A REPORT ON IN-PLANT TRAINING AT

THE FERTILIZERS AND CHEMICALS TRAVANCORE LIMITED

(FACT), Udyogamandal

Submitted by
G RAJESH
AM.EN.U4ECE13117, BTech (2013-2017)
Electronics and Communication Engg.
Amrita School Of Engineering
Amrita Vishwavidyapeetham, Amritapuri

Training Period: 01.06.2015-15.06.2015

 ABSTRACT
I underwent an in-plant training to acquaint myself for a period of one
month from June 1st to June 15th, 2015 to get an industrial exposure in a practical
aspect of technical implementation. During the course of study I was able to
interact freely with the officials and other employees in the plant and fetch
maximum relevant information from them. I also got an opportunity to visit the
work area and get a hands on experience on various industrial devices.

The training helped me to get an idea about the various manufacturing

processes and the technical instruments which are used in the plant. I also got
familiarized with various large scale central distributive control systems which
play the most crucial role in monitoring and controlling various processes in a
chemical industry.
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude to
all those who have helped me throughout this in-plant training. It gives me
immense pleasure to acknowledge all those who have rendered encouragement and
support for the successful completion of work.

First of all ,I would like to thank my institution-Amrita School of

Engineering, for allowing me to proceed with the in plant training.

I place my sincere thanks to Mr. Joy Ukkan, Dy.Manager(Trg) of

FACT Training department, for permitting me to do the training at FACT.

I would also like to thank Mr.K B Jayaraj Dy.CE(I) UD,

Mr.R Raju Amm(I) Sulphate , Mr.Babu Kurian,Amm(I) AC , Mr.Gopal MMI
(AC), Mr.Prasad, Dept. Of Instrumentation, PD and Mr.Suneel,Dept. Of
Instrumentation,PD for giving there valuable time in guiding and sharing their
knowledge with me.

I express my hearty thanks to all The Employees of THE

FERTILIZERS AND CHEMICALS TRAVANCORE LIMITED for their
constant support during the entire training.
 FACT-An Introduction

Mans history is replete with revolutions, responsible for molding his

system of thought and shaping his modes of living. Revolutions have, more often
than not, emerged out of crisis-situations it was one such crisis situation that
guided the enlightened perception of a far sighted visionary to form FACT. Yes!
The FERTILISER AND CHEMICALS TRAVANCORELIMITED-popularly
known as FACT-was indeed a revolution when it was established as the first large
scale fertilizer factory in the country. Since then, it has played a major role in
creating fertilizer consciousness among our farmers, and giving a positive direction
to the modernization of agriculture in India. And that, of course is an interesting
story-a story of never ending challenges and constructive responses.

The History
The 1940,s were a time of critical food shortage in our country. The
traditional approach to cultivation was not of much help in finding asolution to this
problem. And nitrogenous fertilizer had not yet arrived on the agriculture scene in
sufficient quantities to make any perceptible impact. A revolution was indeed
necessary to change the status quo. And when it came, it did through the vision of
Dr. C.P. Ramaswami Aiyar, the Dewan of the former Travancore State, who
mooted the idea of increasing food production by the application of fertilizer as a
long term solution to food problem. To give concrete shape to his idea, he sought
the help of Seshayee Brothers Ltd. Industrialist known for their pioneering work.
And Indias first large-scale fertilizer plant was set up in 1944 at Udyogamandal on
the banks of the river periyar in Kerala State. The new venture of course had to go
through many teething troubles. For instance, the raw materials necessary for the
production of ammonium salts were not available in the state. But this deficiency
was overcome by adopting a revolutionary method known as the FIREWOOD
GASIFICATION PROCESS.
However, initial difficulties notwithstanding, the plant at Udyogamandal
went into commercial production in 1947, with the slated capacity to manufacture
50,000 tonnes of Ammonium Sulphate (10,000 tonnes of N). This was followed by
the production of SUPERPHOSPHATE in a new plant with a capacity of 44,000
tones. A sulphuric acid plant of 75 tonnes per day was also installed which was
considered large going standard at that time. Meanwhile the inner dynamics of
FACT was finding another expression in the formation of new unit with the help of
the State Government and Methur Chemical & Industrial Corporation Ltd., for the
production of caustic soda which later become todays Travancore-Cochin
Chemical Ltd., a Kerala Government undertaking. This indeed was a big leap
forward as it replaced all the imports of that product, saving a considerable amount
of foreign exchange. FACT was the first to use its by-product, chlorine, as
hydrochloric acid to produce Ammonium Chloride. These by-products produced
by FACT paved the way for setting up of other industrial units around the FACT
complex viz. Hindustan Insecticide Ltd., Indian Rare Earth Ltd., etc.
Expansion.

In the late 50s, the Udyogamandal Division launched its first expansion with
an outlay of Rs. 3 crores. Highlights of the period were the installation of two
plants to produce Phosphoric Acid and Ammonium Phosphate(16:20 Grade). The
second stage of expansion involving Rs.2 crore saw the replacement of the
Firewood Gasification Process and the Electrolytic Process by the Texaco Oil
Gasification Process for which a new plant was set up. FACT became a Kerala
State Public Sector Enterprise on 15th August1960. On 21st November 1962, the
Government of India became the major share holder. The 2nd stage of expansion
of FACT was completed in 1962.

The 3rd stage of expansion of FACT was completed in 1965 with setting up
of a new Ammonium Sulphate Plant. FACT has been a pace-setter in marketing
evolving a continuous and comprehensive package of effective communication
with farmers and promotional programs to increase the fertilizer consciousness
among our farmers. In fact, FACT was the first fertilizer manufacturer in India to
introduce the village adoption concept since 1968 to improve agricultural
productivity and enhance the overall socio-economic status of farmers. FACT has
a well organized marking net work, capable of distribution over a million tones of
fertilizers. With the licensing of Cochin Division in 1966 FACT further expanded
and by 1976 the production of sulphuric acid, phosphoric acid and Urea was
started. In 1979 Production of NPK was commercialized.
Technical Divisions

FACT Engineering and Design Organization (FEDO) was established

in1965 to meet the emerging need for indigenous capabilities in vital areas
of engineering, design and consultancy for establishing large and modern fertilizer
plants. FEDO has since then diversified into Petrochemicals and other areas also. It
offers multifarious services from project identification and evaluation stage to
plant design, procurement project management, site supervision, commissioning
and operating new plants as well as revamping and modernization of old plants.
FEDO received international accreditation ISO 9001 2004 for quality system
standards covering areas of consultancy, design & engineering services for
construction of large fertilizer, petrochemicals, chemicals and related projects
including purchasing, construction, supervisor, inspection and expediting services.

FACT Engineering Works (FEW) was established on 13th April 1966 as a

unit to fabricate and install equipment for fertilizer plants. FEW was originally
conceived as a unit to fabricate and install equipment for FACTs own plants. Over
the year it developed capabilities in the manufacture of class I pressure vessels,
heat exchangers, rail mounted, LPG tank wagons etc. It has a well equipped
workshop approved by Lloyds Register of Shipping, further; this division has
excelled in laying cross country piping fabrication and installation of large
penstocks for hydel units in Kerala.

The Cochin Division of FACT, the 2nd production unit was set up at
Ambalamedu and the 1st phase was commissioned in 1973. The 2ndphase of
FACT Cochin Division was commissioned in 1976. The project was designed to
produce Ammonia which would be converted to Urea and also to produce high
analysis, water soluble NP fertilizers. This division comprises of a number of large
capacity plants to produce Ammonia, Urea, Sulphuric Acid, Phosphoric Acid and
Fertilizers like FACTAMPHOS 20-20and DAP 18-46.

FACT has also a Research & development Department which carries out
research related to fertilizers. This Division is also capable of doing fundamental
research in areas of fertilizers and chemicals technology. So far FACT R & D has
taken 17 patents in areas like Sodium Fluoride, Sulphuric Acid and Ammonium
Phosphate.
 PRODUCTS & PRODUCT MIX

PRODUCTS

Finished products
Ammonium Sulphate- Udyogamandal Division
Ammonium Phosphate/ Complex fertilizers / Factamfos Udyogamandal
Division & Cochin Division
Caprolactum- Petrochemical Division
Biofertilizers - Research & Development Division

Exported Products
Caprolactum - Petrochemical Division
Ammonium Sulphate - Udyogamandal Division

Byproducts
Nitric Acid & Soda Ash- Petrochemical Division
Gypsum - Udyogamandal Division & Cochin Division
Carbon Dioxide Gas - Udyogamandal

Intermediary Products
Ammonia - Udyogamandal & Cochin Division
Synthesis Gas - Udyogamandal Division
Sulphuric Acid- Udyogamandal & Cochin Division
Oleum - Udyogamandal Division
SO2 Gas - Udyogamandal Division
Phosphoric Acid - Udyogamandal & Cochin Division
 GENERAL SAFETY

Safety is the state of being "safe" ,the condition of being protected against
physical, social, occupational, or other types or consequences of failure,
damage, error, accidents, harm or any other event which could be considered non-
desirable. Safety can also be defined to be the control of recognized hazards to
achieve an acceptable level of risk. This can take the form of being protected from
the event or from exposure to something that causes health or economical losses. It
can include protection of people or of possessions.

The Fertilizers And Chemicals Travancore has been declared as a Major

Hazard Accidental Industry MHAI.

There are two methods for classifying an industry into MHAI unit-

i) Process Involved Fertilizers, petrochemical products, cement, paint, etc.

ii)Quantity of chemical being handled and its commonly specified in tonnes

Heinrich's Domino Theory

Heinrich's Domino Theory states that accidents result from a chain of
sequential events, metaphorically like a line of dominoes falling over. When one of
the dominoes falls, it triggers the next one, and the next... - but removing a key
factor (such as an unsafe condition or an unsafe act) prevents the start of the chain
reaction.
Heinrich posits five metaphorical dominoes labelled with accident
causes. They are Social Environment and Ancestry, Fault of Person, Unsafe Act or
Mechanical or Physical Hazard (unsafe condition), Accident, and Injury. Heinrich
defines each of these "dominoes" explicitly, and gives advice on minimizing or
eliminating their presence in the sequence.
Fire and safety

Fire triangle
The fire triangle or combustion triangle is a simple model for
understanding the necessary ingredients for most fires. The triangle illustrates the
three elements a fire needs to ignite: heat, fuel, and an oxidizing
agent (usually oxygen). A fire naturally occurs when the elements are present and
combined in the right mixture, meaning that fire is actually an event rather than a
thing. A fire can be prevented or extinguished by removing any one of the
elements in the fire triangle. For example, covering a fire with a fire blanket
removes the oxygen part of the triangle and can extinguish a fire.

Classification of fire
Class A: Ordinary combustibles- Class A fires consist of ordinary
combustibles such as wood, paper, fabric, and most kinds of trash.
Class B/C: Flammable liquid and gas. These are fires whose fuel is
flammable or combustible liquid or gas. Flammable liquids are
designated "Class B", while burning gases are separately designated
"Class C". A solid stream of water should never be used to extinguish
this type because it can cause the fuel to scatter, spreading the flames.
The most effective way to extinguish a liquid or gas fueled fire is by
inhibiting the chemical chain reaction of the fire, which is done by dry
chemical extinguishing agents, although smothering with CO2 or, for
liquids, foam is also effective.
Class C or Class E: Electrical fires are fires involving potentially
energized electrical equipment. This sort of fire may be caused by
short-circuiting machinery or overloaded electrical cables. Electrical
fire may be fought in the same way as an ordinary combustible fire,
but water, foam, and other conductive agents are not to be used.
Carbon dioxide CO2, and dry chemical powder extinguishers such
as PKP and even baking soda are especially suited to extinguishing
this sort of fire.
Class D :Metal - Class D fires consist of combustible metals such
asmagnesium, potassium, titanium, and zirconium.
Class K or F - Class K fires involve unsaturated cooking oils in well-
insulated cooking appliances located in commercial kitchens.
 INSTRUMENTS

VALVES

Safety Valves

Safety Valve safety Valve is a type of valve that automatically actuates

when the pressure of inlet side of the valve increases to a predetermined pressure,
to open the valve disc and discharge the fluid ( steam or gas ) ; and when the
pressure decreases to the prescribed value, to close the valve disc again. Safety
valve is so-called a final safety device which controls the pressure and discharges
certain amount of fluid by itself without any electric power support.
Safety Valve is mainly installed in a chemical plant, electric power boiler,
gas storage tank, preventing the pressure vessels from exploding or damaging.
When the container pressure exceeds the design requirements, the safety
valve automatically opens; the escaping gas reduces internal over pressure, to
prevent the container or pipeline damage. And when the internal pressure reduces
to normal operating pressure, the container automatically shuts down to avoid
over-pressure exhaust all the gas, lead to waste and production suspension. It is
mainly composed by the seat, disc (valve core) and the loading mechanism.

Control Valves
Control valves are valves used to control conditions such
as flow, pressure, temperature, and liquid level by fully or partially opening or
closing in response to signals received from controllers that compare a "setpoint"
to a "process variable" whose value is provided by sensors that monitor changes in
such conditions.
The positioner is a device mounted on a control valve that receives control
signal from a DCS or any host system. The signal can be a 4-
20mA/HART/Fieldbus, etc. The positioner receives the signal and understands the
desired (target) position of the valve.
E.g.,A positioner working on a 4-20mA signal range receives a
12mA means the valve has to be positioned at 50% open. Without a positioner, the
valve might not be positioned at 50% due to several factors such as fluid forces,
friction, etc. The positioner sends pressure to the actuator in order to position the
valve at 50%. The positioner is also physically connected with the valve stem, so it
receives feedback about the current position of the valve. Based on the feedback,
the positioner adjusts the output to the actuator if required. In short, the ultimate
function of the positioner is to ensure that the desired opening of the valve is
achieved in response to the control signal received from the host system.

Solenoid Valves:
Solenoid valves are used for quick controlling (or to trip a system).
Normally they are used when an emergency control in flow is to done. Solenoid
valves are much faster than other valves.
A solenoid valve is the combination of a basic solenoid and mechanical
valve. So a solenoid valve has two parts namely- Electrical solenoid, mechanical
valve.
Solenoid converts electrical energy to mechanical energy and this energy is
used to operate a mechanical valve that is to open, close or to adjust in a position.
When the coil is energized , the resulting magnetic field pulls the plunger to the
middle of the coil. The magnetic force is unidirectional a spring is required to
return the plunger to its un energized position.

Radar Level Transmitters

Radar Level Transmitters are used to measure the level of a liquid, in a

huge tank, mostly a storage tank than a process tank .
Radar level instruments measure the distance from the
Transmitter/sensor to the surface of a process material located
further below. Radar level instruments use radio waves which
are electromagnetic in with very high frequency in the
microwave frequency range. Radar level instruments use an
antenna to broadcast or send radio signals to the process liquid
whose level is to be determined.

To measure the level of a liquid or solid, radar signals

are transmitted from the antenna of a radar instrument located at the top of a tank
or vessel. The pulse radar sends out a microwave signal that bounces off the
product surface and returns
to the gauge. The transmitter measures the time delay between the transmitted and
received echo signal and the onboard microprocessor calculates the distance to the
liquid surface. To calculate liquid level, the transmitter is programmed with the
reference gauge height of the application usually the bottom of the tank or
chamber. The liquid level is then calculated by the microprocessor in the
transmitter.
 Temperature Measuring Instruments

Resistance Temperature Detectors (RTDs)

Resistance Temperature Detectors are sensors that measure
temperature by correlating the resistance of the RTD element with temperature.
Most RTD elements consist of a length of fine coiled wire wrapped around a
ceramic or glass core. The RTD element is constructed from a pure material, the
resistance of which, at various temperatures, has been documented .The material
has a predictable change in resistance as the temperature varies; it is this change
that is used to determine temperature. RTDs are generally considered to be among
the most accurate temperature sensors available. RTDs also provide high
immunity to electrical noise and are, therefore, well suited for applications in
process and industrial automation environments, especially around motors,
generators and other high voltage equipment. However, they have a small
temperature range.

Thermocouple Based Temperature Detectors

A thermocouple consists of two dissimilar metals, joined together at one
end. When the junction of the two metals is cooled or heated a voltage is produced
that can be correlated back to the temperature. Since thermocouples measure wide
temperature ranges and are relatively rugged, they are very often used demanding
industrial automation and process control applications. In selecting a
thermocouple, the following criteria are key considerations:
Temperature range
Chemical resistance of the thermocouple or sheath material
Abrasion and vibration resistance
Installation requirements (may need to be compatible with existing
equipment;existing holes may determine probe diameter)
 Pressure Transmitters

A pressure transducer, often called a pressure transmitter, is a

transducer that converts pressure into an analog electrical signal. Although there
are various types of pressure transducers, one of the most common is the strain-
gage base transducer.

The conversion of pressure into an electrical signal is achieved

by the physical deformation of strain gages which are bonded into the diaphragm
of the pressure transducer and wired into a Wheatstone bridge configuration.
Pressure applied to the pressure transducer produces a deflection of the diaphragm
which introduces strain to the gages. The strain will produce an electrical
resistance change proportional to the pressure. The converted electrical signal is in
the range of 4 -20 ma.

Key Note :

All the instruments are configured to have a 4-20ma current signal or 1-5 v
as the output. Since a 4-20mA signal is least affected by electrical noise and
resistance in the signal wires, these transducers are best used when the signal must
be transmitted long distances. It is not uncommon to use these transducers in
applications where the lead wire must be 1000 feet or more.
While the operating voltage is device specific, most of the devices use 24V
DC or 110v DC as input voltage.
 DISTRIBUTED CONTROL SYSYTEM DCS

Distributed control systems (DCSs) are dedicated systems used to

control manufacturing processes that are continuous or batch-oriented, such as oil
refining, petrochemicals, central station power generation, fertilizers,
pharmaceuticals, food and beverage manufacturing, cement production,
steelmaking, and papermaking. DCSs are connected to sensors and actuators and
use setpoint control to control the flow of material through the plant. Pressure or
flow measurements are transmitted to the controller, usually through the aid of a
signal conditioning input/output (I/O) device. When the measured variable reaches
a certain point, the controller instructs a valve or actuation device to open or close
until the fluidic flow process reaches the desired setpoint.

The Fertilizers and Chemicals Travancore- FACT plants have

thousands of I/O points and employ very large DCSs. Processes are not limited to
fluidic flow through pipes, but also include measuring, monitoring and controlling
of various parameters like pressure, flow, temperature, etc
 DCS in Ammonium Sulphate(UD) plant -YOKOGAWA CENTUM
CS1000

Since the day it is released ,CENTUM CS 1000 is widely applied in the

plants of oil refinery, petrochemical, chemistry, iron and steel, non-ferrous metal,
metal, cement, paper pulp, food and pharmaceutical industries, and power, gas and
water supply as well as
many other public
utilities.
The excellent
operability and
engineering technique,
and the high reliability
proved by the abundant
actual application results,
guaranteed that the
CENTUM CS 1000 will
continue to play an Figure 1:Source -Yokogawa website
important role in
process industries

System Overview

Information Command Station (ICS)

A station for operating and monitoring the plant process control.

Console Type ICS

A standard type of ICS with extensive capability and high reliability.

Desktop ICS
The ICS on the desktop, the main body, CRT and keyboard are separated.
 PICS
A general-purpose PC used as ICS.

Field Control Station (FCS)

The control unit for plant process control

Node
A remote input and output unit that passes the field signals to FCS control
unit via remote buses.
Engineering Work Station (EWS)
A workstation with engineering capabilities used for system configuration
and system maintenance.

Bus Converter (ABC)

Bus converters are required if a system contains multiple domains or
contains the legacy CENTUM project.

Communication Gateway (ACG)

A communication gateway unit is for linking a supervisory computer to
control bus.

V Net
Real time control bus for linking FCS, ICS and ABC.

E Net
The information LAN of the system for linking ICSs and EWS.

Human Machine Interface

There are 4 panels on the human machine interface -Graphic Panel, Control
Panel, Overview Panel and Trend Panel .
Up to ten panels can be tiled or cascaded on display. Since the panels with the
required information can be promptly switched, the speedy operation and
monitoring becomes possible. By shrinking the size of panels to one fourth, four
panels can be displayed on one screen.
 DCS in Caprolactum (PD) plant- EMERSON DELTA V

Features of Delta V DCS system :

Advanced Control
The DeltaV system enables you to quickly deploy state-of-the-art intelligent
control for improved plant performance, without the implementation and
maintenance problems associated with traditional advanced control systems. With
embedded intelligent control, such as fuzzy logic, model predictive control, and
neural network function blocks, advanced applications can be implemented with
minimal effort.
DATA INTEGRATION
Device Integration:
The DeltaV system enables your plant and maintenance team to easily monitor
field device health status. Based on real-time diagnostics from intelligent field
devices, your staff can respond quickly and make informed decisions to prevent
unexpected shutdowns. Integrated machinery protection and prediction deliver
critical feedback on the health of your plants rotating machinery asset.

Enterprise Integration:
Ready access to continuous and event historical process information is
critical to operating, analyzing, and optimizing your plant. This collected
information also needs to be available to applications beyond the control system
boundaries, such as laboratory information and enterprise resource planning (ERP)
systems. The DeltaV system integrates via standard-based open communications
enabling control data to be provided to the experts who need it, anywhere.
ENGINEERINGHARDWARE
Controllers:
The DeltaV controllers provide communication and control between the field
devices and the other nodes on the control network. These powerful controllers
have embedded intelligent control to optimize your loops all the time. The S-
series controllers have all the features of the M-series controllers with the added
support for electronic marshalling and the wireless I/O card.
 DeltaV Operate gives operators an intuitive view into the process
with easy, one click access to alarm summaries, alarm faceplates, trends, display
navigation, and online help. DeltaV diagnostics extend not only to the system
components but beyond to cyber security and intelligent deice and machinery
monitoring increasing process uptime and reducing unplanned shutdowns.

Figure 2:Image Source -Emerson DCS website

Key Note: Similarly, the Captive Power Plant CPP(PD) uses ABB DCS
and ammonia plant (UD) uses TATA Honeywell DCS, working in a similar
manner as in the above mentioned DCSs.