A REPORT ON IN-PLANT TRAINING AT THE FERTILIZERS AND CHEMICALS TRAVANCORE LIMITED (FACT), Udyogamandal

Submitted by G RAJESH AM.EN.U4ECE13117, BTech (2013-2017) Electronics and Communication Engg. Amrita School Of Engineering Amrita Vishwavidyapeetham, Amritapuri

Training Period: 01.06.2015-15.06.2015

ABSTRACT

I underwent an in-plant training to acquaint myself for a period of one month from June 1st to June 15th, 2015 to get an industrial exposure in a practical aspect of technical implementation. During the course of study I was able to interact freely with the officials and other employees in the plant and fetch maximum relevant information from them. I also got an opportunity to visit the work area and get a ‘hands on’ experience on various industrial devices.

The training helped me to get an idea about the various manufacturing processes and the technical instruments which are used in the plant. I also got familiarized with various large scale central distributive control systems which play the most crucial role in monitoring and controlling various processes in a chemical industry.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude to all those who have helped me throughout this in-plant training. It gives me immense pleasure to acknowledge all those who have rendered encouragement and support for the successful completion of work.

First of all ,I would like to thank my institution-Amrita School of Engineering, for allowing me to proceed with the in plant training.

I place my sincere thanks to Mr. Joy Ukkan, Dy.Manager(Trg) of FACT Training department, for permitting me to do the training at FACT.

I would also like to thank Mr.K B Jayaraj Dy.CE(I) UD, Mr.R Raju Amm(I) Sulphate , Mr.Babu Kurian,Amm(I) AC , Mr.Gopal MMI (AC), Mr.Prasad, Dept. Of Instrumentation, PD and Mr.Suneel,Dept. Of Instrumentation,PD for giving there valuable time in guiding and sharing their knowledge with me. I express my hearty thanks to all The Employees of THE FERTILIZERS AND CHEMICALS TRAVANCORE LIMITED for their constant support during the entire training.

FACT-An Introduction Man’s history is replete with revolutions, responsible for molding his system of thought and shaping his modes of living. Revolutions have, more often than not, emerged out of crisis-situations it was one such crisis situation that guided the enlightened perception of a far sighted visionary to form FACT. Yes! The FERTILISER AND CHEMICALS TRAVANCORELIMITED-popularly known as FACT-was indeed a revolution when it was established as the first large scale fertilizer factory in the country. Since then, it has played a major role in creating fertilizer consciousness among our farmers, and giving a positive direction to the modernization of agriculture in India. And that, of course is an interesting story-a story of never ending challenges and constructive responses.

The History The 1940,s were a time of critical food shortage in our country. The traditional approach to cultivation was not of much help in finding asolution to this problem. And nitrogenous fertilizer had not yet arrived on the agriculture scene in sufficient quantities to make any perceptible impact. A revolution was indeed necessary to change the status quo. And when it came, it did through the vision of Dr. C.P. Ramaswami Aiyar, the Dewan of the former Travancore State, who mooted the idea of increasing food production by the application of fertilizer as a long term solution to food problem. To give concrete shape to his idea, he sought the help of Seshayee Brothers Ltd. Industrialist known for their pioneering work. And India’s first large-scale fertilizer plant was set up in 1944 at Udyogamandal on the banks of the river periyar in Kerala State. The new venture of course had to go through many teething troubles. For instance, the raw materials necessary for the production of ammonium salts were not available in the state. But this deficiency was overcome by adopting a revolutionary method known as the FIREWOOD GASIFICATION PROCESS. However, initial difficulties notwithstanding, the plant at Udyogamandal went into commercial production in 1947, with the slated capacity to manufacture 50,000 tonnes of Ammonium Sulphate (10,000 tonnes of N). This was followed by the production of SUPERPHOSPHATE in a new plant with a capacity of 44,000 tones. A sulphuric acid plant of 75 tonnes per day was also installed which was considered large going standard at that time. Meanwhile the inner dynamics of FACT was finding another expression in the formation of new unit with the help of the State Government and Methur Chemical & Industrial Corporation Ltd., for the production of caustic soda which later become today’s Travancore-Cochin Chemical Ltd., a Kerala Government undertaking. This indeed was a big leap

forward as it replaced all the imports of that product, saving a considerable amount of foreign exchange. FACT was the first to use its by-product, chlorine, as hydrochloric acid to produce Ammonium Chloride. These by-products produced by FACT paved the way for setting up of other industrial units around the FACT complex viz. Hindustan Insecticide Ltd., Indian Rare Earth Ltd., etc.Expansion. In the late 50s, the Udyogamandal Division launched its first expansion with an outlay of Rs. 3 crores. Highlights of the period were the installation of two plants to produce Phosphoric Acid and Ammonium Phosphate(16:20 Grade). The second stage of expansion involving Rs.2 crore saw the replacement of the Firewood Gasification Process and the Electrolytic Process by the Texaco Oil Gasification Process for which a new plant was set up. FACT became a Kerala State Public Sector Enterprise on 15th August1960. On 21st November 1962, the Government of India became the major share holder. The 2nd stage of expansion of FACT was completed in 1962.

The 3rd stage of expansion of FACT was completed in 1965 with setting up of a new Ammonium Sulphate Plant. FACT has been a pace-setter in marketing evolving a continuous and comprehensive package of effective communication with farmers and promotional programs to increase the fertilizer consciousness among our farmers. In fact, FACT was the first fertilizer manufacturer in India to introduce the village adoption concept since 1968 to improve agricultural productivity and enhance the overall socio-economic status of farmers. FACT has a well organized marking net work, capable of distribution over a million tones of fertilizers. With the licensing of Cochin Division in 1966 FACT further expanded and by 1976 the production of sulphuric acid, phosphoric acid and Urea was started. In 1979 Production of NPK was commercialized.

Technical Divisions 

FACT Engineering and Design Organization (FEDO) was established in1965 to meet the emerging need for indigenous capabilities in vital areas of engineering, design and consultancy for establishing large and modern fertilizer plants. FEDO has since then diversified into Petrochemicals and other areas also. It offers multifarious services from project identification and evaluation stage to plant design, procurement project management, site supervision, commissioning and operating new plants as well as revamping and modernization of old plants. FEDO received international accreditation ISO 9001 2004 for quality system standards covering areas of consultancy, design & engineering services for construction of large fertilizer, petrochemicals, chemicals and related projects including purchasing, construction, supervisor, inspection and expediting services.

FACT Engineering Works (FEW) was established on 13th April 1966 as a unit to fabricate and install equipment for fertilizer plants. FEW was originally conceived as a unit to fabricate and install equipment for FACT’s own plants. Over the year it developed capabilities in the manufacture of class I pressure vessels, heat exchangers, rail mounted, LPG tank wagons etc. It has a well equipped workshop approved by Lloyds Register of Shipping, further; this division has excelled in laying cross country piping fabrication and installation of large penstocks for hydel units in Kerala. 

The Cochin Division of FACT, the 2nd production unit was set up at Ambalamedu and the 1st phase was commissioned in 1973. The 2ndphase of FACT Cochin Division was commissioned in 1976. The project was designed to produce Ammonia which would be converted to Urea and also to produce high analysis, water soluble NP fertilizers. This division comprises of a number of large capacity plants to produce Ammonia, Urea, Sulphuric Acid, Phosphoric Acid and Fertilizers like FACTAMPHOS 20-20and DAP 18-46.

FACT has also a Research & development Department which carries out research related to fertilizers. This Division is also capable of doing fundamental research in areas of fertilizers and chemicals technology. So far FACT R & D has taken 17 patents in areas like Sodium Fluoride, Sulphuric Acid and Ammonium Phosphate.

PRODUCTS & PRODUCT MIX

 PRODUCTS

Finished products Ammonium Sulphate- Udyogamandal Division Ammonium Phosphate/ Complex fertilizers / Factamfos – Udyogamandal

Division & Cochin Division Caprolactum- Petrochemical Division Biofertilizers - Research & Development Division 

Exported Products Caprolactum - Petrochemical Division Ammonium Sulphate - Udyogamandal Division

 Byproducts

Nitric Acid & Soda Ash- Petrochemical Division Gypsum - Udyogamandal Division & Cochin Division Carbon Dioxide Gas - Udyogamandal

 Intermediary Products

Ammonia - Udyogamandal & Cochin Division Synthesis Gas - Udyogamandal Division Sulphuric Acid - Udyogamandal & Cochin Division Oleum - Udyogamandal Division SO2 Gas - Udyogamandal Division Phosphoric Acid - Udyogamandal & Cochin Division

 

GENERAL SAFETY

Safety is the state of being "safe" ,the condition of being protected against physical, social, occupational, or other types or consequences of failure, damage, error, accidents, harm or any other event which could be considered non-desirable. Safety can also be defined to be the control of recognized hazards to achieve an acceptable level of risk. This can take the form of being protected from the event or from exposure to something that causes health or economical losses. It can include protection of people or of possessions. The Fertilizers And Chemicals Travancore has been declared as a Major Hazard Accidental Industry –MHAI.

There are two methods for classifying an industry into MHAI unit-

i) Process Involved – Fertilizers, petrochemical products, cement, paint, etc.ii)Quantity of chemical being handled and its commonly specified in tonnes

Heinrich's Domino Theory Heinrich's Domino Theory states that accidents result from a chain of sequential events, metaphorically like a line of dominoes falling over. When one of the dominoes falls, it triggers the next one, and the next... - but removing a key factor (such as an unsafe condition or an unsafe act) prevents the start of the chain reaction. Heinrich posits five metaphorical dominoes labelled with accident causes. They are Social Environment and Ancestry, Fault of Person, Unsafe Act or Mechanical or Physical Hazard (unsafe condition), Accident, and Injury. Heinrich defines each of these "dominoes" explicitly, and gives advice on minimizing or eliminating their presence in the sequence.

Fire and safety

Fire triangle

The fire triangle or combustion triangle is a simple model for understanding the necessary ingredients for most fires. The triangle illustrates the three elements a fire needs to ignite: heat, fuel, and an oxidizing agent (usually oxygen). A fire naturally occurs when the elements are present and combined in the right mixture, meaning that fire is actually an event rather than a thing. A fire can be prevented or extinguished by removing any one of the elements in the fire triangle. For example, covering a fire with a fire blanket removes the oxygen part of the triangle and can extinguish a fire.

Classification of fire Class A: Ordinary combustibles - Class A fires consist of ordinary

combustibles such as wood, paper, fabric, and most kinds of trash. Class B/C: Flammable liquid and gas . These are fires whose fuel is

flammable or combustible liquid or gas. Flammable liquids are designated "Class B", while burning gases are separately designated "Class C". A solid stream of water should never be used to extinguish this type because it can cause the fuel to scatter, spreading the flames. The most effective way to extinguish a liquid or gas fueled fire is by inhibiting the chemical chain reaction of the fire, which is done by dry chemical  extinguishing agents, although smothering with CO2 or, for liquids, foam is also effective.

Class C or Class E: Electrical fires are fires involving potentially energized electrical equipment. This sort of fire may be caused by short-circuiting machinery or overloaded electrical cables. Electrical fire may be fought in the same way as an ordinary combustible fire, but water, foam, and other conductive agents are not to be used. Carbon dioxide CO2, and dry chemical powder extinguishers such as PKP and even baking soda are especially suited to extinguishing this sort of fire.

Class D :Metal - Class D fires consist of combustible metals such asmagnesium, potassium, titanium, and zirconium.

Class K or F - Class K fires involve unsaturated cooking oils in well-insulated cooking appliances located in commercial kitchens.

INSTRUMENTS

VALVES

Safety Valves

Safety Valve safety Valve is a type of valve that automatically actuates when the pressure of inlet side of the valve increases to a predetermined pressure, to open the valve disc and discharge the fluid ( steam or gas ) ; and when the pressure decreases to the prescribed value, to close the valve disc again. Safety valve is so-called a final safety device which controls the pressure and discharges certain amount of fluid by itself without any electric power support. Safety Valve is mainly installed in a chemical plant, electric power boiler, gas storage tank, preventing the pressure vessels from exploding or damaging. When the container pressure exceeds the design requirements, the safety valve automatically opens; the escaping gas reduces internal over pressure, to prevent the container or pipeline damage. And when the internal pressure reduces to normal operating pressure, the container automatically shuts down to avoid over-pressure exhaust all the gas, lead to waste and production suspension. It is mainly composed by the seat, disc (valve core) and the loading mechanism.

Control Valves Control valves are valves used to control conditions such as flow, pressure, temperature, and liquid level by fully or partially opening or closing in response to signals received from controllers that compare a "setpoint" to a "process variable" whose value is provided by sensors that monitor changes in such conditions. The positioner is a device mounted on a control valve that receives control signal from a DCS or any host system. The signal can be a 4-20mA/HART/Fieldbus, etc. The positioner receives the signal and understands the desired (target) position of the valve. E.g.,A positioner working on a 4-20mA signal range receives a 12mA means the valve has to be positioned at 50% open. Without a positioner, the valve might not be positioned at 50% due to several factors such as fluid forces, friction, etc. The positioner sends pressure to the actuator in order to position the valve at 50%. The positioner is also physically connected with the valve stem, so it receives feedback about the current position of the valve. Based on the feedback, the positioner adjusts the output to the actuator if required. In short, the ultimate function of the positioner is to ensure that the desired opening of the valve is achieved in response to the control signal received from the host system.

Solenoid Valves: Solenoid valves are used for quick controlling (or to trip a system).Normally they are used when an emergency control in flow is to done. Solenoid valves are much faster than other valves. A solenoid valve is the combination of a basic solenoid and mechanical valve. So a solenoid valve has two parts namely- Electrical solenoid, mechanical valve. Solenoid converts electrical energy to mechanical energy and this energy is used to operate a mechanical valve that is to open, close or to adjust in a position.When the coil is energized , the resulting magnetic field pulls the plunger to the middle of the coil. The magnetic force is unidirectional — a spring is required to return the plunger to its un energized position.

Radar Level Transmitters

Radar Level Transmitters are used to measure the level of a liquid, in a huge tank, mostly a storage tank than a process tank . Radar level instruments measure the distance from the Transmitter/sensor to the surface of a process material located further below. Radar level instruments use radio waves which are electromagnetic in with very high frequency in the microwave frequency range. Radar level instruments use an antenna to broadcast or send radio signals to the process liquid whose level is to be determined.

To measure the level of a liquid or solid, radar signals are transmitted from the antenna of a radar instrument located at the top of a tank or vessel. The pulse radar sends out a microwave signal that bounces off the product surface and returnsto the gauge. The transmitter measures the time delay between the transmitted and received echo signal and the onboard microprocessor calculates the distance to the liquid surface. To calculate liquid level, the transmitter is programmed with the reference gauge height of the application usually the bottom of the tank or chamber. The liquid level is then calculated by the microprocessor in the transmitter.

Temperature Measuring Instruments’

Resistance Temperature Detectors (RTDs) Resistance Temperature Detectors are sensors that measure temperature by correlating the resistance of the RTD element with temperature. Most RTD elements consist of a length of fine coiled wire wrapped around a ceramic or glass core. The RTD element is constructed from a pure material, the resistance of which, at various temperatures, has been documented .The material has a predictable change in resistance as the temperature varies; it is this change that is used to determine temperature. RTDs are generally considered to be among the most accurate temperature sensors available.  RTDs also provide high immunity to electrical noise and are, therefore, well suited for applications in process and industrial automation environments, especially around motors, generators and other high voltage equipment. However, they have a small temperature range.

Thermocouple Based Temperature Detectors A thermocouple consists of two dissimilar metals, joined together at one end. When the junction of the two metals is cooled or heated a voltage is produced that can be correlated back to the temperature. Since thermocouples measure wide temperature ranges and are relatively rugged, they are very often used demanding industrial automation and process control applications. In selecting a thermocouple, the following criteria are key considerations:

Temperature range Chemical resistance of the thermocouple or sheath material Abrasion and vibration resistance Installation requirements (may need to be compatible with existing

equipment;existing holes may determine probe diameter)

Pressure Transmitters

A pressure transducer, often called a pressure transmitter, is a transducer that converts pressure into an analog electrical signal. Although there are various types of pressure transducers, one of the most common is the strain-gage base transducer.

The conversion of pressure into an electrical signal is achieved by the physical deformation of strain gages which are bonded into the diaphragm of the pressure transducer and wired into a Wheatstone bridge configuration. Pressure applied to the pressure transducer produces a deflection of the diaphragm which introduces strain to the gages. The strain will produce an electrical resistance change proportional to the pressure. The converted electrical signal is in the range of 4 -20 ma.

Key Note :

All the instruments are configured to have a 4-20ma current signal or 1-5 v as the output. Since a 4-20mA signal is least affected by electrical noise and resistance in the signal wires, these transducers are best used when the signal must be transmitted long distances. It is not uncommon to use these transducers in applications where the lead wire must be 1000 feet or more. While the operating voltage is device specific, most of the devices use 24V DC or 110v DC as input voltage.

DISTRIBUTED CONTROL SYSYTEM –DCS

Distributed control systems (DCSs) are dedicated systems used to control manufacturing processes that are continuous or batch-oriented, such as oil refining, petrochemicals, central station power generation, fertilizers, pharmaceuticals, food and beverage manufacturing, cement production, steelmaking, and papermaking. DCSs are connected to sensors and actuators and use setpoint control to control the flow of material through the plant.  Pressure or flow measurements are transmitted to the controller, usually through the aid of a signal conditioning input/output (I/O) device. When the measured variable reaches a certain point, the controller instructs a valve or actuation device to open or close until the fluidic flow process reaches the desired setpoint. The Fertilizers and Chemicals Travancore- FACT plants have thousands of I/O points and employ very large DCSs. Processes are not limited to fluidic flow through pipes, but also include measuring, monitoring and controlling of various parameters like pressure, flow, temperature, etc

DCS in Ammonium Sulphate(UD) plant -YOKOGAWA CENTUM CS1000

Since the day it is released ,CENTUM CS 1000 is widely applied in the plants of oil refinery, petrochemical, chemistry, iron and steel, non-ferrous metal, metal, cement, paper pulp, food and pharmaceutical industries, and power, gas and water supply as well as many other public utilities. The excellent operability and engineering technique, and the high reliability proved by the abundant actual application results, guaranteed that the CENTUM CS 1000 will continue to play an important role in process industries

System Overview

Information Command Station (ICS)A station for operating and monitoring the plant process control.

Console Type ICSA standard type of ICS with extensive capability and high reliability.

Desktop ICSThe ICS on the desktop, the main body, CRT and keyboard are separated.

PICSA general-purpose PC used as ICS.

Field Control Station (FCS) The control unit for plant process control

Figure 1:Source -Yokogawa website

NodeA remote input and output unit that passes the field signals to FCS control unit via remote buses.

Engineering Work Station (EWS)A workstation with engineering capabilities used for system configuration and system maintenance.

Bus Converter (ABC)Bus converters are required if a system contains multiple domains or contains the legacy CENTUM project.

Communication Gateway (ACG) A communication gateway unit is for linking a supervisory computer to

control bus.

V Net Real time control bus for linking FCS, ICS and ABC.

E Net The information LAN of the system for linking ICSs and EWS.

Human Machine Interface

There are 4 panels on the human – machine interface -Graphic Panel, Control Panel, Overview Panel and Trend Panel . Up to ten panels can be tiled or cascaded on display. Since the panels with the required information can be promptly switched, the speedy operation and monitoring becomes possible. By shrinking the size of panels to one fourth, four panels can be displayed on one screen.

DCS in Caprolactum (PD) plant- EMERSON DELTA V

Features of Delta V DCS system :

Advanced Control

The DeltaV system enables you to quickly deploy state-of-the-art intelligent control for improved plant performance, without the implementation and maintenance problems associated with traditional advanced control systems. With embedded intelligent control, such as fuzzy logic, model predictive control, and neural network function blocks, advanced applications can be implemented with minimal effort.DATA INTEGRATION

Device Integration: The DeltaV system enables your plant and maintenance team to easily monitor field device health status. Based on real-time diagnostics from intelligent field devices, your staff can respond quickly and make informed decisions to prevent unexpected shutdowns. Integrated machinery protection and prediction deliver critical feedback on the health of your plant’s rotating machinery asset.

Enterprise Integration: Ready access to continuous and event historical process information is critical to operating, analyzing, and optimizing your plant. This collected information also needs to be available to applications beyond the control system boundaries, such as laboratory information and enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems. The DeltaV system integrates via standard-based open communications – enabling control data to be provided to the experts who need it, anywhere.ENGINEERINGHARDWARE

Controllers: The DeltaV controllers provide communication and control between the field devices and the other nodes on the control network. These powerful controllers have embedded intelligent control to optimize your loops – all the time. The S-series controllers have all the features of the M-series controllers with the added support for electronic marshalling and the wireless I/O card.

DeltaV Operate gives operators an intuitive view into the process with easy, one click access to alarm summaries, alarm faceplates, trends, display navigation, and online help. DeltaV diagnostics extend not only to the system components but beyond – to cyber security and intelligent deice and machinery monitoring – increasing process uptime and reducing unplanned shutdowns.

Figure 2:Image Source -Emerson DCS website

Key Note: Similarly, the Captive Power Plant –CPP(PD) uses ABB DCS and ammonia plant (UD) uses TATA Honeywell DCS, working in a similar manner as in the above mentioned DCSs.