Chemical Engineering August 2022 - 36

SMART
DEWATERING
AND DRYING
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also built into the Profinet solution.
If a controller goes down, the redundancy
partner will take over and devices
will automatically communicate
with the alternate controller. This feature
satisfies the high availability requirement
of process plants.
Several types of APL field switches
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were tested in the BASF laboratory
leading to some recommendations to
vendors. For example, proxies within
the APL field switches allow for the
connection of PROFIBUS PA devices
to the switch, which makes the transition
to Ethernet-APL even easier.
BASF is enthusiastic about the capability
that Ethernet-APL offers for
predictive maintenance. Fast data
transfer means that more information
can be processed by higher-level
applications to analyze equipment
health and identify issues before they
cause a failure. Edge devices connect
to an Ethernet-APL ring and
transfer data directly to the cloud.
This means that field data becomes
almost instantaneously visible from
anywhere in the world.
Future developments for EthernetAPL
will expand the use of this technology
into functional safety applications.
There are substantial benefits
to be gained from this approach,
including the single-network technology,
increased flexibility in plant
design, and lower inventory requirements,
because the same device
could be used for safety and nonsafety
functions. BASF is already experiencing
the advantages of digital
measurement, like increased output
and product quality, increased maintenance
efficiency due to detailed diagnostic
information, and increased
plant availability. The organization is
working with vendors to unlock the
benefits of Ethernet-APL for functional
safety, too [6].
Concluding remarks
Ethernet-APL is a rapidly expanding
new technology that will shape the
future of field data architecture. The
high speed and bandwidth offered
by Ethernet-APL enables digitalization
initiatives like digital twins and
predictive maintenance. The first
APL devices are already available,
and further APL devices for other
measurements including flow, level,
For details visit adlinks.chemengonline.com/82584-17
36
pressure and temperature, will be
available this year. This means that
projects using Ethernet-APL can be
realized now.
Security for Ethernet-APL systems
and devices will also continue to expand
in future developments. Standards
are regularly being updated to
reflect new threats and to address
gaps in the technology. As such,
vendors will continuously be adding
new security features to their devices
and solutions over time.
Functional safety solutions are
also under development, so that
Ethernet-APL devices can be used
for either safety or non-safety applications.
This has several advantages
for the industry, including the simplification
of field networks into a single
layer and the reduction in sparesholding
requirements.
The simplicity of installation and
the benefits of data integration from
the field to the enterprise level makes
Ethernet-APL a key technology for
the future of the industry.
n
Edited by Scott Jenkins
References:
1. https://www.ethernet-apl.org/presentations
2. https://www.namur.net/en/publications/news-archive/ne168-is-newly-published.html
3.
https://www.namur.net/fileadmin/media_www/Dokumente/AK_
Position_2.6_Ethernet_APL_2021-07-09_EN.pdf
4.
https://www.namur.net/en/focus-topics/namur-open-architecture.html
5.
https://webstore.iec.ch/publication/64292
6. https://www.pcne.eu/article/safety-over-ethernet-apl-1/
Authors
Gerd Niedermayer is the senior
electrical and instrumentation
(E&I) engineering manager in the
Plant Engineering Department of
BASF SE (Ludwigshafen,
Germany;
Email: gerd.niedermayer@
basf.com).
Niedermayer graduated
from the University of Karlsruhe
with a focus on electrical
systems and automation technology
and then started working in the global plant engineering
department of BASF SE as an electrical, instrumentation
and control engineer. Shortly after, he was
responsible for E&I engineering and execution of global
plant engineering projects of BASF in Europe, North and
South America and Asia.
Benedikt Spielmann has a degree
as M.Sc. in Business Administration
and Engineering.
He
works as Marketing Manager Industrial
Communication at Endress+
Hauser in Reinach, Switzerland.
Since 2019, he has
coordinated the Ethernet-APL
activities within Endress+Hauser
and is an expert in industrial Ethernet
protocols like Profinet.
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHEMENGONLINE.COM
AUGUST 2022

http://adlinks.chemengonline.com/82584-17 https://www.ethernet-apl.org/presentations https://www.namur.net/en/publications/news-archive/ne-168-is-newly-published.html https://www.namur.net/fileadmin/media_www/Dokumente/AK_Position_2.6_Ethernet_APL_2021-07-09_EN.pdf https://www.namur.net/en/focus-topics/namur-open-architecture.html https://webstore.iec.ch/publication/64292 https://www.pcne.eu/article/safety-over-ethernet-apl-1/ http://WWW.CHEMENGONLINE.COM

Chemical Engineering August 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Chemical Engineering August 2022