【Ten Years of Rapid Development in Chemical Equipment】Localization of PLC Control Systems in the Puguang Gas Field’s Natural Gas Plant from 2014 to 2022

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Witnessing the decade-long rapid development of chemical processing equipment; praising the prosperity and strength of modern China. Replies will be rewarded; discussions are welcome. ------------------------------------------- On November 23, 2022, the 4 programmable logic controller (PLC) systems used for sulfur storage and transportation at the natural gas purification plant in the Puguang gas field of Zhongyuan Oilfield were upgraded to use domestic-made components. 　　This upgrade and renovation includes removing the original control system, installing a new one, conducting individual unit tests, and performing integrated tests. After the upgrade of the PLC control system, the CPU, IO cards, as well as the configuration and monitoring software were all made domestically produced. 　　It is reported that the Puguang gas field, as the largest sulfur production base in China, produces around 2 million tons of sulfur per year. The PLC control system for sulfur storage and transportation is regarded as the \"brain\" that controls belt conveyors, bin loaders, and loading systems; it is responsible for overseeing the transfer of bulk sulfur, the operations related to loading and unloading, as well as ensuring accurate quantified loading. The original control system of the Puguang gas field used products from Siemens Germany, and it has been in operation for 13 years since its deployment in 2009. Currently, the industrial PCs based on the Windows 7 operating system, as well as certain Siemens cards, have been discontinued. As a result, subsequent system maintenance cannot be carried out properly, which affects the safe and stable operation of the equipment. To this end, the natural gas purification plant took proactive steps by organizing the preparation of a feasibility study report on the upgrade and renovation of the PLC control system for sulfur storage and transportation. The report was approved for investment by the Zhongyuan Oilfield, and project bidding was subsequently carried out. 　　At the end of August, the factory brought together manufacturers of control systems and professional engineers to carry out detailed discussions through on-site inspections and specialized meetings. Key milestones such as the signing of technical agreements, hardware production, software programming and configuration, as well as on-site construction, were determined, with continuous coordination in place to accelerate progress. 　　To ensure that sulfur sales and production are not affected during the upgrade of the PLC control system, the natural gas purification plant communicated in advance with the sales department of the Puguang gas field, and informed sulfur users and enterprises early on to increase their stockpiles of bulk sulfur prior to the upgrade. The storage and transportation workshop worked day and night for half a month to load goods, supplying 107,000 tons of sulfur to bulk material users. During the renovation period, they strengthened liquid sulfur storage and loading operations to ensure stable production and storage of liquid sulfur in the upstream processing units. The volume of liquid sulfur sold increased from 60 trucks per day to 80 trucks per day, thereby achieving both reduced inventory levels and sustained supply. 　　“After the upgrade and renovation, the PLC control system has become more stable and reliable, laying the foundation for the safe and steady operation of the sulfur storage and transportation system over a long period of time. ”said Pan Tao, the director of the storage and transportation workshop at the factory.