Process automation in fertilizer plant

In the old days N(PK) production was an art: fluctating natural raw materials make the acidulation of superphosphate fluctuate and were disrupting the granulation process with all know problems (wasting nutrients, quality issues, reducing capacity, extra cleaning, etc.) 

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Nowadays most plants are controlled by process computers, creating knowledge on engine loads, weight of streams, tempratures, pressures, etc.

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In parallel there starts to be more attention for more frequent chemical analyses, changing lab analyses routines from daytime to 24/7 control and communicating results after 3 hrs. to control room.

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Some plants automated the lab analyses bij applying sample preparation by robot and doing analyses on ION chromatography or other methods, by that cutting the analyses cycle from 3 hrs. to as low as 30 minutes. 

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The next step is obvious: connect lab results by robot with real time data in the plant, and the road to real time cost price calculation and mass balances in different circumstances is open.

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This project in now being prepared by Alsys, based on the combination of our versatile robot machine with IC analystics and an interface with any type of process computer like Siemens, Scada etc. A first analysis of product data and their fluctations indicate that saving up to several million Euro's per annum can be achieved.

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This gives the high-capacity robot machine another huge advantage. 

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This is the start of real time process optimisation, not only on mechanical and electronic inputs but also on basis of frequent chemical analyses of raw materials, intermediates and final products.