The chemical industry faces a dual challenge – the increasing global demand for chemicals pressurises manufacturers to increase production- while the ongoing climate and environmental crises require urgent attention and action from every manufacturer. Striking a balance between these two seemingly diverging directions would require conserving resources with increasing production efficiency to improve the bottom line while meeting climate and sustainability goals.
Constant global disruptions from the pandemic to regional conflicts and subsequent market effects, including supply chain volatilities, inflation, and energy security challenges, have profoundly impacted the chemical industry. In response, organisations across the sector, from bulk chemicals producers to specialty chemicals manufacturers have accelerated efforts to become more efficient. Digitisation is key to gain operational visibility and to take practical actions. Even though it has been years since the industry embarked on a digitisation journey, based on a 2022 EY report the speed of digitisation grew by 56% post pandemic. Investments in the Middle East region are projected to surpass $74 billion by 2026, helping organisations achieve long-term stability and growth.
Digital solutions key to bottomline & achieving net-zero
Digitisation helps chemical manufacturers across a wide range of operational areas including, asset design and optimisation, supply chain management, and improving energy efficiency. Integrated planning and scheduling tools, for example, can help chemical producers continue to remain profitable even in the face of ongoing market disruptions. PTT Global chemical, a major producer of olefins and aromatics, leveraged AspenTech solution to choose most profitable feedstock, production plan and products to maximise created value.
Digital twins provide another practical tool to maximise resource efficiency in chemical manufacturing. Creating a digital twin can help identify opportunities across an entire site to enhance energy efficiency without a requirement for capital investment. For example, LG Chem used Aspen Plus and Aspen Energy Analyzer to create a digital twin of their 900K ton/year ethylene plant in Daesan, Korea. An energy analysis identified about 60 energy savings opportunities. After reviewing commercial and operational feasibility, 20 of these opportunities were selected for further consideration and implementation. These changes resulted in 3-4 percent overall plant energy reduction, with an estimated $10M USD/year in additional profits for the plant. Digital twins can also facilitate monitoring emissions at the equipment level, locating emission sources, and helping to validate and reconcile site-wide data that can be used for reporting and decision-making purposes.
One way for large chemical manufacturers to improve energy efficiency is through active utilities management. Digital solutions like advanced process control (APC) combined with digital twins provide visibility and control over utilities operations, emission levels, and opportunities to minimise them. APC has been used across the asset-intensive industries for many years now to enhance process efficiency. By using AI and machine learning (ML) to solve nonlinear problems, the latest AspenTech APC tools learn from historic performance of the plant and enable users to optimise for desired economic and operational variables.
Tackling the needs of the circular economy
Achieving net-zero for chemical companies cannot happen in silos. They also require partnership across the chemicals value chain. Lower or eliminating fossil fuel use will depend on coordinated efforts to minimise waste and to create the circular economy through which postconsumer waste, alternative fuels, advanced recycled materials, and clean hydrogen substitute and replace the need for non-renewable fuel sources.
Millions of tons of hazardous materials are produced annually by chemical plants and little is recycled. In its “Winning in a Circular Economy” report, Accenture details that of the 140 million tons of chemical products consumed in Europe each year, only 9 million tons became available in recyclable waste streams The report also explains that almost 70% of the material consumed is neither accessible for recovery nor recycle since the chemicals are either dispersed in the environment or unable to be separated from the final product.
Innovative strategies are fundamental for chemical companies to progress toward the circular economy goals and digital technologies are critical to accelerate this effort. A recent study conducted by the ARC Industry Forum, polling the opinions of chemicals industry manufacturers indicated complex supply chains, lack of proven technologies, inconsistent regulatory policies, and a lack of economic viability are the most significant barriers to achieving the circular economy goals. However, 75 percent of respondents surveyed said they believe digital capabilities are essential to tackle the need for sustainability and the challenges of the circular economy.
Digital solutions can play an essential role to help advance the circular economy. Innovative supply chain solutions, for example, can help companies to better integrate post-consumer materials into their value chains while advanced process control (APC) technologies are helping to lower energy use and flaring in production processes. When it comes to designing new technologies, process engineering tools help designers quickly screen a variety of alternatives to select the most viable and cost-effective option with the smallest carbon footprint.
AI is increasingly used to support circular economy goals. Relying on AI, asset performance management (APM) and predictive and prescriptive maintenance tools help to improve asset reliability and reduce process degradation in operations. Chemical manufacturers are also increasingly embracing the use of AI-driven models to design otherwise complicated systems (e.g. reaction schemes) to increase yield and productivity. Together, all these solutions create more efficient and sustainable operations.
The time is now for digitisation
The chemical industry is leveraging digital solutions more than ever before. Digital solutions are increasingly proving their worth when it comes to minimising the carbon footprint of the sector’s activities and also improving resource efficiency. As a result, they are successfully driving value across every section of the chemicals value chain from design to supply chain, production, reliability, and maintenance.