Siemens (Indonesia) - Reducing material waste in flexible PET production.

A chemical plant in Indonesia specializing in producing PET was looking for a solution to reduce the waste resulting from product variance. The factory produces 25,000 tons of polyester annually, which is then provided to other manufacturers to produce a vast range of end products. This vast range requires different PET grades, which are achieved by slight variations in the synthesis procedures.

Solution/Service Description:

• Each raw material bin is mounted on Siwarex WL280 ring torsion load cells to achieve optimum weighing accuracy. These load cells are connected to two Siwarex WP251 weighing modules, which are specifically designed for batching applications. The advantages of this solution are that the WL280 load cells feature a C3 class rating for accuracy as well as an IP68 rating for protection against dust and direct high-pressure cleaning – ideal for handling powder materials such as PTA. In connection with the Siwarex WP251, a customer-specific application was engineered with a resolution of up to +/- 4 million parts.
• The glycol as the liquid component in this process is monitored by a Sitrans FC430 coriolis mass flowmeter provi-ding a 4-20 mA output, which varies based on the flow rate of the material. This signal is fed into an analog S7-1200 input module. A Sipart PS2 positioner controls the valves to regulate the flow rate. In such flexible processes as this one, the operator individually sets the setpoint for total production. At the field level, this flexibility is achieved using Sinamics variable frequency drives, which independently adjust the flow rate of each material. To close the loop, the discharge rates from the raw material bins are monitored by the WP251. The output is then processed by the S7-1200 controller, sent through an analog module to control the Sipart PS2 positioner – which in turn allows more or less glycol to flow into the batching vessel. The downstream Sitrans FC430 flow meter additionally verifies the flow rate to ensure a high-quality mix.

Customer Benefit:

Plant efficiency had increased by 27 % due to the reduced material waste and product loss. Further, the more reliable process measurements and diagnostics help the company to service their equipment on a preventive basis instead of a reactive one, resulting in reduced downtimes and increased reliability.