New Beacon-3000 on-line analyzers have been purchased by two US and Canadian refineries to upgrade their existing Beacon-2000 series
The practical value of new beacon analyzers have been purchased by two us and canadian refineries comes from turning live plant measurements into information that operators can use. In continuous industries, laboratory data remains important, but it represents a sample taken at a particular moment. Online analysers add a different capability: they show how the process is changing between laboratory samples and provide the frequency of information needed for control, optimisation and early detection of abnormal conditions.
In NIR process analysis, the analyser specification is only part of the job. Reliable results also depend on how the measurement is installed and operated. That means checking sample representativeness, pressure and temperature, phase behaviour, stream composition, response time, hazardous-area requirements, calibration method and integration with the plant DCS or control system. Even a good analyser can give misleading results when the sample arrives late, changes phase or is conditioned in a way that alters the property being measured.
Our engineering work brings together near-infrared process analysis, fuel properties, blending and real-time quality control around the actual process objective. The right arrangement may use direct in-situ measurement, an engineered sample conditioning system, optical or thermal-conductivity sensing, NIR analysis, or integration of several measurements into a wider optimisation strategy. Live analyser data can also improve the quality of information available to APC, digital twins and industrial AI by giving these systems current composition and quality data instead of relying only on inferred values.
For new beacon analyzers have been purchased by two us and canadian refineries, the final configuration should be checked against the project datasheet and the full operating envelope. The aim is straightforward: a measurement that works under real plant conditions, can be maintained without drama and gives operators information they can use.
Petrometrix® Beacon-2000 NIR Analyzer was successfully launched in 1992, as a specialty NIR analyzer dedicated to the petroleum industries.Since then, many of these are used in numerous refineries worldwide.
In 2009 Modcon acquired Petrometrix and developed the new generation of the NIR analyzer, the Beacon-3000.
The Analyzer is located in the control room protected from the process environment, and can connect via telecommunications fiber optics to up to 8 field units, which are installed up to 3 km (2 miles) away and close to the process.
No analyzer shelter is required, the field unit uses no electricity and contains no moving parts.
