are designed for use in ordinary or hazardous locations (with proper selections and application). Typical applications for this product are freeze protection and low watt density process temperature systems such as product pipelines, fire protection, process water and dust suppression systems.

Constant Wattage Heat Tracing Cable

Constant wattage heater cable is ideal for use in maintaining fluid flow under low ambient conditions. The product is used for freeze protection and process temperature maintenance systems such as product pipelines, process water, dust suppression systems, lube oil and condensate return.

MI (Mineral Insulated) Cable

MI Cable is a metal sheathed cable that uses a metallic conductor as the heating element. It is custom designed and fabricated for specific applications. MI Cable is a high performance, industrial grade heat tracing cable used for applications requiring high temperature exposure, immunity to stress corrosion, high maintain temperature, under tank heating (cryogenic tanks), high power output, constant power output over entire, rugged cable construction heater length, and extended heater life.

It is critical to consider the specific application requirements for any heat tracing application. The following checklist always needs to be clearly understood:

• The mass and material of the item being traced
• Insulation availability - type and thickness
• Temperature to be maintained
• Minimum ambient temperature
• Minimum start-up temperature
• Available supply voltage
• The chemical environment - expose
• Maximum intermittent exposure temperature
• Electrical area classification

Always share your heat tracing requirements and challenges with a process heating specialist. There are many options and product variants from which to choose. A consultation with an expert can help direct you to the safest, most efficient, and most cost effective solution.

White Paper: Breakthrough Solenoid Valve Technology for Upstream Oil and Gas Heating Equipment

Low-temperature stainless steel fuel shutoff valves are usually utilized for on/off control of fuel gas
within gas fuel trains in process heating system burners. These systems are widely used by oil and gas firms as well by as original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) that produce gas heating equipment or burner management systems (BMSs) and controls in upstream oil and gas pipelines and tanks.

In recent years, a new generation of solenoid valve technology has been changing the shutoff valve game. Their modern designs provide pipeline and tank heating systems with robust, durable performance; safety; and regulatory compliance — all while increasing efficiency and productivity.

Many operators in North America and beyond are moving away from using pneumatically operated shutoff valves on their pipelines and tank heaters. They’re replacing them instead with valves introduced within the last decade by a few manufacturers — all based on solenoid shutoff valve technologies. White paper courtesy of ASCO.

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DOWNLOAD THE FULL WHITE PAPER FROM THE

IVES EQUIPMENT WEBSITE HERE

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Ives Equipment Market Overview

A Proven Ultrasonic Level Transmitter for Environmental, Water/Wastewater, and Energy Management Industries

Reliable level control for
environmental applications
SITRANS LU150/180

The SIEMENS SITRANS LU150 is a short-range general purpose, 2 wire, 4 to 20 mA loop powered transmitter ideal for liquids, slurries, and bulk materials in open or closed vessels to 5 m (16.4 ft). The SITRANS LU180 is the intrinsically safe model.

Designed primarily for liquid applications in the environmental, water/wastewater, and energy management industries, the device is ideal for non-contact continuous level measurement of liquids and slurries in open or closed vessels.

The reliability of the level readings are based on Sonic Intelligence echo processing algorithms that Siemens has been refining for decades. These algorithms differentiate the true material level echoes from the false ones that can result from acoustic or electrical noises, as well as from agitator blades in motion. It's effective, accurate, unique, and it's exclusively Siemens.

Key Applications

• Chemical storage vessels 
• Filter beds
• Mud pits
• Liquid storage vessels 
• Food applications

For more detailed information, check out the brochure below:

A Proven Ultrasonic Level Transmitter for Environmental, Water/Wastewater, and Energy Management Industries - The SITRANS LU150 & LU180 from Ives Equipment

Examining the User Interface of the SensAlert ASI Gas Detector

The Sensidyne SensAlert ASI provides enhanced protection and dependability for critical safety applications where personnel, processes, and facilities are at risk. The third party certified SIL-2 SensAlert ASI offers dependability and versatility while remaining the easiest to install, commission, operate, and maintain.

The video below demonstrates the setting menu and the operator interface.

The product is third-party certified to IEC61508 Level 2 (SIL-2) for both hardware and software with certification to global hazardous area and performance standards. The Test-on-Demand feature with on-board gas generator provides remote functionality checks with generated gas while Predictive Sensor End-of-Life Indication provides advanced warning of impending sensor failure.

SensAlert ASI is a universal instrument platform for toxic & combustible gas detection and oxygen monitoring. Intrinsically safe or explosion proof installation configurations with options for remote sensors and gassing, duct mount, and sample-draw maximize application versatility. Intrinsically safe or explosion proof installation configurations for remote sensors and gassing, duct mount, and sample-draw maximize application versatility. The sensor head accepts all Plus Series sensor technologies – infrared, catalytic bead, and electro-chemical. Assignable and configurable relays together with communication options provide broad flexibility. The SensAlert ASI I.S. sensor head can be remote mounted up to 100 feet (30m) from the transmitter providing a useful option to position the transmitter in a personnel-accessible location while positioning the sensor closer to potential hazards.

Food Processing: Belt Scales Improve Tomato Processor Efficiency and Productivity

Belt Scales Improve
Tomato Processing

The following post is a case history on using alternative technology to improve large scale food preparation process.  You'll read about how belt scales outperformed legacy equipment for a tomato peeling process and increasing yield.

Application:

A tomato processor located on the Pacific coast uses the latest technologies in peeling, dicing, and packaging tomatoes. They were preparing to replace some of their older weigh feeders because of declining performance. One of their main concerns with installing new weigh feeders was the cost of moving the existing conveying systems in order to accommodate new weigh feeders.

See the document below for the full case history:

Food Processing: Belt Scales Improve Tomato Processor Efficiency and Productivity from Ives Equipment

2 Wire, 3 Wire, and 4 Wire RTD Sensor Connections

Industrial temperature
transmitters (courtesy of
Siemens)

Industrial temperature transmitters are devices that measure the temperature of a process and provide a measurable output over some desired temperature range. Industrial temperature transmitters primarily use either of two popular temperature sensors - the thermocouple or the RTD (resistance temperature detector). The RTD changes resistance as process temperature changes, while a thermocouple provides a changing micro-voltage with process temperature change. RTDs are inherently more accurate, but require excitation voltage. There are three style RTD's - 2-wire, 3-wire, and 4-wire.

Proper connections for all three types of RTD sensor to a user- configurable transmitter are shown in the following illustrations:

Proper wiring of RTDs

It is critically important to note that the common connections shown by the symbols for 3- and 4-wire RTD sensors represent junction points at the sensor; not terminals jumpered by the technician at the time of installation, and not internal jumpers inside the transmitter. The whole purpose of having 3-wire and 4-wire RTD circuits is to eliminate errors due to voltage drop along the current-carrying wires, and this can only be realized if the “sensing” wire(s) extend out to the RTD itself and connect there. If the transmitter’s sensing terminal(s) are only jumpered to a current- carrying terminal, the transmitter will sense voltage dropped by the RTD plus voltage dropped by the current-carrying wire(s), leading to falsely high temperature indications.

Click here for more information on industrial RTDs and temperature transmitters.

For more information about any temperature measuring application, contact:
Ives Equipment
www.ivesequipment.com
(877) 768-1600

Some of above content taken from Lessons In Industrial Instrumentation by Tony R. Kuphaldt – under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License.

Combustion Analyzer Adds Higher Level of Safety by Measuring O2, Combustibles, and Methane

The reliable identification of low combustion oxygen in a fired heater or boiler has always been critical to the effectiveness of the Burner Management System for proper control and safety.

Low emission burners and aggressive firing control points to achieve increased efficiency and emission reductions have driven the industry to tighter control measures. But tighter control measures also hold a greater potential for combustion events. Reducing the risk of a combustion event has become a priority and has led to the implementation of Safety Instrumented Systems (SIS). This additional layer of safety is added to the Basic Process Control System.

The WDG-V has been designed to provide an additional layer of safety with the measurement of excess O2, Combustibles and Methane and by using these measurements to ensure the safe operation of the Burner Management System.

WDG analyzers are based on a zirconium oxide cell that provides a reliable and cost-effective solution for measuring excess oxygen in flue gas as well as CO and methane levels. Information from the Gas Analyzer allows operators to obtain the highest fuel efficiency, while lowering emissions for NOx, CO and CO2. The zirconium oxide cell responds to the difference between the concentration of oxygen in the flue gas versus an air reference. To assure complete combustion, the flue gas should contain several percent oxygen. The optimum excess oxygen concentration is dependent on the fuel type (natural gas, hydrocarbon liquids and coal).

WDG-V Thermox Combustion Analyzer from Ives Equipment

Lost Plant Air a Hidden Source for Energy Savings

Save energy costs by reducing
consumption of plant air.

Industrial plant air is one of the easiest sources of power to transmit and use. It’s also one of the most costly to generate. Information from the United States Department of Energy (DOE) indicates a wide variety of factors determine the cost of compressed air. These include, but are not limited to, local electrical energy cost, efficiencies of electric motors and compressors, load factors, and service time.

Plant maintenance are becoming more aware of air leaks and the subsequent increases in cost to overcome lost power because of those leaks. One of the major culprits for lost air in a plant is the pneumatic control valve positioner and the air required to operate them. In a typical process plant, there could be hundreds of control valves. Each control valve uses a positioner to move the valve actuator, based on a set point signal from a controller.

Control valve
with Siemens SIPART

It is the control valve positioner where the greatest air consumption savings lies.

Years ago, when electricity was cheap and when valve positioners were first introduced, plant maintenance and engineering were not concerned with something called the “bleed rate” of the positioner. Over the years though, plant personnel lost track of bleed rate and pretty much forgot that a positioner is just part of the system and it operates on air. Today, a modern process facility such as a power plant, refinery, or chemical plant can have several hundred control valves with positioners. The combined air loss due to the positioner “bleed rate” can be significant.

Siemens SIPART positioners

An immediate solution to this problem is to replace the control valve positioners with modern, energy-efficient, low-bleed models. One model, the Siemens SIPART PS2 has a proven track record of providing substantial savings to large plants. In one case, a tabacco company that had 2500 positioners was planning on spending $600,000 on a new compressor to increase output. After reviewing the capabilities of the low bleed positioner and running some tests, the plant decided to implement a plan for replacing the positioners which mitigated the need for a new compressor.

The significant change in technology came with the adoption of the adoption of a piezo ceramic valve block in low bleed positioners. Traditional positioners used an I/P and spool valve which both leaked air. Over time the leaks from these two parts is significant.

Could you and your plant be in the situation where lost energy efficiency through leaky positioners is costing big bucks? If you’re even the slightest bit concerned, call in an applications expert now for a system review.

Compact Coriolis Flowmeter with NTEP Custody Transfer Approval

NTEP approval for
custody transfer

When oil and gas are physically transferred from one operator to another, the term custody transfer is used to describe the transaction. It is understood as the transfer of fluid material defined by a metering device, at a given location, to another party. Custody transfer occurs at a variety of locations including from production platforms to ships, trucks, railcars, barges, and also at the final destination, such as the processing plant or refinery.

Accuracy is very important in custody transfer as both parties and instruments such as flowmeters must have approval by the organizations such as the American Petroleum Institute (API) or the National Conference on Weights and Measures (NCWM).

The National Type Evaluation Program (NTEP) is an evaluation program overseen by the National Conference on Weights and Measures (NCWM). Manufacturers who carry NTEP approval comply with local state and government regulations regarding transactions selling, purchasing, exchanging, custody transfer, or establishing the cost for services on based on weight.

Compact Coriolis flowmeter
with NTEP approval

Siemens has announced the SITRANS FC430 Coriolis flow meter now has National Type Evaluation Program (NTEP) CT approval for the USA and Canada. The approval is for both the measurement of volume and mass liquid flow, and offers high accuracy measurement with minimum of pressure loss. The SITRANS FC430's performance and custody transfer approval makes it an excellent fiscal metering tool for diverse industries such as oil and gas, petrochemical, and food and beverage.

For more information, contact:
Ives Equipment
www.ivesequipment.com
877-768-1600

Upgrading a Mechanical Pressure Switch to an Electronic (Solid State) Version

This video demonstrates how to upgrade from a traditional mechanical pressure switch to a solid state pressure switch.

The example here uses the United Electric Controls One Series as the example.

This type of product (One Series) allows you to choose from explosion-proof, intrinsically safe and energy limited models that monitor gauge pressure, differential pressure or temperature. With up to two fully adjustable set points and deadbands, available 4-20 mA analog output, and absolutely no moving parts. They are used in a wide variety of applications where mechanical switches are not considered.