Three important attributes differentiate ProSys from our competitors — how we view process control, how we address challenges, and the cumulative knowledge and insight we bring to each new job:

Philosophy
Approach
Experience

Philosophy
Our philosophy is based on a global view of process operations and control systems — not as a disjointed system of pipes, valves, pumps and vessels. We know that it is a complex system of mechanical, chemical and human interactions, and that chemical reaction and separation processes require specific conditions of temperature, pressure and flow rate. These conditions are maintained by a control system, and plant operators are responsible for verifying that the control system is making the correct combination of valve adjustments to keep product streams on specification.

The ProSys philosophy is used to implement effective process control systems that distribute the control functions in a hierarchical structure. The basic regulatory controls serve as the foundation of the system and should not be dependent on the conditions of any advanced or higher-level controls. Additionally, the ProSys philosophy sets standards for the successful implementation of the higher-level supervisory control functions, such as model predictive or dynamic matrix controls, steady-state parametric or equation-of-state models, and optimization applications. We believe that a successful process control system is one where the higher-level control functions:

• Are robust and dependable;
• Achieve the objectives for which they were designed; and
• Are utilized by the operators because the controls can be understood without daily engineer-level support.

Approach
A successful process control system must be able to provide dependable responses to process changes. In order to achieve maximum performance from a process, our approach establishes the operational needs of the user as the primary focus of the control system design. These primary needs of the user are:

• Meaningful process measurements, presented in displays easily understood by operators;
• Logical process control displays;
• Basic process control functions, which can operate independently of any advanced control applications;
• Operator keystrokes for advanced control applications that are very similar if not identical to those required for use of the basic controls; and
• Operator access to all levels of control functions through a single operator station/console

Experience
In a complex, changing industry, there’s no substitute for real-world experience. The resources available to your project through ProSys bring broad international experience gained by hands-on work in the refining and chemical industries, including:

• Control Systems Consulting – using a process systems approach to design and implement modern control systems and advanced controls that significantly improve plant operating efficiency
• Dynamic Alarm Design and Alarm Management Implementation – using knowledge gained since 1990 in providing dynamic Alarm Design services and implementing practical alarm management solutions
• Advanced Control Technology Development – using proven analytical techniques to develop new technology and methods for solving complex process control problems through automatic control functions
• User Interface Design – using innovative and tested user interface techniques to improve user understanding, response, and ease-of-use to design intuitive interfaces used by plant personnel.
• Plant Operations – using experience and knowledge to assist and direct operations personnel in dealing successfully with complex unit operating problems
• Personnel Supervision – using management training and experience to direct the activities of process control engineers, plant operations personnel, and refining and marketing analysts
• Project Supervision – using technical training, project management techniques, and experience to schedule, monitor, and coordinate activities on major projects
• Process Engineering & Design – using heat and material balances, distillation simulations, kinetic reaction process models and other tools to define, analyze, and solve plant operating problems and thereby improve unit performance; or to develop design parameters for process plant construction

• Alkylation – including both HF and Sulfuric Acid
• Aromatics Recovery – including Sulfolane® extraction, extractive distillation, benzene/toluene recovery, orthoxylene recovery, paraxylene recovery via adsorption or crystallization, and xylene isomerization
• Boilers – including CO boiler
• Catalytic Cracking – including Exxon, UOP, and Amoco-Kellogg processes
• Catalytic Reforming – including semi-regen, cyclic, and continuous
• Crude Fractionation – consisting of atmospheric and/or vacuum tower
• Delayed Coking – including heater, coke drums, and fractionation tower
• Hydrocracking – including Unicracking® process
• Hydrotreating/Desulfurization – including naphtha, kerosene, and gasoil
• Light Ends Recovery – typically consisting of absorber, stripper, depropanizer, and debutanizer
• Lube Oil Extraction – including Furfural® and Duosol® processes
• Lube Vacuum Fractionation – including heater and vacuum tower
• Olefins Production via Pyrolysis – including cracking furnaces, quench tower, refrigeration compressors, and fractionation towers
• Polyolefins – including polypropylene and high density polyethylene
• Propylene and Ethylene Oxide Derivatives
• Resid Solvent Extraction – using Demex® and ROSE® processes
• Sulfur Removal – typically including amine treating, sour water stripping, and sulfur plant
• Titanium Dioxide Production
• Waste Water Treatment Plant
• Water Treatment Plant – demineralization and softening