Hydrocarbon Processing - June 2022 - 55

History of the HPI
line-incorporating tetraethyllead (TEL)
into gasoline was first used in the 1920s
to prevent knocking in internal combustion
engines. The first TEL reduction
standards-part of the U.S. NAAQS standards-were
passed into law in the early
1970s. The recognized adverse impacts of
emissions from leaded gasoline on human
health would lead to the eventual removal
of lead from gasoline over the next few decades-the
U.S. banned leaded gasoline in
on-road vehicles in 1996.152
Lead was also
detrimental to the operation of catalytic
converters. Lead acts as a catalyst poison
by forming a coating on the catalysts inside
the converter, leading to inactivity and increased
emissions.149
Numerous countries
in Asia, Africa, Europe and South America
followed suit, and, in July 2021, the last
batch of leaded gasoline was sold in Algeria.
This occasion marked the end of the
use of leaded gasoline globally.153
After the adoption of the Clean Air
automobile manufacturers began
producing new lines of vehicles that included
catalytic converters. However, the
Clean Air Act amendments of the 1970s
put stringent restrictions on the removal
of carbon monoxide, hydrocarbon and
nitrogen oxide emissions. Catalytic converters
available at the time were able to
reduce carbon monoxide and hydrocarbon
emissions but not nitrogen oxide.
This challenge was solved by a group of
engineers working at Engelhard Corp.
(now part of BASF) in Iselin, New Jersey
(U.S.). This group was led by chemists
Carl Keith and John Mooney. Their revolutionary
three-way catalytic converter-
introduced in 1973-was able to reduce
all three pollutants from a vehicle's tailpipe.
According to literature, the technology
used rare-earth and base metal oxide
components in the catalyst together with
platinum and rhodium in a ceramic honeycomb,
with tiny passages coated with
the catalytic material.154
This enabled
their design to remove carbon monoxide,
hydrocarbon and nitrogen oxide in a single
catalytic component.154
The three-way
catalytic converter was installed in most
vehicles in 1976 and is still in use today.
The evolution of the distributed
control system. In 1959, Texaco started
operations on the first digital control
computer at a refinery. This system-a
Thompsom Ramo Wooldridge RW-300
computer-became the first fully automatic,
computer-controlled industrial
process and ushered in the computer-integrated
manufacturing era in the HPI. A detailed
account of this technology was published
in the History of the HPI section in
the April issue of Hydrocarbon Processing.
Additional technologies, such as programmable
logic controllers (PLCs), were
incorporated into plant operations in the
late 1960s/early 1970s. These devices
were pioneered by Richard (Dick) Morley
of Bedford Associates (now part of
Schneider Electric) and Odo Josef Struger
of Allen-Bradley (now part of Rockwell
Automation). Both inventors are known as
the fathers of PLCs-Struger even coined
the acronym PLC.155
A history of the PLC
Act,
is detailed in the History of the HPI section
in the May issue of Hydrocarbon
Processing. Allen-Bradley also introduced
Data Highway in 1979, which was the first
plant-floor network designed to support
remote programming and messaging between
computers and controllers, replacing
miles of wiring in plant operations.156
In 1975, another revolutionary technology
was unveiled to optimize refining
and petrochemical plant operations, the
distributed control system (DCS). The
first DCSs were introduced by Honeywell
and Yokogawa. Bristol (now part of Emerson
Process Management) also introduced
the UCS3000 in 1975, which was
the first microprocessor-based universal
controller.157
Prior to the DCS, plant operations
were controlled via board operation
(i.e., controllers were mounted
on large instrument panels). However,
through the evolution and wide-scale
availability of microcomputers and microprocessors,
the DCS was created to
control manufacturing processes in several
industries, including oil refining and
petrochemicals production.157
Honeywell and Yokogawa both introduced
their own DCSs around the same
time-Yokogawa created CENTUM
(FIG. 3), while Honeywell introduced the
TDC2000 platform. According to literature,
Yokogawa's journey to the DCS included
applying microprocessors to control
systems. These control systems were
divided into three basic components:
human-machine interface, controllers
and control bus. The system was named
DCS and was instrumental in controlling
various functions of plant operations
(e.g., flow).158
In the early- to mid-1970s, Honeywell
worked extensively at optimizing automation
technologies, as well as focusing on
advancing process controls. The company
introduced the TDC2000 (TDC stood
for total distributed control) system in
1975. This system provided a centralized
view of processes within the plant and
utilized a data highway that could link
various sensor data to a central location.159
Plant personnel could monitor and modify
several control loops in a single system.
TDC2000 was used globally for a decade
until being replaced by TDC3000 in
1985, followed by Experion in the 2000s.
In 1978, Valmet introduced the Damatic
Classic automation system, which
was installed at Pankaboard's board mill
in Lieksa, Finland. The DCS operated for
nearly 40 yr at that location before being
replaced by the latest iteration (Valmet
DNA) in 1998.160
Other digital companies introduced
FIG. 2. Eugene Houdry holding a small
catalytic converter. Photo courtesy of Sunoco
and the Science History Institute.
FIG. 3. Yokogawa introduced the CENTUM
DCS in 1975. Photo courtesy of Yokogawa.
Hydrocarbon Processing | JUNE 2022 55
Hydrocarbon Processing - June 2022

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