BASF Selects AspenTech's Aspen Manufacturing Suite to Improve Yields
The Aspen Manufacturing Suite is part of AspenTech's integrated Plantelligence solution, which completely optimizes operations within the plant. BASF Antwerpen N.V. will use the Suite to improve yields and reliability, as well as reduce energy costs in the steam cracking process at the company's ethylene and propylene production facility in Antwerp.
"We selected AspenTech based on its extensive experience in deploying advanced control solutions for ethylene plants," says Jack Van Steen, BASF's Manager Production Petrochemicals. "We are confident that AspenTech's integrated solution will not only increase our ethylene and propylene capacity, but also ensure on-time delivery and improved product quality."
With sales in 1999 of 29.5 billion euros (about $29.5 billion) and a workforce of 105,000 employees, BASF is one of the world's top chemical companies. The Antwerp facility is the BASF Group's second largest production unit and manufactures basic or semi-finished products, including basic chemicals and specialty chemical products. The steam cracker generates over 730,000 tons of ethylene per year, making it one of the largest ethylene producers in Europe.
How Yields Are Improved
With their large capacity, complex design and frequent feed changes, ethylene plants such as the BASF steam cracker operations will be dramatically improved using the AspenTech Manufacturing Suite's integrated advanced control solutions that are based on DMCplus software.
A special feature of the technology suite, the Composite Controller, uses the models of the DMCplus controllers for individual sections of the ethylene plant and acts as an overall controller to identify the optimal operating point for the plant, subject to the entire set of constraints. This allows the integrated advanced control system to push more feed through the unit, which can double the economic benefits achieved by other conventional advanced control strategies.
AspenTech is currently implementing its integrated Plantelligence solution at BASF's joint venture with FINA, the BASF FINA Limited Partnership steam cracker complex now being built in Port Arthur, Texas, USA. This system integrates components of the Aspen Manufacturing Suite and plant optimization technologies with other essential software products that are critical for optimizing plant operations.
According to David McQuillin, executive VP of sales, marketing and partnerships for AspenTech, due to its experience of working with ethylene producers, AspenTech was the low-risk option for BASF. "AspenTech has more experience implementing advanced control systems in this market than all of the other vendors who competed for this BASF project combined," McQuillin says. "We demonstrated the value of this experience first-hand when we designed, constructed and commissioned other high profile projects at BASF that were on schedule and within budget."
Edited by Jim Lardear