Waste disposal presents an ever-growing challenge in urban areas. Waste-to-energy (WTE) technology provides an environmentally sound solution to this problem that also addresses the growing need for alternate energy sources. Over 150 waste-to-energy plants and other types of waste incineration facilities all over the world rely on a Yokogawa control system solution. Yokogawa measurement and control technologies thus play a key infrastructure role in making our world cleaner and more efficient.
Customer Challenge
Safely and reliably performing the complex process of starting up a boiler
Solution
Yokogawa provides a support system that guides operators step-by-step through a graphically presented standard operating procedure for starting up a boiler.
Enabling Technologies
CENTUM VP Integrated Production Control System
The CENTUM VP integrated control system secures interruption-free “uptime only” plant performance for optimal productivity and profitability in the renewable energy field.
FAST/TOOLS SCADA
The FAST/TOOLS package optimizes performance for renewable energy applications. It ensures high availability and performance and supports online configuration.
Customer Challenge
Reducing the emission of CO, NOX, dioxins, and other substances into the atmosphere by burning off residual gas components in the stack gas
Solution
Yokogawa gas analyzers measure the oxygen concentration in the stack gas so that adjustments can be made in the O2 supply that will improve combustion efficiency and burn off more residual gas components.
Enabling Technologies
CENTUM VP Integrated Production Control System
The CENTUM VP integrated control system secures interruption-free “uptime only” plant performance for optimal productivity and profitability in the renewable energy field.
FAST/TOOLS SCADA
The FAST/TOOLS package optimizes performance for renewable energy applications. It ensures high availability and performance and supports online configuration.
ZR Series Zirconia Oxygen Analyzers
Yokogawa’s zirconia oxygen analyzers are used for combustion monitoring and control applications and are relied on by a wide range of industries to optimize combustion and reduce NOX emissions.
TDLS200 Laser Gas Analyzer
The TruePeak TDLS gas analyzer relies on a proprietary peak area integration method and is ideal for in-situ analysis in harsh process environments. It significantly improves the efficiency of boiler operations.
SG750 Stack Gas Analyzer
The SG750 stack gas analyzer consists of an infrared gas analyzer unit, a zirconia oxygen analyzer unit, and a sampling unit, and can simultaneously measure up to five components: NOX, SO2, CO2, CO, and O2.
Customer Challenge
Minimizing the difference between the planned load and the actual amount of waste loaded into an incinerator. The actual amount depends on the waste type and condition.
Solution
The human interface station (HIS) for the Yokogawa CENTUM distributed control system (DCS) displays a trend graph in which curves are plotted indicating the planned and actual (cumulative weight) incinerator load. If there is any divergence from the planned load, the operator can adjust the stoker speed accordingly.
Enabling Technologies
CENTUM VP Integrated Production Control System
The CENTUM VP integrated control system secures interruption-free “uptime only” plant performance for optimal productivity and profitability in the renewable energy field.
FAST/TOOLS SCADA
The FAST/TOOLS package optimizes performance for renewable energy applications. It ensures high availability and performance and supports online configuration.
Waste to Energy Process
Waste delivered to an incineration facility is dumped into a pit and then transported by crane to the incinerator. The waste is burned and the remaining ash is collected at the bottom of the incinerator. The combustion heat can be used in district heating systems, water heating systems for swimming pools, and other applications, as well as to heat a boiler that produces steam. The steam drives a turbine that generates electricity. The exhaust gas passes through a cooling tower and dust collector before being discharged through the stack.
Control and Measurement Technologies
| Plant-wide Systems and Instrumentation | ||
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Information
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Control
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Measurement
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| Processes | ||
| Waste Unloading | Boiler | Turbine |
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| Flue-Gas Treatment | ||
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- Modern waste to energy facility in UK uses CENTUM CS 3000 and ProSafe-RS
- Lakeside exports at least 34MW per hour to the country's national grid
- Italian waste to energy plant turns to CENTUM, PRM and FOUNDATION fieldbus solution
- Nearly 1500 FOUNDATION fieldbus devices are monitored and managed using the PRM
- A robust and reliable integrated control and safety system (ICSS) made up of the CENTUM CS3000 PCS and the ProSafe-RS SIS ensures safe operations while fully automating key processes.
- A variety of analytical instruments accurately measure the concentrations of key components, and this data can be monitored and controlled by the Yokogawa PCS.
The automation suppliers that will be successful in the long term will be those that effectively address application or industry specific problems for end users with a value proposition that cannot be ignored. These problems exist throughout the process industries today, and they won't be solved by simply offering a product, but through a combination of hardware, software, services, application expertise, and knowledge.
In ARC's view, customers need a compelling business value proposition to justify investment in any kind of automation. Vigilance and VigilantPlant were created with this in mind. Yokogawa's vision with VigilantPlant is to create an environment where plant personnel and operators are well informed, alert, and ready to take action.
Yokogawa has come a long way in making its message clear to the world of process automation. Last year, the company embarked on a full-scale global marketing campaign to make customers aware of the company's focus on system reliability, security, dependability, and robustness. Dubbed "Vigilance", the campaign created a unified message for the company and greatly helped expand awareness of the Yokogawa brand and corporate philosophy.
Process automation end users are under more pressure than ever to do more with less. The current economic climate means that many automation capital projects are on hold. With capital budgets tighter than ever, users instead focus on operational budgets (where cost cutting is also a key concern), or on automation investments with a very rapid return on investment.
In today's dynamic industrial marketplace, the only constant is change. Raw material costs, energy costs, market demands, environmental and safety regulations, technology, and even the nature of the labor force itself are constantly changing, and not always in predictable directions.