Any chemical reaction from combustion in an engine to a process in an industrial reactor is heavily dependent on temperature. If too low the reaction slows down, and if too high the compounds may decompose and undesired reactions could occur. Inexpensive temperatures switches and control systems make it easy for any manufacturer to maintain ideal reaction conditions.

Old Control Methods

It wasn't that long ago that chemical processes were regulated by eye. Operators would visually inspect the systems and make changes accordingly. If temperature was dropping, the twist of a valve would send more steam into a heat exchanger to heat up incoming components. If things got too hot, input flows could be reduced to slow down the reactions and let the vessel bleed off some heat.

Because human reactions were slow, vessels had to be maintained with a significant safety margin. Unfortunately the difference between an efficient reaction and a runaway reaction can be just a few degrees Celsius. Operators were forced to run reactions at much lower temperatures than was efficient to give them time to respond to changing conditions inside the vessel.

Computerized Control Increases Efficiency

As computers became smaller, cheaper and more powerful they revolutionized the chemical processing industry. Temperature switches hooked to electronic controls allowed the system to regulate itself. Input changes could be made faster than human operators could react.

This means processes today can be run at higher temperatures. Runaway reactions can be quenched in fractions of a second as a temperature switch triggers safety protocols. By the time an operator is notified of the problem, the issue has been dealt with and the danger has passed. Operators no longer have to obsess about small changes in the manufacturing process, instead taking an overall view of plant administration. Twenty years ago a reaction running at 90% efficiency would have been exceptional. Today, the same reaction running at 99% efficiency may be hopelessly inefficient.

Process Control Is Not An Expensive Process

Although comprehensive process control systems used to be out of the reach of small operators, today any chemical process can be monitored with inexpensive, off the shelf technology. Whether it's as simple as a temperature switch that activates quenching actions if a reaction runs to hot, or as complex as a system with thousands of sensors monitored by sophisticated software, modern process control is within the reach of any company.

Modern controls are an investment in improved efficiency. If a few temperature switches can increase processing output, the equipment can pay for itself in a few months or even a few days. As engineers and technicians zero in on sweet spots in different stages of processing, efficiency can be improved even further as the control system grows more sophisticated.

Whether you want to start small or implement a comprehensive control system, improve your industrial processes by adding more sensors to your plant.