Second-generation Ethanol Plant in Brazil Automated with Yokogawa's CENTUM VP, Batch Package, and PRM Solutions

GranBio Investimentos SA, Sao Miguel dos Campos, Alagoas, Brazil logo
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Second-generation Ethanol Plant Now Producing Cheap, and Clean-burning Biofuel

Executive Summary

GranBio Investimentos SA, Sao Miguel dos Campos, Alagoas, BrazilGranBio Investimentos SA is a Brazilian industrial biotech company that was born out of the vision of bringing about a green revolution through the construction of second-generation ethanol plants that will produce cheap, clean-burning biofuel from readily available biomass. Following its establishment in June 2011 by Gran Investimentos S.A., a holding company in which the Gradin family are the primary investors, the company built Bioflex 1, the first commercial second-generation ethanol plant in the Southern Hemisphere. Bioflex 1 started operation in early 2014 and is able to produce 82 million liters of biofuel per annum, making it one of the largest such facilities in the world.

 

GranBio

As the main automation contractor (MAC) for the Bioflex 1 project, Yokogawa South America was involved from the front end engineering design (FEED) stage, performing the basic design for a control system and field instrumentation solution that will reduce costs and improve production efficiency throughout the lifecycle of the plant. Yokogawa installed the CENTUM VP integrated production control system; the csTUNER control loop tuning software; the CENTUM VP Batch package to control the plant's pretreatment, enzymatic hydrolysis, fermentation, and distillation/separation units; field instruments including FOUNDATION™ fieldbus-enabled ADMAG AXF magnetic flowmeters, DPharp EJA series pressure/differential pressure transmitters, and control valves; and the Plant Resource Manager (PRM) asset management package. Yokogawa South America was responsible for product delivery, engineering, and operator training.

Overview of second-generation ethanol process
Overview of second-generation ethanol process

The Challenges and the Solutions

Improving productivity

Second-generation ethanol and other chemical products are produced from non-food agricultural materials and industry waste. The cost of producing biofuel with this method compares favorably to fossil fuels such as oil and natural gas, and it produces fewer greenhouse gases. The GranBio plant produces ethanol from energy cane, bagasse, and straw, all of which are readily available in Alagoas State.

The raw materials used in this production process must first be pretreated to make the cellulose in the plant cell walls easier to break down with enzymes (hydrolysis) and solubilize hemicellulose sugars. The cellulose in the plant cell walls is in a matrix with other polymers, primarily hemicellulose and lignin, and the pretreatment of biomass with heat removes these polymers from the cellulose core. During the cooking process, great care must be taken to keep the biomass at a steady temperature. The pretreated cellulose fragments are then broken down using enzyme preparations to obtain double glucose molecules, which are then split into single glucose residues. In a fermentation reactor, these residues are converted to ethanol using microbes.

All in one high density HMI display

"All in one" high density HMI display

Based on whichever raw materials are being processed, the pretreatment and fermentation settings have to be automatically selected and executed. All important parameters for these processes are preconfigured in the CENTUM VP Batch package. When an operator selects a recipe from the package menu, all of the preconfigured settings are automatically selected and downloaded to the individual controllers so that each sequence can be automatically started. At a human machine interface (HMI) terminal, an operator can monitor the status of the reactions in ergonomically designed process graphic display, trend display, alarm summary display, and control display windows. When each batch operation is completed, the operation data are compiled for an automatically generated batch report (provided as a standard function). In these ways, the CENTUM VP Batch package improves productivity at GranBio.

Reduction of operator workload and safe operation

FieldMate parameter setting
FieldMate parameter setting
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Field devices

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PRM device status and diagnostic data display
PRM device status and diagnostic data

Many different field devices, including magnetic flowmeters, DPharp EJA series pressure/differential pressure transmitters, and control valves, are installed at this plant, and it has nearly 2,000 I/Os. Some of the devices are exposed to high temperature processes and other harsh conditions and/or are mounted in high, narrow, and other difficult to access locations.

With the PRM asset management package, the health of these devices can be monitored from the central control room (CCR), eliminating the need for difficult and time consuming physical inspections. The PRM device navigation window displays the status of plant-wide assets with a Windows Explorer-like interface, enabling maintenance engineers to quickly identify devices that require online diagnosis. This is an especially valuable time-saving tool during plant start-up, when engineers and operators must check many loops and control valves. The centralization of the management of these plant assets ensures that maintenance information gets immediately to the right persons, depending on the type and criticality of the diagnostic data analysis. This changes the maintenance engineer workflow and enables a more proactive maintenance approach.

Other valuable tools provided by Yokogawa include FieldMate, which can be used from the CCR to set field device parameters, and csTUNER, which simplifies the task of tuning PID loops. With its ability to optimize tuning parameters and generate a tuning report, csTUNER is particularly useful during the plant start-up and commissioning phases, reducing the workload of both engineers and operators.

The use of these tools helps to ensure that GranBio's operators and engineers are able to comfortably operate and keep this plant safe 24/7.

Customer Satisfaction

Manoel Carnauba, a GranBio vice president, comments as follows:


"Brazil is a dominant player in the bioethanol market. The biofuel market is steadily growing, and second-generation biofuel is attracting attention as an environmentally friendly energy source. We appreciate Yokogawa's modern and highly reliable control system and field instruments, and value their engineering capabilities, and believe we made the right decision to rely on them as the MAC for the construction of this large-scale commercial second-generation ethanol plant. As we were able to complete the basic specifications at an early stage and maintain consistency with all the specifications, this reduced the total cost of the control system and the instrumentation. We completed our project on schedule and on budget."

Plant view

Plant view

Shift operators in central control room

Shift operators in central control room

업종

  • 바이오연료

    지구 온난화를 막기 위해 바이오 연료의 생산과 소비가 전 세계적으로 증가하고 있습니다. Yokogawa는 화학, 석유 및 기타 산업에 대한 측정 및 제어 솔루션의 선도적 제공 업체로서 바이오 에탄올 및 기타 재생 가능 연료의 안정적이고 효율적인 생산을 보장하는 데 사용할 수 있는 기술을 개발했습니다.

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  • 화학

    화학 플랜트는 연속 및 Batch 생산 공정에 의존하며, 각각은 제어 시스템에 대한 다양한 요구 사항을 제시합니다. 연속 공정은 실패하지 않고 생산 라인을 중단시키는 견고하고 안정적인 제어 시스템을 필요로하는 반면, Batch 공정의 중요성은 수식, 절차 및 공정을 조정하는 데 있어 큰 유연성을 허용하는 제어 시스템을 갖추는 데 있습니다. 두 종류의 시스템 모두 제품의 사용 가능한 품질 내역에서 관리되어야 하며 비일상적인 작업을 수행할 수 있어야 합니다. Yokogawa는 광범위한 제품 포트폴리오, 숙련된 시스템 엔지니어 및 글로벌 영업 및 서비스 네트워크를 통해 모든 공장 공정에 대한 솔루션을 제공합니다.

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  • Plant Resource Manager (PRM)

    신뢰성 높고 안정적인 플랜트 운영을 위해 설비를 제대로 관리하고 계신가요? PRM은 플랜트 수명 주기 전반에 걸쳐 유지보수 계획의 품질을 개선하고 유지보수 비용을 최적화하는 데 기여합니다.

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