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The 35,000-ton-per-year nickel sulfate production line employs the latest production technology. This technical upgrade project is being carried out within the existing facilities of the nickel plant. The control system currently in use was configured for the old process prior to the upgrade. With adjustments to the production process, the original control system can no longer meet the new process control targets, and the division of regional control responsibilities makes it difficult to fulfill the new process control requirements, posing significant risks. A failure in the DCS system would result in a complete shutdown of the entire production process, introducing uncertainty into continuous production. The new process imposes more stringent requirements on the DCS control system, demanding stability and long-term consistency in control parameters, as well as zoned control for each process step, where data acquisition, processing, and control are performed entirely within the respective zone’s control system. While each process control system operates independently, data and essential control functions can be shared. Taking into comprehensive consideration the current status of the existing control system and the operating environment, the original DCS control system will undergo an expandable upgrade to meet the requirements for zoned process control, and will be configured according to the requirements of new process instrumentation and control parameters.

To meet the process control and monitoring needs of the production line, one distributed control system (DCS) will be implemented. The process control requires the establishment of three process areas: the C272 and P204 impurity removal processes, the P204 full extraction process, and the tank farm and other areas. A total of three pairs of controllers will be configured, with process instrumentation and electrical equipment in each process area connected to the respective DCS control system. Equipment such as variable frequency drives, soft starters, and motor protectors are connected to the control system via hardwiring or communication protocols. Additionally, electrical I/O cabinets are generally installed in the low-voltage switchgear rooms of each respective area.

The project’s process control encompasses three stages: the impurity removal stage, the full extraction stage, and the tank farm and other areas. Process measurement instruments and electrical equipment in each process area are connected to the DCS control system of their respective zones. The plant-wide DCS system utilizes Siemens AS 410H controllers. The control system integrates a range of functions, including control, power distribution, and monitoring, to achieve high-level automated control throughout the entire process, ensuring smooth and stable production.

For this DCS system, the central control room employs a client-server architecture.

The system bus utilizes a 1000M industrial Ethernet (fiber-optic redundant ring network). The network is implemented using switches with redundancy management capabilities.

The terminal bus also utilizes 1000M industrial Ethernet. The network is implemented using switches with redundancy management capabilities.

The field network employs PROFIBUS DP.

Highly reliable industrial-grade network products are used as system network components, fundamentally ensuring the reliable operation of the entire control system.