Houston, Aug 12, 2009 – HIMA, a leading designer and manufacturer of safety automation solutions, today announced that it was selected by LANXESS AG to upgrade an existing ESD (Emergency Shut-Down) system in its hexane oxidation plant located at the Krefeld-Uerdingen Chemical Park, in the North Rhine-Westphalia region of Germany. LANXESS selected HIMA’s HIQuad H51, a safety product specifically tailored towards safety-critical applications that require high levels of process availability.
LANXESS, a specialist chemical manufacturer, uses the Krefeld-Uerdingen Chemical plant to make KA oil, which is used in the production of thermoplastics. KA oil is a mixture of cyclohexanone and cyclohexanol, and is produced by the oxidation of cyclohexane. The production process poses high environmental risks; the ESD system plays a major role in deactivating the reaction in the event of danger by monitoring limit values and control valves. HIMA was selected as part of the ESD system because of the unique solution offered, the quality of products, the expertise of the staff and the excellent project preparation.
HIMA’s safety system was first installed in the Krefeld-Uerdingen Chemical Park in 1999 and has been operating fault-free ever since. The system upgrade involves adding two new module racks and I/Os (input/outputs), extending the communication with the process control system and incorporating of new central modules with larger memories. The ELOP II engineering tool was upgraded using the Ethernet protocol to connect to the engineering PC. The link with the Siemens control system is a simple and efficient PROFIBUS-DP.
“LANXESS currently uses HIMA’s Planar F, HIQuad and HIMatrix systems in its plants all over the world,” said Holger Pross, HIMA’s Global Account Manager for LANXESS. “The selection of HIMA to upgrade its Krefeld-Uerdingen Chemical Park plant demonstrates the outstanding work done by HIMA to provide reliable safety solutions to LANXESS.”
The new ESD system, comprising an H51q safety controller with nine IOMRs (input/output module racks), is housed in two switchgear cabinets, and it uses 936 input and output signals.
Before commissioning the project, LANXESS decided to conduct a Factory Acceptance Test (FAT) using the expanded and modernized safety system by HIMA. Together with HIMA’s project team in Brühl, the entire system was replicated and all the functions were tested in collaboration with LANXESS and TÜV Süd Chemieservice. This enabled the commissioning time to be reduced significantly.
HIMA’s H41q/H51q systems provide maximum safety and reliability, scalable availability and the highest cost–efficiency for the processing industry.
About LANXESS
LANXESS is a leading specialist chemical producer which generated a turnover of €6.58 billion in 2008 and currently employs around 14,800 people in 21 countries. The company runs 44 facilities worldwide. Its core business is the development, manufacture and sale of plastics, rubber, intermediates and specialist chemicals.
About HIMA
HIMA is the world’s leading designer and manufacturer of automated safety solutions in the process industry. With an installed base of more than 20,000 systems in more than 80 countries and presence in more than 50 countries around the globe, HIMA offers a wealth of knowledge and experience to users providing scalable TUV SIL 3 certified solutions for Emergency Shutdown (ESD), Fire & Gas (F&G), Burner Management (BMS), Turbo Machinery Control (TMC), and a range of other safety applications. Founded in 1908, HIMA was the first company in the world to develop TUV-certified safety-related automation controls in the 1960s and has been at the forefront of safety-related control technology for more than 40 years. Over the past 100 years HIMA has grown to become a premier worldwide specialist supplier, delivering unique solutions through combination of maximum safety and maximum availability. Based in Brühl, Germany, HIMA remains an independent, family-owned business whose sole focus is to design, manufacture and deliver the most advanced safety-related technology and solutions to its customers. Visit www.hima.de
