BMA Info 53/2015

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A successful year for BMA America

New projects and new colleagues in Colorado.

Breaking new ground in Central America

Last year, a total of four top sugar producers in Central America decided to upgrade their plants. They opted for BMA products – breaking new ground for sugar factories in the region.

Installation and commissioning of a pan seeding system

In the beet sugar industry, pan seeding systems have been established for a long time. BMA has now successfully applied the process in the cane sugar industry.

Manufacturing and service – BMA Brazil expands its capacities

In 2012, BMA set up its subsidiary BMA Brasil Equipamentos Industriais Ltda. – who has since gone from strength to strength. A new production and service centre opened in Indaiatuba in early September 2014.

Interview

BMA Info talks to Igor Djoukwé

A force, to be reckoned with

BMA MENA Industries are going from strength to strength as a design and service provider in the Middle East and North Africa.

Agrosnabsakhar – How a project turned into a big surprise

On first contact with the Agrosnabsakhar sugar factory, nobody at BMA could have foreseen how this collaboration would grow.

Russian pioneers – VKT for a competitive edge

The Russian sugar industry is driving the extension and upgrade of its production sites and BMA plays a key role in this development. The result: a significant increase in output.

Four companies, three continents, two years, one goal

Together with Etihad Food Industries, the BMA Group has got a large-scale project off the ground – collaboration at its best.

Innovations for better performance – A new drying and cooling plant

A good cooling and drying system is the key to high sugar quality. Reason enough for BMA to continuously enhance this equipment, launching new and innovative products on the market.

A premiere in Pakistan – Successful commissioning of two falling-film evaporators

Reducing consumption of resources to a minimum while enhancing performance – those were the objectives for a factory in Pakistan specified in the order JDW Sugar Mills Ltd. placed with BMA.

Indian Cane Power Ltd.– More revenue thanks to co-generation

Indian Cane Power Ltd. (ICPL) relies on bagasse for power generation. For several years now, BMA has helped the company implement its innovative concepts with numerous supplies of equipment.

Uzbekistan‘s most cutting-edge factory

The Angren Shakar refinery was commissioned in August 2014.

Expanding centrifugal production for China

In 2014, BMA China expanded its assembly range to include not only continuous centrifugals but also batch-type machines (see also BMA Info 52/2014). The model in question belongs to the well-established and reliable B series.

Centrifugals from BMA: Made in Germany

2014 was a truly international year, also for BMA‘s product business: customers on all continents opted for BMA centrifugals.

BMA Automation: a complex factory acceptance test

With the supply of the process control system including all key electrical equipment, BMA Automation was involved in the design of the new refinery in Iraq right from the start. The complex factory acceptance test was a major milestone on the path to the finished plant.

Scientific exchange across the globe – BMA at international conferences

BMA has been presenting the latest developments from current international sugar industry projects at conferences across the globe. The report on the upgrade and capacity extension of the ICPL cane sugar factory is a recent outstanding example.

Engineering projects for the cane and beet sugar industries

In the beet sugar industry, pan seeding systems have been established for a long time. BMA has now successfully applied the process in the cane sugar sector.

Overview of all articles

12.05.2015

Virtual reality

BMA Automation sets new standards in the factory acceptance test for the Etihad project

With the supply of the process control system including all key electrical equipment, BMA Automation was involved in the design of the new refinery in Iraq right from the start. The complex factory acceptance test was a major milestone on the path to the finished plant.


Process optimisation in Germany on a full-scale model

Carrying out a virtual factory acceptance test (FAT) is never an easy task. It involves recreating the process control system of a planned factory in a test environment, and simulating process flows in order to enhance the interaction of all components. What this means: the complete original software and all switchgear, such as PLC, IPC, and bus systems, are set up and connected as intended for use later in the factory. The system is then linked to a special version of the powerful SIMIT software, which simulates the operation of machinery and process steps.

The aim is to optimise configuration of the process control system before installation, and to identify and rectify any problems. The control software is customised to individual specifications and all components are matched. Although a typical FAT can not virtually test or anticipate every possible case, operational availability of the system during such a test is at about 60 %. That means that only the remaining 40 % need to be optimised after installation, which keeps costs low and saves considerable time during commissioning.

However, this largest private investment in Iraq was anything but typical – not least because of the unstable security situation. To ensure commissioning could proceed as smoothly as possible and the stay of BMA employees on site reduced to a minimum, the FAT had special priority.

A complete control station for the virtual test run

To test for compliance with all specifications and properties, a complete control station was set up at BMA Automation in August 2014, which was the same as the planned unit in Iraq down to almost the last detail. Eight control units, four servers, ten clients, one Engineering Station, one Process Historian and one Maintenance Station were connected with 25 I/O cubicles. The control software used was SIMATIC PCS7.

In an extensive test phase, BMA MENA‘s process engineers assigned to the project were able to verify the functionality of all components. Control loops, sequences, process flows, visualisation and all types of malfunction could be immediately discussed, modified and tested again as required.

These efforts paid off. Instead of an ordinary operational availability of 60 %, an unprecedented 90 % were achieved in the virtual environment. A new record, even for the experienced specialists from BMA Automation.

Safwan Saltaji
BMA Automation
automation@bma-de.com