Tank Farms / Water Injection
Problems
- Existing PLC at tank farm was poorly coded and not documented. As a consequence, root causes of process upsets were extremely hard to determine.
- Existing HMI was very difficult to read outdoors in bright sunlight.
- Water injection system included multiple stand-alone systems that did not play well with each other. Parts of the system would continue to run when other parts shut down.
- Many field locations were originally installed as stand-alone systems, which increased overhead by requiring operators to constantly make their 'rounds', driving many miles each day.
Solutions
- Fixed coding errors and fully documented the tank farm PLC.
- Upgraded (1) HMI from Automation Direct to PanelView Plus 6 to increase display contrast.
- Installed (6) new PLCs: three for the water injection system, one for a heater treater, one for a vapor recovery compressor, and one for a water separation facility.
- Automated and networked stand-alone systems, which allowed operators to reduce their 'drive time' and concentrate on known issues.
- Provided detailed electrical drawings including:
- PLC drawings
- Motor control drawings
- Cause and Effect Chart
Results
- Increased product quality.
- More productive employees.
- More reliable equipment.
- Better able to document environmental compliance.
Details
Client: Energy Resources Group (ERG)
Location: Orcutt,
CA
PLCs:
- (1) Allen Bradley - CompactLogix L35E
- (5) Allen Bradley - MicroLogix 1400
- 217 discrete, 28 analog
HMIs:
- (1) Allen Bradley - PanelView Plus 6, 10" color touchscreen panel
- 65 tagnames
Remote Alarming:
- Specter Instruments - Win-911 (existing)
Data Historian:
Other Components Integrated through SCADA:
- Allen Bradley - point I/O
- Honeywell - burner controllers, 7890
- MDS - iNet-II 900 radios
Networking, Protocols, and Drivers:
- TCP/IP
- RSLinx Enterprise
- EIA-568A
