PlantWeb Automation the Solution for Solution Mining.

RIO BLANCO COUNTY, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 13, 1999--

Can sodium minerals be deep-mined using conventional solution mining methods? The answer has been found at a research facility recently constructed in the wilds of northwest Colorado by American Soda L.L.P., Parachute Colo. Hot, high pressure water is injected down wells into a nahcolite deposit more than 2000 feet below ground. The nahcolite (naturally occurring sodium bicarbonate) is dissolved and brought to the surface for recovery.

Helping keep a lid on research facility construction costs was Fisher-Rosemount PlantWeb(TM) field-based automation. This architecture centers on a DeltaV(TM) scalable process management system incorporating FOUNDATION(TM) fieldbus instrumentation. PlantWeb provides the power of a conventional DCS in a cost effective, flexible, and compact package. Logic can be fully distributed, data collection is rich, remote diagnostics are exhaustive, and configuration is graphical.

"The American Soda research facility had to prove that low-cost solution mining methods, similar to those used to recover sulfur and common salt, were practical for the recovery of nahcolite," reported Mike Huffman, American Soda Senior Systems Engineer. "We also had to quantify the characteristics of the resulting brine, including concentration and impurities. And we wanted to test various automation technologies to minimize production and maintenance costs.

"The Fisher-Rosemount DeltaV system proved instrumental in control and data collection during our mining process testing," Huffman said. "Injection temperatures and pressures must be closely managed so that certain limits are not exceeded. Every gallon of water in and out of an injection well must be accounted for. A host of instrumentation is necessary to assure we meet these requirements, as well as monitor and control all aspects of the continuous process. Data on scores of points must be collected every 10 minutes."

To gain the widest experience with PlantWeb automation, American Soda installed FOUNDATION fieldbus registered transmitters, valves, and flowmeters to operate specific equipment. Most PID loops reside in the DeltaV controller, although loop control was distributed to one valve. Also, one hybrid loop - having both fieldbus and HART devices - was created. No differences could be discerned between controller-based and distributed loops, or between totally fieldbus and hybrid loops.

"Because the PlantWeb architecture worked perfectly once in service, we attempted to force a failure as a test of its ruggedness," Huffman related. "With the plant operating, we first pulled a terminator off and on a terminator port on a fieldbus connector block. When that didn't cause failure, we removed and purposely shorted the main bus and spurs. Again no failures after the shorts were removed."

American Soda has begun constructing a commercial processing plant based upon the successful results of its research tests. The plant will produce high quality grades of sodium bicarbonate and soda ash. The commercial facility, now under construction, will include two processing plants separated by a 45-mile pipeline plus some 26 wells spaced over a mile of rocky terrain. The plants and wells will be run by larger PlantWeb installations relying on fiber optic and fieldbus communications and multiple DeltaV controllers to run processes and act as RTUs.

Fisher-Rosemount (www.fisher-rosemount.com) is a leading supplier of process management products and solutions, including control valves, regulators, transmitters, analyzers, process management systems, and related services. PlantWeb field based architecture combines intelligent field devices, standards and scalable platforms, and modular software to provide not only process control, but also integrated asset management and integration with other plant and business systems. Fisher-Rosemount is a part of Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE:EMR).

PlantWeb and DeltaV are marks of one of the Fisher-Rosemount family of companies. FOUNDATION is a mark of the Fieldbus Foundation.