Date of Publication: November 25, 2019
Supplier Application Input Contacts:
Justin Grubka – Armstrong International Inc.
Emily Saopraseuth – Emerson Automation Solutions
Lukas Klaussman – Endress+Hauser (International) Holding AG
Garry Cusick – Pepperl+Fuchs Inc.
Luke Warren – United Electric Controls
User Application Input Contacts:
Nucor Steel – 2015 Plant of the Year winner
Natural Soda – 2018 Plant of the Year nominee
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Introduction

Why Wireless?

The first WirelessHART devices were deployed in 2009 and since then over 40,000 networks have been
installed. Today, WirelessHART instruments represent more than 4% of all HART unit sales - hundreds ofthousands of WirelessHART devices per year. In fact, WirelessHART has the single largest market share (>30%)
of all process wireless communications. WirelessHART is providing significant benefits to the industry andimproving the reliability and competitiveness of plants.

WirelessHART offers 30%-60% lower installation costs than adding traditional wired instruments. This alone
enables adding more points for measurement and optimization of existing plants previously consideredunachievable. Since no additional instrument wiring is needed, deployment can be completed very quickly. In
fact, one study featured in this document shows WirelessHART uses for mobile/temporary installations.

In a recent survey (2019) by Control Magazine, nearly 88% of users indicated they were interested in wirelesstechnology application stories. This application guide summarizes a diverse set of existing applications /installations, illustrating some of the possibilities WirelessHART offers. Most importantly, all of this information
serves to aid users in improving plant performance through access to actionable information.

WirelessHART was developed for the process industry and the very high reliability it demands. Well-formed
WirelessHART networks routinely exceed >99.99% reliability. WirelessHART are mesh networks. This meansthat all devices have multiple neighbors and multiple paths to communicate over. This redundancy ensurescommunication reliability. Since Radio Frequency (RF) conditions and interference patterns change over time,
WirelessHART Network Managers are always grooming and improving the mesh network. WirelessHART’s
extreme reliability instills user confidence and encourages innovative applications like those summarized inthis guide.
Getting started is simple. Most vendors who manufacture WirelessHART products offer a “starter kit”,
consisting of a WirelessHART gateway and 5 field devices. You should have at least 5 devices to ensure you
have a solid, redundant mesh network. This small installation/network allows evaluation of WirelessHART in
your plant. Adding instruments and growing your network actually enhances reliability. In fact, WirelessHART
networks are easy to expand and deployment aligns with existing standard practices. As with HART 4-20mA
devices, when a new instrument is received, normal bench-top commissioning is performed (like entering its
Tag). In addition, WirelessHART devices only need a Network ID and Join Key. WirelessHART instruments workwith the HART-enabled tools you already have. When the device is installed in the field, it automatically finds
the WirelessHART network, joins it, and begins communicating.
WirelessHART gateways provide robust connectivity options to the instruments in the network. All gateways
support HART-IP and often other protocols. This allows data integration over the local intranet or cloud
applications via the internet. Supplemental protocols (like MODBUS) even allow the additional instrumentation
to be integrated into existing, legacy systems.
WirelessHART saves significant time and money as opposed to traditional wired installations. Its high-reliability
and easy setup removes barriers to deploying new instrumentation and making plant improvements. As aresult, plant availability and competitiveness can be enhanced.
This guide provide many application stories to fire your imagination and encourage you to improve yourbusiness.

4

5

WirelessHART Gas Detectors
Help Lower Emissions andSafety Risks for California
Underground Natural Gas
Storage Sites

Application: Gas Utility
Industry: Underground Natural Gas Storage
Location: USA

Overview

would detect fugitive gas emissions and transmit theconcentration data to the SCADA system through the
WirelessHART gateway.

Central Valley Gas Storage LLC operates anunderground natural gas storage facility in California.
Once a natural gas field, the facility was successfully
converted into a storage reservoir for gas reinjection.
The conversion process involved drilling many
new wells to enable rapid withdrawal of gas fromthe reservoir storage. With methane as a primaryconstituent of natural gas, these wells are a potential
source of hazardous leakage.

Results“I am very satisfied with the performance of the Vanguard units. The Vanguard could detect methane concentrations as low as 1% LEL or 500ppm” says Mbeukeu. “With its wireless capability, there was no need torun any power and signal wires onsite, saving us labor,
time and material costs. In terms of data reporting,
the Vanguard units transmitted data reliably and accurately over the recent months and there are no connectivity issues with the gateway. The Vanguard units
were also interoperable with other WirelessHART
devices. One of my favorite things about the Vanguard
is its ease of use and calibration. Calibration is simple
with the touch of one button.”

Challenge
Reducing methane emissions has always been achallenge for the gas industry, along with compliancewith emerging regulations. Enhancing safety is always
paramount. Methane is highly combustible gas and if
suﬃciently accumulated, almost any ignition source
can cause an explosion.

“We needed a way to detect small methane leaks
around the wellhead. That way, the small leaks could
be fixed in time before they developed into bigger
ones,” says Patrice Mbeukeu, Instrumentation andControls Engineer. “When I first heard of a WirelessHART fixed gas detector, I did not think much of it
because of some previous negative experience withgas detectors. Shortly after that, however, I got theidea of using multiple wireless monitors to create agas detection envelope around a wellhead. Because
we had a WirelessHART network already, adding a Vanguard“I am very satisfied with the
WirelessHART combustible gas
performance of the Vanguard units.
detector had great potential to
The Vanguard could detect methane
solve the challenge we faced.”

To date, several hundred
Vanguard Methane Gas
concentrations as low as 1% LEL
Detectors have been
Applicationor 500ppm.”
commissioned to provide
24/7 monitoring of wellWith the help of optical imaging
heads at underground natural gas storage facilities.
technology, Mbeukeu positioned multiple Vanguard
units optimally around the wellhead for effective mon- With residential populations often close to these storage locations, operators are able provide reassurance
itoring of a controlled release of a methane plume.
Deploying multiple units ensured that even if the wind that even small leaks won’t go undetected for any
material length of time.
blew in different directions, at least one Vanguard

6

Global Tire Manufacturer
Reduces Waste and Increases
Safety via WirelessHART
Application: Tire Manufacturing
Industry: Steam and Temperature Monitoring
Location: Unreleased

Application

various times of operation, lowering the total cost of
maintenance by 5% per year while decreasing scrap
runs by 20%.

A global tire manufacturer was having issues ofobtaining the temperature in their tire press creating
scrap product while increasing the chance of a safety
event. During operation, the steam system had failed
steam traps periodically backing up condensate
resulting in low temperature alarms in the tire press
and creating a water hammer. The steam traps inquestion are in hard to reach locations that cannot bechecked by technicians while the machine is runningin a safe or timely manner. Monitoring various steam
traps on the tire presses while integrating real time
alarms it into local HMI’s allowed operators to ensure
the steam system was operating properly eliminating
the risk of running scrap.

Benefits
While wired instrumentation was not an option,
wireless allowed the customer to provide process
information in a short time frame and in a costeffective manner. Utilizing a WirelessHART system
the customer could then monitor other criticalprocess information without running wires to thesame area resulting in more asset monitoring suchas pressure and temperature on various parts of theequipment.

Goal
The customer had no option to run wired
instrumentation to the tire presses due to thehigh temperatures of the equipment and spacerequirements in and around the tire press. The
customer wanted to give the ability to an operator tosafely watch the operation of the steam traps while
the system was running on the HMI for each press, if
there was an issue they could bypass the steam traps
during press operation, allowing the tire press to get
up to temperature and create good product.

Solution
Installing 1 WirelessHART gateway and 30 nonintrusive transmitters, the customer was able to spanthe entire tire press while monitoring all critical steam
traps and air vents. Utilizing a WirelessHART gateway
allowed the customer to implement a monitoring
system quickly while the tire presses were shut
down during a 1-day turn around. The customer thenintegrated the WirelessHART gateway into the HMI
allowing operators to receive real time alerts while
the press was running ensuring there were no issues
with the process. Additionally, the system extended
the lifetime of components on the tire press by notallowing condensate to sit in the steam system at

7

Potato Chip Manufacturer
Reduces Energy Costs with
Online Steam Trap Monitoring
Application: Food & Beverage
Industry: Steam Trap Monitoring
Location: North America

Challenge

because of the resources required and the safety
considerations. A new, innovative solution was
required.

Steam quality is a critical component in the making ofmany of the foods and beverages we enjoy. In a recent
energy reduction project, a potato chip manufacturer
installed three rooftop heat recovery steam generator
units that recycle heat from the ovens that toast
chips. Heat-recovery boilers convert the exhaust into
steam that is used throughout the plant.

Solution
The Rosemount™ 708 Wireless Acoustic Transmitter
provided the customer with a cost-effective way tocontinuously monitor traps online. Fifty devices were
installed on 50 of the highest priority steam traps inthe plant, with priority based on:

To further reduce energy costs, the plant wanted
to collect data from each of the three lines anddetermine the BTUs used per ton of product. Reports
would be sent to each of the unit leaders, who would
take ownership of the energy costs. The reports
would indicate what units were the largest energy
users, which were most ineﬃcient (per ton of product)and even which lines were becoming ineﬃcient overtime.

• Capacity (potential loss of energy)• Process control impact• Access (diﬃculty to inspect using conventional
methods)
Installation was non-intrusive and easily doneusing stainless steel bands to clamp each device
to the pipe, with no cutting required and no process
downtime. “The installation is easy but important,”
says the facilities manager. “The bulk of our time
was spent getting to the traps, since many of themwere in hard-to-reach places.” He adds a warning, “We

Plans to manage steam quality and availability
included:• Improved boiler eﬃciency• Maximized return of condensate• Maintenance of steam heat exchangers• Insulation of all sections of pipe
• Reduced pressure losses before steam turbine• Reduced header upsets – venting through PRVs
• Proper maintenance of steam traps

basis,” the facilities manager says. “We identified 12
failures in just the first two months. We were able
to take action more quickly and have an annualized
reduction in CO2 of 205 metric tons. We estimatedan annualized savings of $27,810 and a payback
estimated at 20.3 months.”

discovered that proper installation is crucial; we had
to ensure proper pipe contact with each device toprevent false cold readings.”
Once each device was placed properly, the transmitterwas “joined” to one of the two Emerson wireless 1420
gateways, which were wired to a local workstation.
Installation was complete once configuration withthe software was done. “We had to enter the inlet/
outlet pressures, trap style and whether it was indoors
or outdoors,” the manager states. “Steam trap stateis then calculated using PlantWeb Insight software.”This software works with all trap vendors; it applies
algorithms to measured acoustic and temperature
measurements, user-provided pressure and trap type
inputs.

With the savings from the first project, the plant
decided to double the number of traps being
monitored. Another fifty 708 acoustic transmitterswere installed on 50 of the next (priority) tier of traps.
“Steam management is critical to us,” the facilities
manager states. “We use it to heat ovens, heat oil to
fry the chips, for sterilization, and many other things.
We now have 100 out of 400 traps being monitored
and have plans to install another hundred in the near
future. We expect to continue reducing our energy
costs and improving our carbon footprint. The
cumulative savings will help these projects pay forthemselves.”

Continuous monitoring of steam traps provides
an accurate analysis of trap health and enables
plant personnel to replace failed traps before they
impact the eﬃciency of the plant operation orworse, personnel safety. Cost benefits were realized
early. “We monitor all of the steam traps on a daily“Steammanagement is
critical to us.”

“We now have 100 out of
400 traps being monitored
and have plans to installanother hundred in thenear future.”

The key to optimize these steam systemmanagement methods is data collection andanalysis. Unfortunately, the plant did not have timely
information for the steam traps. An audit was
performed annually for each of the 400 traps, where
technicians would compare actual parameters with
ideal parameters. This provided only a brief view ofthe health of the trap.
These analyses required significant work hours,
could be inconsistent and inaccurate, and left theplant vulnerable to the impact of failed traps between
audits. Increased manual surveys were not possible

89

WirelessHART Enables
Flexibility in Pharmaceuticals
with Mobile Mixing Tanks
Application: Mobile Mixing Tanks

WirelessHART Helps BASF Cut
Manual Measurements Due toWiring Constraints of Rotating
Equipment

Application: Rotating Equipment Measurements

Industry: PharmaceuticalIndustry: Chemical

Location: Unreleased

Location: Europe

Challenge

Solution

Challenge

Solution

In state-of-the-art pharmaceutical applications,portable mixing tanks are a regular part of drug
production and handle all relevant processing steps,
from mixing to heating and cooling of the products.
Thanks to their integrated agitator, these mixing tanks
may serve as preparation containers, material buffers
or as stores for dosed products.

As these sensors are 4-20 mA
HART-compatible, the fielddevice data can be transmitted
wirelessly to the process control system using WirelessHART
technology: for that, the mixing
tank gets equipped with two
BULLET WirelessHART adapters. The BULLETs communicate the field device data
to a WirelessHART gateway which then passes it on
to the process control system.

BASF in De Meem, The Netherlands provides
high-quality catalysts for the process industry
that is used in chemical, petrochemical, food andpharmaceuticals. Their processes often involve a
number of system components for which wirelesscommunication would be a good solution. One suchapplication is around rotating equipment.

BASF went to its partner Endress+Hauser fora solution. With a few simple HART devices,
WirelessHART adapters and a WirelessHART Gateway,
BASF was able to reduce drying time of their catalyst
dramatically by automating much of the manual tasks
and measurements. The temperature course is theprimary variable for determining the moisture content
of the product.

Since the mixing tanks are frequently used insafeguarded procedures that have to match thehighest standards, numerous measurements have tobe taken: they are equipped with industrial sensors
that control the drive speed of the agitator and detect
the temperature, pressure, pH value, and fill levelof the tank. Data generated by the sensors has tobe submitted to the process control system while
maintaining mobility of the mixing tanks.

Both BULLET adapters and field devices can be
powered directly from the existing energy source
which drives the agitator. While one BULLET adaptertransmits the 4-20 mA signal from the agitator, the
HART signals, indicating the temperature, pressure,pH value, and fill level are transmitted to the control
side by a second BULLET operating in multidrop
mode.
As no conventional wiring is necessary tocommunicate the process data to the control system,
mobile mixing tanks save money. Additionally,no batteries are needed which frees users frommonitoring battery status and prevents costly
downtimes. The tanks are ready to be moved quickly
when a process changes or they are needed at adifferent location.

In the example above, two WirelessHART BULLETS are placed on the mixing tank. One of the BULLETS
runs in multidrop mode, transferring four HART transmitter signals - level, PH, temperature, pressure,while the other one sends a 4-20 mA signal (motor speed controller) to the WirelessHART gateway
which interacts with the control system.
The BULLET draws energy from the AC power supply of the agitator’s motor, keeping the wirelessdata transmission independent from restrictions of batteries or extra power supplies. With its rugged
housing, the BULLET also easily withstands the stress of typical Clean-in-Place (CIP) procedures.

10

When catalysts are being produced, the product goes
through a drying process which takes place in a large
vacuum dryer. The product, a powder, can be fed infrom the top through the tip of the cone in which amanual valve is mounted. On the other side, the tipof the other cone, there is an access point for taking
samples. The vessel rotates ensuring that the productis mixed well with a special liquid injected throughone of the rotation points. The product must then bethoroughly vacuum-dried to an exact specification.
Samples must be taken regularly during the process
to assess how dry the
product is. For thispurpose, the rotating
drum is stopped andthe operator takes asample through thespecial access valve.
The sample is thenanalyzed in the lab.
This operation takes
between 30 to 45
minutes. Sometimes
as many as threesamples are taken.
When the productis suﬃciently dry, the process can be stopped, andthe product tipped out. The total drying process
takes approximately eight hours. For certain typesof product, it can take 10 to 12 hours. This resource
intensive manual process is costly and reduces theeffectiveness of plant personnel.

The WirelessHART adapters, which also supply
power, are mounted directly on the transmitters. Two
additional adapters transmit the HART informationfrom the instruments on the continuously rotating
drum to the gateway. Current results show costsavings in the following ways:• Installation and assembly• Energy reduction and laboratory costs via
increased eﬃciency• Improved process control and product quality• Improved availability through condition-based
maintenance strategy and centralized device
performance monitoring
The expectation is that, before long, the process
can be fully automated, which would result in an
impressive time saving and improvement in productquality. At that point, two other drums will also be
fitted with the new wireless measuring stations.

11Mining Operation Reduces
Wiring & Maintenance Costs in
Diﬃcult Terrain
Application: Monitoring

Coke Manufacturer Uses
WirelessHART to Easily Add
Hydrogen Sulfide Detectors in
Brownfield Application

Application: H2S Gas Detection

Industry: Mining

Industry: Steel

Location: USA

Location: USA

Challenge
Located in mountainous western Colorado, Natural
Soda is the second largest producer of natural sodium
bicarbonate in North America. The company’s productis used domestically and worldwide in the food andbaking, personal care and pharmaceutical, animal
nutrition and agriculture, pool and water treatment,
and industrial markets.

The original Natural Soda facility was built in 1990
with the capacity to produce 60,000 tons per annum(tpa) of feed-grade product to be sold domestically.
Expansion in 1996 increased capacity to 125,000 tpa.
In March 2013, Natural Soda completed constructionof an additional production train, increasing annual
production from 125,000 tpa to 250,000 tpa. The
production site has grown in multiple ways: increasing
production has meant adding new well pairs and therequirements for the amount of data collected has
also increased. This has meant more instrumentation
at each well.

Solution
Given the high cost of wiring across vast rugged
terrain for the additional instruments and reaching
new injection wells progressively farther from thecentral facility, Natural Soda adopted WirelessHART
for all of its wellheads. With the most recent
expansions, the company has now deployed
60 wireless instruments across 10 wellheads.
Additionally, to help handle the distance on some legs
in its WirelessHART network, which can be as long as

one-mile, Natural Soda added eight Rosemount 702
transmitters as repeaters.
Wireless transmitters make it possible to monitor
remote injection wells to protect the environment,
increase eﬃciency, and improve productivity. Natural
Soda’s operating permits with the U.S. Bureau of Land
Management (BLM) requires continuous monitoring
and recording of fluid temperature, pressure, andflow rate in both the recovery and injection wells.
Operators must also keep these parameters within
specified ranges as detailed in a BLM-approved mineplan.
Natural Soda estimates the use of WirelessHART
technology has saved more than $80,000 in wiringcosts for each of 10 well pads, for a total savingsof $800,000. The costs of maintaining wired
infrastructure in northwestern Colorado are alsosignificant given the elevation, elements, rugged
terrain and damage caused by local wildlife.
WirelessHART status and diagnostic information
indicates if any transmitter has a problem, and thesystem alerts operators accordingly. If a problem
does occur with any transmitter, technicians can goright to the device and troubleshoot with a HART
communicator.
Performance of the WirelessHART network has been
flawless, and over five years, Natural Soda has only
had to replace the power module on three wirelessdevices, even when running with 4- to 8-second
update rates. In addition to performing required
control and monitoring at a much lower cost, Natural
Soda is able to provide reports to the BLM and show it
is working within the required parameters.

12

Overview

Results

Arcelor Mittal is a world leading producer of steel.
This particular facility manufactures coke which isused as a fuel in the steel making process. The coke
manufacturing process results in numerous byproducts such as hydrogen sulfide (H2S). H2S levels ina facility needs to be monitored closely for personnel
protection.

“The Vanguard units
connected to the
WirelessHART gateway
seamlessly after it
was configured onsite.
Interoperability with theother WirelessHART
pressure, temperatureand level devices
worked great and data
was transmitted backto the control room
accurately and reliably,”says Shulock.

Challenge
Adding new gas measurement points in abrownfield facility is inconvenient and very costly.
Inconveniences and costs include obtaining ‘hot’
work permits and running conduits for signal andpower wires around assets. Some of these assets arelocated in hard-to-reach elevated positions.
“We were previously using wired gas detectors tomonitor for H2S. Power and signal wires to thesedetectors were getting damaged over time and needed to be replaced,” says Don Shulock, Process Manager (I&E) Arcelor Mittal. “Since we already had an
existing WirelessHART infrastructure in place, the UE
Vanguard gas detector was dropped into the meshnetwork to provide an accurate monitoring point instantly. Deploying multiple Vanguard units around thefacility was easy and completed in days and the Vanguard units augmented our gas detection coverage
without the hassle of running and maintaining wires.”“We like the simplicity of the device. Bump testing
and calibration was straightforward with the push of
the side button. It was also very easy to mount theVanguard to a beam or wall with its integral mounting
bracket. We definitely saved significant installation
cost and time by migrating to wireless gas detection
technology.”

Application
Scrubbers are equipment used to remove byproducts(e.g. H2S) from gas streams. With its drop-in-network
mobility, the placement of UE Vanguard Wireless
HART gas detectors was not constrained and thedevices were deployed right next to scrubbers andother H2S containing assets. That way, a leak could
be detected immediately before it permeates throughthe Arcelor Mittal facility. Many units were deployedthroughout the plant to increase monitoring densityand provide a robust gas detection envelop against
H2S leaks.

13

American Steel Stays
Competitive with WirelessHART

Wirelessly Networked
Tank Farms

Application: Monitoring Water Usage

Application: Level Measurements in Tank Farms

Industry: Steelmaking

Industry: Petrochemical

Location: USA

Location: Unreleased

Challenge
A 2014 FieldComm Group Plant of the Year winner,
NUCOR Steel in Tuscaloosa, Alabama illustrates agreat use of WirelessHART and is found in a rather
unique application. The present Tuscaloosa facility was built in 1985 on the site of what was once a
paper mill. In 2004, Nucor Steel bought the mill andall of its assets from Corus, formerly British Steel. The
Tuscaloosa mill presently has about 430 employees,
which Nucor calls “teammates”, and operates 365
days a year. They convert scrap metal into 5.25-in.
slab steel, which is then rolled out into 1/8-in. to 2-in.
thick temper plate steel. They can also coil steel up
to 1 in. thick. Steel from the mill is used for pipelines,
building plate, tug boats, barges, and pressure vessels. Ben Springer, environmental technician at Nucor
Steel Tuscaloosa, reports the mill can produce morethan 1.2 million tons of steel per year.
“The main goal was to monitor our water usage, andbe able to troubleshoot it. We didn’t have leaks yet, but
if we did have an issue, we wanted to catch it quickly,” says Springer. The old wireless system was only
about 60% reliable based on the many times it lostand dropped communications, the number of transient errors we were getting, and how often we had towork on it. And then came WirelessHART!

Solution
Output from 57 different transmitters at the Tuscaloosa mill goes through four WirelessHART gateways,
and their output is connected to seven radios from
ProSoft Technology, which creates an IEEE 802.11(Wi-Fi) wireless backhaul network. The radios create
their backhaul network to the PLCs, and the data canbe accessed by using an OPC server application.
Springer reports that the mill’s new WirelessHART network achieved 100% data reliability that was on-timeand validated. “It was much better than we expected,”he says. “It’s easy to get data out of the system. The
WirelessHART signals go through buildings without

any problems, and its meshing provides for a strong
network with only a few routers needed, which help
make the network even stronger. Depending on theapplication, we also saved 50-80% with WirelessHART
compared to the costs of a wired system.”
Beyond checking water use at the mill, the Tuscaloosa
team discovered they could also use WirelessHART
to monitor 19 dP transmitters in the plant’s bag houseand water filtration system. “When you melt steel,one of the byproducts is dust, and so the bag houseis basically a large dust collection system with big
filter bags,” explains Springer. “Measuring pressure
drops in the bag house helps us determine when
the bags need to
be cleaned.” Next,
these results began
to draw interest fromthe mill’s overheadcrane maintenanceteam, who realized
they could use WirelessHART to monitor
bearing temperatureand vibration. The
crane moves steel in and out of the mill’s production
process, and also transports its ladle for casting andforming products. Consequently, sensors and transmitters on the crane were added to the mill’s WirelessHART-based network, where they deliver updates
every 2-4 seconds. In the crane’s gearbox/bearing
monitoring application, savings were estimated at$150,000 - $250,000 per event because now they canmonitor the bearings, and take action before a major
problem disables the crane.

Challenge

Solution

A petrochemical tank farm with 23 storage tanks
is already connected to the control system via
conventional wiring. The tanks are now being
retrofitted with additional level measuring technology.
The new explosion-proof sensors have a 4-20 mA
interface or a HART interface. All of the additional
measuring points will be connected to the central
process control system. A connection via cables
is not considered for economic reasons. All levelmeasurements are to be mapped in the tank farm’s
higher-level control system so that measurementand diagnostic data can be used in real time. The
sensor network should allow field devices to be added
easily to provide maximum future-proofing. A batterypowered wireless solution is to be avoided.

The BULLET WirelessHART adapter meets therequirements and can be integrated within theexisting loop while also supplying itself with 24Vfrom the lighting system. The adapter, which canbe used either in Ex d or Ex i, makes it possible forlevel sensors and other field devices with 4-20 mA
output or HART interface to communicate wirelessly
with the control system. With HART field devices,
the multidrop functionality of the adapter makes it
possible to collect data from up to eight field devices.
The newly integrated sensors in the tank farm have apermanent, secure wireless connection to the control
room. Process data and water levels are monitoredcontinuously, and diagnostic data is provided for
condition monitoring and predictive maintenance.

“Because of WirelessHART’s reliable and automatedmonitoring, we can now plan maintenance to our processes and equipment, rather than having unplanned
shutdowns due to equipment failure,” adds Springer.
“We’re now able to provide accurate and reliable data
for the process points measured. WirelessHART is
helping us reduce cost and prevent costly downtime.”

14

15

Pacific Rubiales Energy
Monitors Remote Wellheads
with WirelessHART

Critical Steam Tracing
Monitoring a Necessity for
Petrochemical Complex

Application: Wellhead Monitoring

Application: Steam Trap Monitoring

Industry: Oil & Natural Gas

Industry: PetroChemical

Location: South America

Location: Unreleased

Challenge

Solution

Application

Benefits

For the extraction of the heavy crude oil, several
boreholes (five on average) are clustered together toform a “pad”. The project involves the measurementof pressure, temperature and flow of each wellhead.
The crude oil is piped to a manifold, which monitors
the material flow from five wellheads and feeds it
into a central pipeline. Each manifold is equippedwith a flowmeter and a pressure transmitter, which
determine the productivity of the five boreholes. Using
traditional wired solutions, adding sensor points foreach of the wellheads and getting that data back to
the main supervisory system is costly, largely due totheir remote nature and extended cable lengths andtrenching requirements.

When Pacific Rubiales Energy were looking for a more
flexible solution to monitoring yield at their wellheads,
they chose WirelessHART technology as the answer. All twelve instruments are equipped with WirelessHART SWA70 Adapters that communicate witha WirelessHART SWG70 Fieldgate. This transports
the data collected from the network to a supervisorysystem.

A global petrochemical company designed a steam
tracing system to ensure their products maintainliquidity during transportation from various units in
the refinery. During the design phase, the customer
was concerned about steam traps failing in aclosed position creating temperature loss in theirprocess, resulting in a process upset. The company
implemented 130 steam trap monitors fromArmstrong International to ensure failed steam traps
did not hinder process performance. The steam trap
monitors could be installed as the process was being
started due to the non-intrusive design.

The customer was able to eliminate 60% of the wiring
cost by providing a wireless solution utilizing the
WirelessHART mesh network while installing 130
wireless, non-intrusive steam trap transmitters.

Pacific Rubiales is a Canadianand Colombian registeredproducer of oil and natural gas.
The company is the largest independent oil and gas explorationand production company in
Colombia. It is focused on
identifying growth opportunities,
primarily within the Eastern
Llanos Basin as well as in otherareas in Colombia and northern
Peru. Pacific Rubiales has astrong and growing reservebase, and is maximizing future
production prospects throughits exploration activities.

Plant Asset Management is also part of the package and is done with the aid of the web-based W@M
platform. In comparison to conventional methods, theuse of WirelessHART technology has greatly reduced
the wellhead installation time from 15 days down to
3 days. 400 m communication cable and associatedcosts were saved per head as well as 100 m³ of cablechannels and a remote I/O.

Benefits
The WirelessHART system saves a lot of money
due to less cabling costs and less time to startup asystem. Projects and operations can be carried out
faster and more flexibly. At Pacific Rubiales Energy
this process optimization reduces operational costs(OPEX) in the areas of oil and water treatment andwater injection.

16

The installation and commissioning of the project was
1/3 the time it would have taken to install the same
system with wired transmitters, resulting in a quicker
startup process and lower labor costs. Integration to
the customers control system was seamless and thewireless network could be expanded in the future forcost effective monitoring of various other applicationsin the unit.

Goal
The customer did not want to run wired
instrumentation to this part of the plant as there
was long distance ranges and no open IO in the unit.
Critical steam traps must be continuously monitored
and alerts of a failure were expected within one hourof the occurrence. Alerting capability needed to be
implemented in the control system of the unit for
quick response times, eliminating additional software,
which requires maintenance and constant updates.

Solution
Installing 2 WirelessHART gateway and 130 nonintrusive transmitters, the customer was able to spanthe entire unloading unit, providing a cost-effective
solution in a short time frame. This allowed thecustomer to monitor their unloading area to ensurematerial was continuously moving through the system
and would not solidify because of a failed steam trap.
The WirelessHART gateway and transmitters were
integrated into the local control system, eliminating
the need for additional software to determine thesteam trap conditions.

1760%
reduction of
wiring costs!

Chemical Manufacturer
Improves Safety and Reduces
Costs with Smart WirelessSolution

Application: Railcar Chemical Storage

Refinery Increases Profitability
by Using Opportunity Crudes
While Minimizing Corrosion
Problems

Application: Corrosion & Erosion Monitoring

Industry: Chemical

Industry: Oil & Gas Refining

Location: USA

Location: Europe

Challenge
Croda Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Croda
International Plc, a U.K.-based manufacturer andworldwide supplier of oleo and industrial chemicals.
The Mill Hall plant had a problem monitoring risingtemperatures in railcars containing chemicals.
Normally, three railcars are remotely located on-site.
Since the railcars are frequently moved, hardwiring oftemperature sensors was not practical. Employees
had to climb to the top of each car once a day tocheck the temperatures and record each reading. This
was a time-consuming procedure that during wet oricy conditions presented a fall potential.

Solution

While the operators watch for rising temperatures,transmitter performance and diagnostics are
simultaneously checked by Emerson’s AMS® Suite:
Intelligent Device Manager.
According to Denny Fetters, Instrument and Electrical
Designer for Croda, “Emerson’s wireless solution not
only saves us time and money, since plant personnel
no longer have to monitor those railcars daily; it
has also greatly enhanced the overall safety of theplant and our personnel. We are pleased with theperformance of the Rosemount transmitters andEmerson’s self-organizing mesh network. No matter
where a railcar is positioned on-site, the quality of thetransmission is unaffected, and the signals integrate
seamlessly into our control system.”Emerson Process Management successfully applied a
Smart Wireless solution. No matter where the railcars
may be positioned at the Mill Hall plant, a wirelesstemperature transmitter on each car sends minute-byminute temperature readings to a central host. Croda
uses this information to improve the performance andsafety of their facility. In this way, Emerson’s wirelesssystem contributes to overall plant safety, making
operators aware of any unexpected temperature rise,
while saving the company about $15,000 per year
in reduced maintenance. The wireless temperaturetransmitters arequickly and easily
installed atop a
railcar upon its arrivalat the site, and theyremain there until
the car is about tobe removed.
The wirelesscommunications
pass through a Smart
Wireless Gateway(receiver) and on to
the plant’s DeltaV™
control system.

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Challenge

network. The ability to install these transmitters without
the very high cost of adding cabling made the project
far more affordable. Since each transmitter has aninternal power module suﬃcient to operate for five years
and more, the maintenance cost of the transmitters is
effectively zero.

Low commodity prices have changed the financial
considerations for all phases of the oil and gas industry,including downstream operations such as refineries. For
some facilities, the only means to improve profitability is
to buy opportunity crudes – feedstocks from secondary
sources at lower-than-market prices. These feedstocks
are less expensive because they often carry corrosiveand erosive contaminants capable of destroying
production piping and equipment from the inside out.
Determining thecondition of various
pieces of piping andequipment throughmanual inspection
is not reliable, often
forcing producers torisk equipment failure
by running units toolong or requiring them
to be too cautious
and shut down or replace items that could still operatesafely. Some facilities add corrosion inhibitors, but thisis costly and the effectiveness is diﬃcult to evaluate.
Moreover, the chemical mix and dosage rate may need tobe adjusted with each new batch from a different source
as corrosiveness varies widely.

Solution

The analysis software provides a current thickness
reading in the context of historical data and trends.
Watching it over time shows trends with suﬃcient
resolution and precision (repeatability of ±10 microns)
to determine the rate of metal loss for a specific batchof crude running for as little as a week. Since the facility
typically runs 40 to 50 batches from various sources
over a year, the software can effectively catalog thecharacteristics of each, identifying those which tend tocause the heaviest damage. Where corrosion inhibitors
can be used, the continuous data provides an indication– in a matter of days – if the inhibitor is working properly
and if the dosage is correct. This information can also becataloged for future reference.
With both current and historical data, operators canproject the rate of metal loss and determine theexpected remaining life of any part of the process piping
or equipment with a high degree of confidence. This
minimizes the potential for a disastrous failure, andalso the cost of an unnecessary shutdown prompted byuncertainty.

Managers of this refinery made an intentional choice
to process opportunity crudes routinely for the costadvantage. Aware of the associated problems, theydecided to deploy appropriate components and systems
to monitor pipe and vessel wall thickness to determine
the degree of metal loss resulting from processing hightotal-acid number crudes.

Once suﬃcient data and trend information had beencollected, facility engineers were able to analyze theeffects of specific operating conditions in addition to
the characteristics of the crude oil. In one particularly
telling situation, overall corrosion increased noticeably
system-wide, beyond that attributable to the crude
batch. Analysis of operating conditions showed a strong
correlation between the aggressive corrosion and achange in a critical process parameter.

Technicians installed about 400 Rosemount Wireless
Permasense transmitters on equipment in critical areas.
These transmitters monitor wall thickness continuously
and send data to analysis software via a WirelessHART

Since this was identifiable in a short time, the change
was mitigated before the damage became worse.

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Refinery Improves Safety
and Saves Money Installing
WirelessHART Gas Detectors

American Oil and Gas Company
Automates Offshore Hub

Application: Fenceline Monitoring

Application: Unmanned Platform Monitoring

Industry: Oil & Gas Tank Farm

Industry: Upstream Natural Gas

Location: USA

Location: Southeast Asia

Overview

Solution

Challenge

Many industrial process facilities are located adjacent
to communities. Operators are required throughregulation (i.e. EPA 325), to protect their assets andemployees, as well as the surrounding communityfrom gas leakage risks by identifying and mitigatinghazardous air pollutants.

United Electric’s revolutionary and first of its kind
Vanguard WirelessHART Gas Detector allowed
the company to meet the inspection deadline forcompliance, but also capitalize on $400,000 ofsavings.

Operational excellence for this American based company
means protecting the safety and health of people andthe environment as well as conducting operations
reliably and eﬃciently, with a goal to achieve world-classperformance.

The installed cost of the devices, with labor, was 1/5thof the initial wired gas detection proposal. Taking
advantage of its existing WirelessHART network, thecompany quickly and economically expanded theircoverage of toxic and flammable detection assets.

As a step toward this, the customer wanted
to modernize a 30-year old wellhead platform
offshore of Southeast Asia. The goal wasto eliminate unnecessary travel to theremote platform, automate process data
documentation, and reduce production losses.

Challenge
A major North American Oil and Gas company
purchased a tank farm that adjoined their refinery.
The acquired asset did not have adequate fence line
monitoring and needed to be brought into compliance.
The time and cost to install traditional wired point
detectors were not acceptable.

Did you know?

What would have taken nearly $500,000 and months
to install using wired devices, was completed in acouple of weeks at a fraction of the cost. The ultimate
payoff however, is protecting the health of thecommunity living in close proximity.

Storage tanks are one of the most$400,000 in
SAVINGS!

common sources of gas leaks.
They are always located somedistance from the central facility
and sometimes near residential

The platform is a hub with 16 active wellheads
as well as production headers from 4 nearby
platforms, with power generation equipment tosupport the five platforms. If there is an issue
on any of the platforms, production losses could last fordays, particularly during the monsoon season where badweather makes it hazardous for the technicians to travelto the platform.
Since it is too costly to introduce additional infrastructure
on an offshore platform, the Oil and Gas Company
needed a solution that was reliable, could fit within theconfines of an offshore platform and didn’t exceed thepower limitations.

areas. If the wind is blowing away

Solutionfrom any wired detectors onsite, for

The customer implemented a mixture of wired andWirelessHART devices during the retrofit to optimize
monitoring and control of the platform while keeping
power limited to that provided by the existing powerhybrid.

example, plant operators may notknow of any leaks until residents
call in complaining about the smell.

Wireless instruments monitor wellhead status on all
16 wells of the Hub, as well as gas receiving for all
5 platforms, production headers, and the fuel skid.
“The Emerson wireless solution enabled us to meetthe limitations imposed by an offshore platform” says
the Facility Engineer. “It minimizes power and space

Multiple wireless sensors could
cover more tanks, and they could
all be networked through acommon gateway.

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requirements and gives
us the reliability we needto optimize production.
Low power consumptionof the gateway (6 Watts)
has helped us keep theexisting hybrid with nomodification.”
Over 40 wireless points were integrated through thesmart Wireless Gateway into a SCADA host. These
included 24 Rosemount® Wireless 648 temperaturetransmitters, of which 16 included non-intrusive pipe
clamp sensors to monitor temperature on each of 16
wellheads. The remaining eight transmitters monitor thereceivers and the production headers.
The customer has now successfully transitioned the
Hub to a fully automated platform that is operated via
radio. Wellhead casing pressures and temperatures canbe continuously monitored for early indication of downhole problems, as well as verify that the operational
characteristics of well containment are within design
limits. Seamless integration with the host means early
notification for operators to take action when necessary.
Since installing wireless, remote monitoring has
replaced technician trips to the platform. In fact,
wireless monitoring has shown that no trips have beenrequired, providing significant cost savings. The richfield intelligence has also minimized production losses,
and seamless integration with the local host means
automated production reports that are free of humanerror.

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WirelessHART Providers

The list of our contributors below represents a snapshot of companies providing WirelessHART solutions forthe market. There may be other WirelessHART suppliers around the world and we encourage everyone to seekout all available WirelessHART solutions for their individual applications. In particular, we encourage the use ofRegistered WirelessHART solutions. All Registered products can be found on our website:www.fieldcommgroup.org/registered-products.

Armstrong International
Armstrong International is a Global Organization providing Intelligent Steam/Air and Hot Water System solutions that improve utility performance, lower energy consumption and reduce environmental emissions whileproviding an “enjoyable experience”. With over a century of Thermal Utility Experience, Armstrong plays animportant role in helping customers around the world understand and solve critical steam, air and hot water
system related problems.
Armstrong offers WirelessHART Steam Trap Monitors.
Contact: Smartservices@armstronginternational.com
www.armstronginternational.com

Emerson Automation Solutions

Endress+Hauser
People for Process Automation. Endress+Hauser is a leading supplier of industrial measurement and automation equipment. It has a comprehensive FOUNDATION Fieldbus and HART instrument portfolio covering flow,level, pressure, analysis, temperature and system components. Wireless capabilities and products include our
SWG70 (WirelessHART gateway) and SWA70 (WirelessHART Adapter). The SWA70 can be connected to any
HART or 4-20mA field device installed in a plant.
Contact: info.us.sc@endress.com
www.endress.com

Pepperl+Fuchs
Pepperl+Fuchs is the undisputed market leader in intrinsically safe explosion protection components andoffers a complete range of customized solutions for hazardous areas and critical applications. Our solutions
are employed in a wide variety of industries and applications including oil and gas, chemical, pharmaceutical,
power plants, and many more. With the most comprehensive range of industrial automation products including
WirelessHART gateways, Adapters and Temperature converters. Pepperl+Fuchs is uniquely qualified to provide
professional service, expert support, and unmatched performance – whatever your application might be.
• WirelessHART gateways (Modbus, EIP)
• Loop powered Bullet WirelessHART adapters• Battery powered WirelessHART adapters• Temperature converters

Emerson Automation Solutions is a global technology and engineering company providing innovative solutions
for customers in industrial, commercial, and residential markets. Our Emerson Automation Solutions businesshelps process, hybrid, and discrete manufacturers maximize production, protect personnel and the environment while optimizing their energy and operating costs. With our automation expertise – from projects tooperations – we focus on helping businesses hit their targets and move into Top Quartile performance. Wireless capabilities include Pressure, Temperature, Level, Flow, Corrosion & Erosion, Acoustic, Discrete, Vibration,
Position, Safety & WirelessHART Adapter.

Contact: gcusick@us.pepprl-fuchs.com
www.pepperl-fuchs.com/usa/en/classid_2434.htm

Contact: RMT-NA.SpecialistWireless@Emerson.com
www.Emerson.com/Wireless

United Electric Controls Company
UE is focused on protecting equipment, processes, personnel, and the environment. Our products are criticalfor safety, alarm and emergency shutdown functions, with uncompromising quality produced from innovative
design and superior lean manufacturing. UE’s Vanguard, a native WirelessHART gas detector, provides operators with more than five (5) years of continuous detection for toxic and explosive gases.
Contact: insidesales@ueonline.com
www.ueonline.com

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