Repsol and Google Cloud optimise Tarragona refinery management through big data and AI

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Repsol has announced that it is working with Google Cloud to launch a project that will use big data and artificial intelligence to optimize management of the Tarragona refinery, as per Yourpetrochemicalnews.

Refineries are among the largest and most complex industrial facilities. Repsol’s Executive Managing Director of Downstream, Maria Victoria Zingoni, and Google’s Country Manager for Spain and Portugal, Fuencisla Clemares, participated in the launch of the project, which will be carried out in the Tarragona Industrial Complex and marks a pioneering challenge in the global refining industry.

This initiative puts the latest cloud technology from Google at the service of the refinery’s operators. Repsol’s objectives are to maximize efficiency, both in energy consumption as well as consumption of other resources, and to improve performance of the refinery’s overall operations.

To achieve this, Google will make available to Repsol its data and analytics products, the experience of its professional services consultants and its machine learning managed service, Google Cloud ML, which will help Repsol’s developers to build and bring machine learning models to production in their refinery environment.

The management of a refinery involves around 400 variables, which demands a high level of computational capacity and a vast amount of data control. This is an unprecedented challenge in the refining world.

Until now, the highest number of functions integrated digitally in an industrial plant is around 30 variables, demonstrating the vast challenge this project presents. It aims to increase the number of variables being managed by more than 10 times. Repsol chose the Tarragona refinery to develop this initiative because the online configuration of its production schematics facilitates testing and implementation.

This project, as well as the collaboration with Google Cloud, is part of Repsol’s ongoing digitalization, innovation and technology projects development in all of its business units to improve its competitiveness and efficiency.

The project has the potential to add 30 cents on the dollar to Repsol’s refined barrel margin, which could translate to 20 million dollars annually for the Tarragona refinery, with significant upward growth if all optimization objectives are achieved.

Improvement of industrial processes
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Bayer has launched a EUR6 billion (USD7 billion) rights issue on Sunday, a cornerstone of the financing package for its planned USD62.5 billion takeover of seeds maker Monsanto, reported Reuters.

Bayer last week won U.S. approval for the Monsanto takeover, clearing a major hurdle for a deal that will create by far the largest seeds and pesticides maker.

The cash call is smaller than initially envisaged by Bayer because Monsanto reduced its debt while the antitrust review dragged on.

As MRC informed previously, in the second half of March 2018, Bayer received the green light from the EU to buy Monsanto, after promising to sell off substantial parts of its business, clearing a major hurdle to the last of a trio of mega-mergers consolidating the global agrochemical industry.

Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the fields of health care, agriculture and high-tech polymer materials. As an innovation company, it sets trends in research-intensive areas. Bayer's products and services are designed to benefit people and improve their quality of life. At the same time, the Group aims to create value through innovation, growth and high earning power. Bayer is committed to the principles of sustainable development and to its social and ethical responsibilities as a corporate citizen.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Huntsman has showcased its polyurethane solutions for automotive, construction and footwear applications, including the low emission sustainable car seat technology, as per GV.

Seven of Huntsman’s systems houses will exhibit together for the first time, including: HAPC (Saudi Arabia), Huntsman EMA (Turkey), Huntsman Gomet (Italy), Huntsman IFS (UK), Huntsman NMG (Russia), Huntsman Tecnoelastomeri (Italy), and Huntsman PUR-Systems (Germany).

Also at the trade show visitors will be able to see the latest model in Huntsman’s range of Castech elastomer casting machines in action. Elastomer experts from Huntsman Tecnoelastomeri are taking one of their new Castech HP3000 casting machines to Maastricht to help showcase what’s on offer through Huntsman’s total innovation network. Castech machines are a flexible, low maintenance, equipment solution that enable the precision metering and mixing of hot-cast elastomers and microcellular elastomer foams from all kinds of isocyanate and chain extender combinations.

Featuring a range of interchangeable parts, Castech machines can be tailor-made to suit individual customer’s manufacturing requirements. According to the company, each Castech machine will provide as standard: precision dosing with good mix homogeneity, a high output and precise shot casting capabilities, and a long size, flexible arm which makes it easy to cast parts of different shapes and sizes. Each machine also comes with its own software package for monitoring performance variables and making adjustments during the manufacturing process.

According to Huntsman, the Castech HP3000 machines also offer: a high-speed motor capable of speeds of up to 10,000 min-1, an output range of 150 - 60,000 g/min, depending on circuit and pump size, new injectors designed with higher output in mind but also capable of handling lower outputs, a dynamic mixer, which can be standard or large in size, to provide the perfect mixing quality, a mixing head compatible with the latest high performance polyurethane systems, a 19-inch touch screen to display machine status, an in-built software system for monitoring temperature, pressure levels and mixer speeds, and a cleaning system that manages solvent, pressurized air, mixer RPM and cleaning cycles, and has a programmable pre-wash to help reduce solvent consumption.

Johan van Tongelen, Global Business Director at Huntsman Tecnoelastomeri, said: "Designed to ease equipment integration and deliver the highest levels of dosing and mixing precision, our Castech machines are among the most advanced equipment options available for the efficient manufacture of elastomers. With additional features available – including the option to add up to six additional injectors to the mixing chamber - the Castech HP3000 takes our offer to the next level, giving us extra flexibility when it comes to creating elastomer processing machines that exactly match our customers’ requirements."

As MRC informed earlier, in March 2018, Huntsman Corporation announced the acquisition of Demilec, one of North America’s leading manufacturers and distributors of spray polyurethane foam (SPF) insulation systems for residential and commercial applications, from an affiliate of Sun Capital Partners, Inc.

Huntsman Corporation is a publicly traded global manufacturer and marketer of differentiated and specialty chemicals with 2017 revenues of more than USD8 billion. Its chemical products number in the thousands and are sold worldwide to manufacturers serving a broad and diverse range of consumer and industrial end markets. The company operate more than 75 manufacturing, R&D and operations facilities in approximately 30 countries and employ approximately 10,000 associates within its four distinct business divisions.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Duke Energy has inaugurated the new 750MW combined-cycle natural gas plant at the W.S. Lee Station in Anderson County, South Carolina, US, as per Compelo.

The new gas plant is equipped to generate energy to benefit 2.5 million customers in South Carolina and North Carolina.

Duke Energy chairman, president and CEO Lynn Good said: “Highly efficient natural gas plants – like W.S. Lee – are helping us deliver a cleaner, smarter energy future for our customers.

"South Carolina is important to Duke Energy, and new investments like this further our commitment to power this community with reliable, affordable energy – while continuing to be a partner that’s helping prepare the region for future growth."

At the W.S. Lee Station, which was commissioned in 1951, Duke Energy also operates an 180MW natural gas boiler and two dual-fuel 42MW simple-cycle units.

About 100MW of the unit’s energy capacity is being sold to North Carolina Electric Membership under an agreement signed earlier.

In 2014, two coal-fired units at the W.S. Lee Station were closed while the third coal unit has been converted to natural gas in 2015.

Duke, which currently no longer operates any coal plants in South Carolina, started construction of the USD700m gas plant in March 2015.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Claudia Ruo Bing Huang, previously Vice President, Business Management, Isocyanates & Inorganics Asia Pacific, BASF's Monomers division, has been appointed as Senior Vice President, Monomers, Asia Pacific, effective June 1, 2018, reported Public.

She will succeed Dr. Ramkumar Dhruva, who will serve as President, South & East Asia, ASEAN, and Australia/New Zealand regional division, effective July 1, 2018.

Claudia Huang started her career with BASF in 2004 as plant manager at a BASF joint venture (JV) in Shanghai, China. She then held various management positions, including JV General Manager, Vice President responsible for Manufacturing & Technology for BASF in Greater China, and Business management for Dispersions & Resins, Performance Chemicals, Paper Chemicals, and Nutrition & Health in China.

As MRC informed before, within the next five years, BASF SE (Ludwigshafen, Germany) plans to invest globally more than EUR200 million in its plastic additives business, approximately half of which in Asia, focusing on capacity expansions and operational excellence, said the producer on its site in late 2016. Plastic additives improve product properties such as scratch resistance or light stability, and optimize plastics manufacturing processes. As the leading global supplier of plastic additives with manufacturing assets in all regions, BASF is a major partner to the plastics industry.

BASF is the largest diversified chemical company in the world and is headquartered in Ludwigshafen, Germany. BASF produces a wide range of chemicals, for example solvents, amines, resins, glues, electronic-grade chemicals, industrial gases, basic petrochemicals and inorganic chemicals. The most important customers for this segment are the pharmaceutical, construction, textile and automotive industries. BASF generated sales of EUR64.5 billion in 2017.
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