Harald Mahler

Siemens Analytical

Biography:

Harald Mahler, born in Southern Germany in 1960, studied chemistry at the University of Applied Science in Reutlingen. Since 1989 he gained experiences in process analytics in various engineering and management positions within Siemens AG such as in the application & method development laboratory, project management as well as industry marketing and product management.

His current position is as global sales and business development manager for process analytics within the division “Process Automation”. Major working areas are the (petro)chemical and oil & gas industries including renewable energy markets. Harald has over 30 years of experience working with process gas chromatographs. Within the process analytical society Mr. Mahler has been presented various papers in international symposia. He is author of various articles in technical magazines and books and has been acting as session chair in conferences as well as an editorial board member for technical books.

Short description about presentation:

Optimization of industrial processes by using process analytics Plant efficiency and related energy costs, reduced feed input and required optimized output using online analytics are rightly becoming increasingly important for industrial customers. In contrast to Continuous Emission Monitoring Systems CEMS, for which official requirements and guidelines define the operation of the measurement, projects related to process analysis typically focus on economic aspects. The scenarios are manifold: the reduction of raw materials to produce a defined initial quality or reduced use of energy are just two aspects that contribute to an economical investment in a process measurement. The basic idea is to optimize the operational production processes using the data provided by process analytics. However, this well-known and plausible basic principle often involves challenges in terms of accuracy, speed and or availability of the measurement. Here, too, a demarcation to CEMS measurements must be identified: since the components to be measured in environmental analysis are usually known, the components for sample preparation and analysis can also be standardized EN15267 even requires by law proof of suitability for measurement . In process analysis, however, there is a large number of variants which influences decisions such as the best sample extraction or which components have to be measured.rnrnProbe sampling and the analyzer have to be harmonizedrnrnDespite all the differences between CEMS and process analysis, the two disciplines are very similar in one aspect: only with a well-balanced interaction of sample preparation and analysis high-quality results can be expected in the long-term and of sustainable high-quality results.rnThe solid foundation for project success is both a basic and a detailed engineering of a process analysis, but also the well-thought-out design of the sample preparation.rnSpecial sampling situations such as ATEX zones or temperature requirements must be considered. The transport of the sample via sampling lines possibly heated must also ensure that changes to the sample are prevented. When preparing the sample prior the analyzer, especially filtrations or cooling systems need to be designed so that they can be operated easily and with low maintenance.The same applies to the analyzer, and Siemens has been producing solutions with the MAXUM Ed. II that can ensure predictive operation using features such as the Smart Sampling Systems Interface SSSI for many years.rnrnChallenges in process analytics projects illustrated by a Case Study:Process GCs optimize the distillation process of a PVA production plant at Kuraray EuropernSuccessful analytical system integration projects need collaboration, knowledge, and a wide range of expertise. The level of those attributes is dependent on the complexity of the project, whether it is a CEMS project or a process measurement. The Case study of Kuraray Europe in Frankfurt focuses on some insights about the different project-milestones within a GC system integration project. Next to the initial thoughts about what to measure and how to measure it, the study will also cover how to overcome arising challenges temperature, sample stocking, polymerization within a complex system integration project. By seriously looking from different views to such a project, covering all different aspects during the planning, over the execution, to the commissioning phase, this helped to design a system that meet low CAPEX requirements and reduced OPEX costs while increasing the level of plant efficiency with an online analytical solution.