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Shell
Nederland Chemie relies on HIMA systems for fast data transfer via MODBUS
TCP The
Moerdijk facility in the Netherlands belonging to Shell is one of
Europe’s most important production sites for ethylene and related
products. The Ethylene plant, one of Europe’s biggest with an annual
processing capacity of around 1 million tonnes of ethylene, has been
revamped, which involved replacing the old safety equipment with 17
safety-related H51q controllers made by HIMA Paul Hildebrandt GmbH + Co
KG.
The
HIMA safety systems are coupled to the Yokogawa process control system via
MODBUS TCP, providing extremely fast data transfer. The great benefit of
this method of communication is that it enables the use of network
components that are now standard, such as switches and Ethernet network
cards. These in turn allow data rates around twenty times higher than
previously possible (10 MBit/s). The
HIMA delivery extent included safety-related controllers, project
management for the systems, the engineering of the hardware and software,
and on-site support. The failsafe, SIL 3-certified H51q systems meet
Shell’s high standards of reliability and availability. The primary task
of the redundant SIL 3 controllers is to shut down critical sections of
the plant (ESD = Emergency Shut Down). They are also used in F&G (Fire
and Gas) applications and BMS (Burner Management Systems).
The
17 HIMA systems handle around 2,500 safety-related signals. Four of the
H51q controllers are used to monitor one medium-pressure and three
high-pressure boilers. Seven other systems monitor the ethylene plant’s
18 cracking furnaces. The remaining six controllers are employed in a
butadiene recycler, a hydrotreater, a storage unit and two other units. In this project the H51q systems were fitted with the new CPUs, which enable Self Education in redundant systems. When a CPU is replaced – which can be done while the plant is running – data and programs are automatically imported into the new CPU, which makes handling easier and avoids errors. The system as a whole fulfils the requirements of SIL 3, even during replacement. Another advantage of these CPUs is their reload function, which enables programming changes without stopping the system. Posted March 7, 2007
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