Many industries are moving towards automation and the chemical industry is no different. Chemical plants are using robots to increase productivity and precision while also removing workers from difficult and hazardous tasks. In modern plants, mundane and repetitive tasks are already automated.
Chemical industry robots
Credit: Suwin/Shutterstock
Industrial Robots Take Over Mundane Tasks
There’s one job that’s quickly being filled with robot workers across many industries. It may not sound exciting, but robots make terrific security guards/surveillance machines. They’re always alert, always on the move, and are unbiased in their checks. Even an honest worker can have difficulty staying alert and focused as a security guard. But from night watchmen to license plate verifiers in parking lots, robots can patrol endlessly and tirelessly, ready to instantly sound the alarm.
For chemical plants, this is a simple switch with a lot of added benefits. The initial investment could seem large, but reduced man-hours offer a quick return on investment. In addition, mobile robots like these can easily be equipped with sensors to get more out of their rounds. Some are being used to measure and map contaminants in the air or on the ground, for example, offering additional functionality to a traditionally simple job.
One place that automation has already largely taken over is packaging. Finishing a product requires bottling or bagging it, labelling it, and preparing it for shipping. These assembly-line style processes are an obvious place for industrial robotics. Machines handle these types of tasks faster and more precisely than people and work non-stop. Plants with automated packaging lines can prepare more of their product in a smaller space, but they also save by avoiding human error.
Robots Do Work That People Can’t
As robotics technology advances and becomes more affordable, new possibilities are being discovered to complete work that wasn’t possible before. For example, robots are being used in chemical plants for inspections that couldn’t be done before or would have been too expensive. They’re cheap enough to run on a regular schedule and can be found in any shape or size you need to inspect where people can’t.
Drones have made it possible to do aerial visual inspections of stacks while they’re still operating at high temperatures, a task that specialised workers can only do while the plant is completely shut down.
Thermal inspection is another example. A small robot or drone can scan pipelines, chemical equipment, and electrical systems with thermal imaging cameras to catch leaks or breaches before a major emergency occurs. This includes narrow, high or other hard to reach places that people would have difficulty getting too.
Small robots are even coming onto the market equipped with suction-cup tracks, ready to climb the walls of processing and storage tanks in search of cracks and damage to chemical-resistant linings or to check that the thickness of the walls is up to specifications.
Chemical Manufacturing Robots Move People Out of Harm’s Way
Work in chemical plants can involve extreme heat and cold, heavy lifting and toxic materials. In many of these places, robots are stepping into roles that people used to fill.
Industrial tank cleaning is one place that chemical plants are putting robots to work and putting their workers somewhere else. Tank cleaning is one of the most hazardous jobs in the industry. Workers descend through small entrances into sealed chambers where chemicals have been stored to remove chemical residues so strong that they could melt the rubber on their boots. The tanks can be very hot or cold and contain toxic or asphyxiating gases. Robots don’t mind. They’re indifferent to the atmosphere they work in, and their metal surfaces can be cleaned after they’re removed from the tank. Robots wield tools which would be too heavy or powerful for human operators, spraying walls and surfaces at high pressures and vacuuming liquids at high rates through large tubes.
Robotic tank cleaning is also ideal for harsh conditions or handling hazardous materials. Anywhere that fumes, vapours or dust are released, robots are taking over. Material refining processes can call for furnaces running at thousands of degrees. In the past, workers battled extreme heat, noxious fumes and heavy tools to get the job done. Now, specially shielded robots are doing the task, using large tools and moving huge loads with great precision.
Benefits of Using Robots in Chemical Plants
When chemical plant operators move to robots, they’re usually looking for improvement in one area. The ability to work with a certain material, a larger load, more precision. After the switch, they often discover other positive effects. When robots move heavy loads, it opens opportunities for operators who wouldn’t have been able to do that physical labor. When robots take over with hazardous tasks, workers’ health improves. When machines move materials more precisely, dust and other pollutants can be reduced, making a cleaner, safer workplace for everyone. Often, workers that previously handled simpler tools, are able to move up to more intellectually stimulating work.
The chemical industry is on a path toward automation and workers and owners alike stand to benefit. Robots offer higher efficiency while keeping people away from the most hazardous work.
The author, Adrian Brito, is writing on behalf of Ecorobotics.
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