Integrated Control and Sensing for Sustainable Operation of Flexible Intensified Processes

Project Information

CONSENS

Grant agreement ID: 636942

DOI

10.3030/636942

Project closed

EC signature date 7 November 2014

Start date 1 January 2015

End date 31 December 2017

Funded under

• INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Leadership in enabling and industrial technologies - Advanced manufacturing and processing

Total cost

€ 5 997 550,00

EU contribution

€ 5 997 550,00

Coordinated by

BAYER AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT
Germany

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - CONSENS (Integrated Control and Sensing for Sustainable Operation of Flexible Intensified Processes)

Reporting period: 2016-07-01 to 2017-12-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

The future competitiveness of the European chemical industry depends on its ability to deliver high quality and high value products at competitive prices in a sustainable fashion, and to adapt quickly to changing customer needs. The use of flexible intensified continuous processes is a promising strategy towards this goal. Compared to traditional batch processes, intensified continuous production gives access to new and difficult to produce chemical compounds, leads to better product uniformity and reduces the consumption of raw materials and energy drastically. Flexible (modular) chemical plants can produce different products using the same equipment with short down-times between the campaigns, and enable companies to bring new products to the market quickly. As an analysis within the former project F³ Factory has shown, full automation is a prerequisite to realize the benefits of intensified small and medium scale continuous plants. In traditional batch production mode which is widely used in the specialties sector, a batch can be put on hold to take samples and analyse them in the lab and then to decide on corrective measures. In contrast, continuous flow processes necessitate automated real-time measurements and tight closed-loop control of the product quality. If these are not available, there is a huge risk of producing large amounts of off-spec product. These would then require rework or even must be treated as waste, thus causing high cost and high consumption of energy and of raw materials. Therefore, the main goal of the CONSENS project is to advance the continuous production of high-value products that meet high quality demands in flexible intensified continuous plants by introducing novel online sensing equipment and closed-loop control of the key product parameters.

All goals of CONSENS were achieved, and very promising technologies were developed which will provide an impact on the European chemical industries by
1. making processes resilient to variances in feed-stocks and to external disturbances,
2. enabling the migration of batch processes to flexible continuous intensified processes, and
3. enhancing fast development of new products.

CONSENS focused on flexible continuous plants but the results are transferable to other kind of plants.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

Three case studies were selected for the integrated validation of the novel technologies:
(1) Intensified continuous organic synthesis using a modular containerized pilot plant
(2) Intensified continuous production of specialty polymers including the transfer of two products from batch to continuous production
(3) Continuous formulation of complex non-Newtonian liquids

To cope with the specific challenges, three novel sensors were developed:
- Online NMR sensor: a fast and explosion protected sensor measuring the concentration of chemical substances in liquid mixtures using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy
- Inline rheology sensor: a fast non-invasive sensor for measuring the flow behavior of liquids (the complete rheology profile of complex non-Newtonian fluids)
- Inline fouling sensor: a non-invasive sensor measuring the thickness of incrustations inside a tubular reactor.

For the closed-loop control of the key parameters of the case studies, new control methods were developed that resolve major hurdles for flexible intensified continuous processes:
- A self-optimizing iterative model-based control approach achieves the true plant optimum, even with rather simple rigorous process models. This is important, because otherwise the modelling effort would be prohibitive for flexible small- and medium-scale production.
- A data-driven rheology control approach allows simultaneous control of the whole rheology profile (i.e. a curve not only a value). Since the underlying physical principles are not yet fully understood, data-driven models were used.
- A concept for plant-wide control of modular continuous plants supports the plug & produce approach of modular plants that have local control logic already included in their modules.

Novel methodologies and tools were developed to support the engineering and the long-term stable operation of PAT-based control solutions:
- Online sensor failure detection is crucial the more sensors are used in closed-loop control, because sensor malfunctions can lead to a reduced process performance or even drive the plant into safety shutdowns.
- Performance monitoring is used to understand when a PAT-based control solution needs maintenance. Since the performance of a process depends on the circumstances, this concept considers long-term effects such as deactivation of catalyst and environmental conditions.
-The early design evaluation of control solutions helps to identify design flaws, to test the stability of PAT-based control concepts against disturbances, and to estimate the economic impact before any investment is made.

Nearly all technologies were integrated and validated successfully in the pilot plants.

The concepts and the results of CONSENS were disseminated very actively: 9 journal articles, 7 papers in proceedings, 1 book chapter, and 19 posters at 14 events. In addition two public workshops (> 200 participants) were organized.

Since the consortium includes 6 major corporations that cover more than 10% of the EU chemical market and that have identified many potential applications of the technologies in their own plants, it is quite probable that most of the technologies will be further developed and commercialized.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

The technologies developed in the CONSENS project are mostly completely new, unique, and provide capabilities that are not available on the market. E.g. in contrast to conventional optical sensors, NMR spectroscopy permits to observe minor changes in functional and to measure the composition of turbid media and liquid dispersions. The non-invasive inline measuring of incrustation layers and of fluid rheology is not available at all. The same applies to intelligent sensor failure detection techniques which are a prerequisite for the long-term use of sophisticated PAT sensors. Novel PAT-based adaptive control concepts combine model information with online data for robust performance and fast adaptation to new products. Such schemes are not available for flexible plants yet. The methodology for early-stage design evaluation of PAT-based control solutions under realistic scenarios, as well as the performance monitoring technique considering long-term shifts of the process optimum ensure that the overall system is set up and operated permanently in an optimal way, but are not current practice. The ambition of CONSENS was to close all these gaps.

The following contributions can be concluded from the case studies*:
- Financial savings: > 265 M€/year
- Reduction of CO2 emissions: > 490,000 t/year
- Less consumption of non-renewable raw materials (solvents): 176,000 t/year
*) Considered EU markets: pharmaceuticals and fine chemicals, soaps and detergents, specialty polymers

It is expected that the market share of European chemical production plants on the global market will increase by ca. 3% due to better quality, innovative products and higher competitiveness. Also the European instrumentation vendors will benefit from the CONSENS project, as the demand for the innovative sensors will lead to higher turnovers. Several project partners intend to develop and produce products based on the project results in Europe.

Pilot Plant used in Case Study 2

Consens Symbol

Pilot Plant used in Case Study 1

Measuring Principle of the Online Fouling Sensor

Overview of the Characteristics and Benefits of Intensified Processes

Consens Logo

Measuring Principle of the Online NMR Sensor

Summary of the Expected Impacts

Pilot Plant used in Case Study 3

Measuring Principle of the Online Rheology Sensor

Overview of the Case Studies and the Technologies to be validated

Overview of the Consens Project Consortium