The chemical industry requires precise and automated temperature control of its operating materials. This reduces the risk of production downtime caused by incorrect heating. The DENIOS Heating Box increases process reliability and quality through IoT technologies and cloud connectivity via the NB IoT wireless standard.
It was developed by DENIOS, a specialist for environmental services and the safe handling of hazardous materials. Together with its development partner EXOR, a specialist in the digital industry, the industrial heating chamber with automatic process regulation was created.
The challenge: temperature control as a quality factor
Chemical reactions proceed safely and deliver the desired result only within specific temperature ranges. Many chemicals and substances do not have the correct consistency at room temperature. For reliable further processing, they must be heated in a targeted manner. Errors in heating can bring production facilities to a standstill. Often, time consuming cleaning becomes necessary, which generates additional costs. Moreover, chemical companies must demonstrate to clients or authorities that specified temperature ranges have been maintained.
To meet these requirements, the chemical industry needs heating chambers that operate with warm air. These are enclosed rooms or containers in which vessels containing liquids or solids, as well as individual metal or plastic parts, are placed. Such chambers come in different sizes, since chemical operations use various types of containers. For example, standardized steel drums with a capacity of 200 liters or standard IBC containers with a capacity of 1000 liters, made of plastic or metal.
High demands on the control system
The basic principle of an industrial heating chamber may sound simple, yet the requirements placed on these machines are demanding.
A heating chamber must …
- … maintain the selected temperature parameters with precision.
- … keep the temperature consistent long enough for example until the core temperature of larger containers or components meets the specifications.
- … record temperature profiles so users can document compliance with requirements set by clients or regulatory bodies.
- … be remotely controllable and send data to a central application to enable easy integration into digital processes.
The challenges at a glance
- Chemical processes require precise temperature control
- Downtime and additional costs caused by incorrect heating
- Digital documentation required
- Integration into digital processes needed
The solution: an IoT solution for automated heating
IoT technologies equip the Heating Box with digital intelligence. Control and regulation take place not only directly on site, but also remotely. IoT components continuously monitor and record temperature profiles.
Operation and integration of the Heating Box
The DENIOS Heating Box is an industrial heating chamber operated through a modern HMI from EXOR. This HMI from the eSmart series features a 7 inch touchscreen, a 32 bit CPU, runs on Embedded Linux and is certified for the chemical industry (ATEX Zone 2). A compact PLC is also used to regulate the internal warm air systems. Through EXOR’s development environment, data from the PLC can be read, preprocessed and used for visualization with ease. Further processing and storage then take place on a cloud platform operated by the customer.
The Heating Box operates fully autonomously. Each unit is equipped with a router and its own SIM card, which removes the need for complex integration into the company network. Data is stored locally on the HMI and can be viewed directly there. At the same time, the Box transmits the information to a cloud platform. A middleware layer handles further processing and enables additional functions such as reporting, exporting and integration into customer systems.
NB IoT as a communication standard
Connectivity is not established through the conventional mobile network. Instead, the SIM card uses the device network Narrowband IoT, abbreviated NB-IoT. This is a wireless standard developed specifically for the Internet of Things. NB-IoT belongs to the category of Low Power Wide Area Networks, LPWAN, and is part of the LTE, 4G, and 5G mobile standards.
NB-IoT signals can penetrate deep into buildings or even underground. The network also offers very long range and low data rates. NB-IoT is not designed for large volumes of data such as videos or images. It is intended for short status messages, measurements or control commands. This keeps energy use low, and batteries can last for many years.
Secure and reliable data transmission
In the chemical industry, data volumes are manageable and temperature values change only slowly. For this reason, the HMI sends data only once per minute via NB-IoT. The data is first stored locally on the HMI and can be viewed directly on the display.
At the same time, the data is transmitted to the cloud via the router. This redundancy ensures that no data is lost. In the cloud, a middleware layer handles further processing before the results appear in a web application. The cloud also offers additional functions such as export and further processing.
The result: greater efficiency and quality assurance
The DENIOS Heating Box automates processes in the chemical industry. By using the heating chamber in a targeted way, production stops can be avoided. Temperature conditioning becomes predictable and reliable. Production downtime caused by insufficiently heated materials is effectively eliminated.
At the same time, the Heating Box meets rising demands for quality assurance and regulatory documentation. Customers benefit from increased process reliability and can depend on stable operations. The Heating Box keeps things simple. No complex integrations are needed. Each unit has its own SIM card, which makes it fully autonomous.
Summary of results
- Automatisierte und planbare Temperierung
- Prevention of production interruptions
- Reliable compliance with regulatory requirements
- Easy integration enabled by cloud connectivity
