Invensys DCS for Canadian bioethanol plants

London -- Invensys Process Systems is providing DCS systems for two new Husky Energy ethanol refineries in western Canada. The Foxboro I/A system implementations include mesh control network-based technology, intelligent measurement and instrumentation and support services.

Husky started up the first ethanol plant in Lloydminster, Saskatchewan last September and plan to commission the other plant Minnedosa, Manitoba in late 2007. They will each produce 130 million litres of ethanol annually and consume about 350 kilotonnes per annum of high-starch feed-quality wheat as feedstock.
The Foxboro systems each communicate with around 1,800 direct I/O points and 2,000 I/O points through multiple PLCs. The networked control systems include three pairs of Foxboro ZCP 270 control processors connected with distributed I/O cabinets at nine process units across the plant, said Invensys.

The DCS systems control functions include batch processing applications. At the Lloydminster site, the ethanol plant controls are integrated with existing I/A Series control consoles at the adjacent existing Husky Lloydminster heavy oil upgrader facility, which has been under I/A Series control.