Overview

Regional Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Conference (RCEUC) was organised by the Department of Chemical Engineering at Universiti Malaya (UM). It was held in collaboration with CEUC and IChemE-UM Student Chapter. The event is supported by IChemE's Palm Oil Processing Special Interest Group (POPSIG) and Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC). The Platinum Sponsor to this event is KL-Kepong Oleomas Sdn Bhd (KLK OLEO).

Panel discussion

The panel consisted of Anne Lim May Liang (Division Marketing Manager at Endress+Hauser Malaysia Sdn Bhd), Ir Dr Edwin Lim Chun Hsion (Assistant Professor at Heriot-Watt University Malaysia) and Ir Zulfan Adi Putra (Optimisation Engineer, ExxonMobil Business Support Centre Malaysia Sdn Bhd).

Chapter 1: Introduction to the IR4.0

Anne has been working in automation industry for 22 years, and seen the transformation of the industry. 90% of the instruments at E+H are digital ready. However, in industry, the customers only use 3% of the data - that is the primary value from the smart device. Using data at higher level allows better decision making. It brings data from OT (physical) level to IT (cloud) layer. Devices can be connected wirelessly and are battery-powered. Today, engineer can access the data wirelessly into the IT layer. On inventory, radar level device on the container is embedded with GPS and sim card. It tracks location and traces liquid level for supply chain management.

Edwin said that he used safety assessment (HAZOP) approach to evaluate IR4.0 in the palm oil industry. He optimised oil palm harvesting and evacuation path using mathematical modelling approach. It determined the shortest path to minimise operating cost. He presented sustainability comparison for various pesticide application technologies. The ROI analysis is vital with the availability of CapEx and OpEx information.

Chapter 2: Expectation from young engineers

Anne shared that digital literacy is important in today's world. Engineers need to effectively use the data and level up to IT layer. She believed that most of the Malaysia's industries today are at IR2.0 or IR3.0. Young engineers need to make good use of data, and low-skilled and routine jobs will be replaced by digitalisation. By pass is a common problem in the industry when the operator cannot handle the advanced technology. She stressed critical thinking in solving very complex problems.

Chapter 3: Application of mathematical formulae

Edwin emphasised that the fundamental of mass conservation is important in every application. Anne shared that the design of smart instruments at E+H already has mathematical calculation embedded into the meter. Engineers get the output from the meters and analyse certain parameters to determine some effects, such as corrosion. She highlighted that engineers need to interpret the output from the software while IR4.0 is assisting us in the decision making.

Chapter 4: Digitalisation in water industry

Water in Malaysia is owned by the state. She told that each state has different level of digital maturity in water industry. Some states have their own cloud solution. She shared that Netilion, the E+H IoT ecosystem, can have a third party (weather forecast) embedded into cloud.

Anne emphasised that water industry is a very challenging industry. The operator cannot control the water supply because it depends on the weather. AI will be used to model the prediction and expected consumptions. This helps the operator in their operational planning.

Chapter 5: Internet accessibility

Connectivity is the key in smart industry. Anne stressed that it is important for the IoT system to collect feedbacks from the ground. In industry, wireless technology is used for monitoring only at present in Malaysia. Wired instruments are still widely used for process plant control.

Chapter 6: ROI index

IR4.0 technology provides a unique solution to each operator. Breakeven time is one of the primary concern to adopt a new technology. Anne believed that the majority of the management would agree that IR4.0 adoption is a solution to embrace the change. The government has a programme to provide specialists to comment on the readiness of IR4.0 in the organisation. The change not only involves the machine, but also the people and management.

Chapter 7: Mathematical modelling

Instead of just modelling, the industrial company needs to have a green solution while adopting IR4.0 technology.

Chapter 8: Cybersecurity

Department of Standards Malaysia is currently looking into cybersecurity in Malaysia. At present, for multinational companies, they follow the guidelines provided by the parent company and HQ. Malaysia is currently working on the legislation of IEC 62443. Anne shared that E+H is following ISO and IEC on cybersecurity.

Keynote Speech: Stretching the Limits of Industrial Water Savings

Summary

On Thursday 18 August 2022, Professor Ir Ts Dr Sharifah Rafidah Wan Alwi, Research Fellow at PROSPECT and Director of R&D at OPTIMISE, delivered her keynote speech about IR4.0 development in water industry.

In Malaysia, Professor Sharifah told that industries tend to focus more on energy saving initiatives compared to water due to the low water tariff. Water rationing and unscheduled interruptions could result in the loss of millions of Malaysian ringgit due to the reduction in production.

It was reported in United Nations Water Report 2018 that 9.7 billion people will live in water-stressed region by 2050. Professor Sharifah pointed out that increased costs for raw water, unreliability of fresh water, huge capital investment for wastewater treatment (WWT) and stringent regulations of WWT discharge are the challenges to this industry.

Professor Sharifah presented three water reuse/recycling strategies: reuse, regeneration-recycling and regeneration-reuse. She showed that water pinch analysis (WPA) is a tool for the design of a maximum water recovery (MWR) network through process integration. Cost-Effective Minimum Water Network (CEMWN) is the combination of WPA, all WMH options analysis and economic analysis using SHARPS technique.

In her presentation, she showed that the design/retrofit based on WPA-Minimum Water Network Target demonstrated savings up to 90%. WPA-CEMWN involves analysis of water network, data extraction, MWN targets, minimum water network design/retrofit and economic evaluation. On data, she highlighted that water flowrate was mostly not monitored in DCS and would normally need to be determined by using Ultrasonic Flowmeter or other method. Professor Sharifah presented Optimal Water software. It has the features to identify MWR target, design the water exchanger network and process modification analysis using CEMWN technique.

Overall, Professor Sharifah suggested that the users need to explore water management hierarchy concept in reducing the plant usage. She recommended to utilise tools such Optimal Water to analyse water minimization potential based on WPA. WPA-CEMWN technique can help stretch the limits of the plant water saving economically. It is also important to extend the analysis further towards energy, waste and interplant.

Acknowledgement

POPSIG gratefully appreciates the support provided by Malaysian Palm Oil Council.