Recently, Control Assemblies helped a leading chemical supply company seeking a more predictable, repeatable and reliable automated control system and process for chemical blending. The customer’s blending process needed to occur on a perpetual time frame and perhaps most importantly, the process needed to run outdoors and perform well in a harsh environment.

The process of liquid chemical blending and titration in the fracking industry is most commonly approached as a manual process.  However, manual dosing, metering and inspection can vary depending on the expertise of the technician. With quality standards and government regulations on the rise, more and more businesses are seeking to automate the titration process. Aside from the improved quality and accuracy of an automated titration process, an automated control system also brings the following added benefits:

• Traceability
• Reduced need for technical skills
• Less chemical consumption
• Time savings

Our customer recognized the benefits of automating the titration process and took a proactive approach by working towards automation with a control systems integrator. The initial systems integrator had a background in chemistry but lacked mastery with PLC’s and HMI’s. Inexperience led to unreliable metering and inaccurate results. Frustrated with the initial systems integration and overall progress of the automated control system project, the customer contacted a Control Assemblies Sales Representative. We listened to the customer’s needs and offered a vertically integrated, full-service solution. By leveraging the technology in the existing PLC and HMI controls with the required customer logic and algorithms, Control Assemblies was able to engineer a new logic script and create new HMI screens. We also manufactured and installed the panel for on-site alpha testing.

This much anticipated project is currently in the beta testing phase but has already yielded praise for its results.  By partnering with Control Assemblies, our customer was able to introduce a new automated control system that meets today’s fracking industry standards; all the while improving operational performance in harsh climates. This innovative process is wholly automated and consistently titrates with perpetual HMI data collection. The customized control panel allows our customer to make data driven decisions resulting in less downtime, faster turnaround time and higher throughput.  With a scheduled go-live date in early 2017, we will be tracking this project closely and will update you with quantitative results.