Advanced and Enhanced

摘要

Automation experts estimate perhaps half the ethanol industry has migrated to newer， more powerful distributed control systems(DCS).Many of the older systems remaining are getting extended lives， however， through targeted advanced regulatory controls.DCS migration is a big project-financially and systematically-comprised not only of computer upgrades but new sensors and software."It‘s a large system connected to 3，000 individual sensors that have to be replaced，"says Carson Merkwan， business development manager for Direct Automation."We do it in two days and check it out and they‘re ready to go."Advanced control systems forestall the need for the big migration project， reducing cost and targeting the application."Advanced process control is a very powerful tool that‘s been around a while，"Merkwan says."And it‘s a lot less expensive than it used to be.It used to cost $1 million and now is about $50，000 for targeted areas.”"What we‘ve seen as a trend in recent years is plants utilizing existing control architecture more， without resorting to third-party controls， but pulling some of that advanced control into the DCS controller，"explains Rick Tenor， product management lead at Trident Automation.While 10 years ago， the advanced controls were considered mostly for the larger， 100 MMgy plants， the development of a modular approach has made it technically and financially feasible for midsize plants， says Gary Jubien， senior product marketing manager at Honeywell."There‘s a minimum level where you have to be able to write from a computer and control a set point.If that can‘t be done， you can‘t implement， but a lot of systems will support that."