Upgrade: Xinneng Energy implements new chemical process control system

Xinneng Energy Ltd. In Jiangsu Province, Zhangjiagang, China, has implemented Proficy Process Systems from GE Fanuc Intelligent Platforms division.

By Control Engineering Staff January 8, 2008

Looking to grow its business especially in Southeast Asian markets, Xinneng Energy Ltd. In Jiangsu Province, Zhangjiagang, China, has implemented Proficy Process Systems from GE Fanuc Intelligent Platforms division in a high availability architecture. Xinneng Energy, a supplier of energy-chemical products and services, produces DME (dimethyl ether), a chemical substance produced from methanol. The new plant is able to produce one million tons of DME per year on three production lines. Proficy Process Systems will control those lines and will take over two additional lines in 2008.

“Xinneng Energy is in a great position to increase its business by being on the forefront of implementation of Proficy Process Systems,” said Steve Hogge, control systems commercial director, GE Fanuc Intelligent Platforms, Greater China. “It is estimated that the first big market for DME is South East Asia, including countries like Japan, China, Korea, India, and Taiwan. And, GE Fanuc is pleased to be there to help them succeed.”

The configuration includes Proficy HMI/SCADA– Cimplicity technology option for its operator consoles, a system server leveraging Proficy Historian technology, and redundant RX7i processors with reflective memory. The architecture includes Ethernet I/O networking with racked-based remote I/O leveraging RX3i high availability remote I/O stations. According to GE Fanuc, the foundation of Proficy Process Systems is a contemporary infrastructure offering benefits of traditional DCS and PLC/HMI systems, without many of the historic limitations.

Steve Ryan, GE Fanuc director of process solutions, said, companies in continuous process industries like Xinneng Energy “are facing unprecedented pressures to perform amidst the growing challenges of global competition, aging, and end-of-lifecycle installed control system infrastructure and increased regulatory pressures.”

Xinneng Energy general manager Yuantong Ma commented, “Proficy Process Systems easily met our requirements of an affordable price and a commitment to fully support us during system installation. And, because this is built on proven technologies, we can count on the stability of the system as well as limited maintenance. These features spelled success for us.”

In related news , GE Fanuc intelligent Platforms released Proficy Batch Execution– Version 5.1. The release focuses on ease of use, performance, and system integration to improve customer productivity and reduce operational costs, the company said. The new version introduces features to simplify and improve the design, maintenance, and operation of batch processes. Included are a tabular recipe editor, new ActiveX Controls, integration with Proficy Process Systems, and other performance enhancements. 

GE Fanuc Intelligent Platforms — Control Engineering News Desk( Register here and scroll down to select your choice of eNewsletters free.)