Process as used in the terms process control and process industry, refers to the methods of changing or refining raw

materials to create end products. The raw materials, which either pass through or remain in a liquid, gaseous, or slurry (a mix of solids and liquids) state during the process, are transferred, measured, mixed, heated or cooled, filtered, stored, or handled in some other way to produce the end product.
The following industries are examples of process industries:

Chemical Oil and gas refining Food and beverage Pharmaceutical Water treatment Power

Process control refers to the methods that are used to control process variables when manufacturing a product. For example, factors such as the proportion of one ingredient to another, the temperature of the materials, how well the ingredients are mixed, and the pressure under which the materials are held can significantly impact the quality of an end product.
Manufacturers control the production process for several reasons, including:
Reduce variability Increase efficiency/throughput Ensure health, safety, and the environment

A process variable is a condition of the process fluid (a liquid or gas) that can change the manufacturing process in some way. In the example of sitting by the fire, the process variable was temperature.
Common process variables include:

Pressure Flow Level Temperature Density Ph (acidity or alkalinity) Oxygen content Carbon monoxide content Liquid interface (the relative amounts of different liquids that are combined in a vessel [e.g., in a mix of oil and water, how much oil is in the tank and how much water is in the tank]) Mass Conductivity

Pneumatic Control (1950) Analog Controllers (1960) PLC Control (1970) DCS - Distributed Control Systems (1975 ) Smart Field Instruments (1985 ) Fieldbus Control Systems (1996 )

Simple control scheme Local control in the field Difficult for sophisticated control scheme Difficult for central monitoring of process

Standalone controller/transducers/control valves Analog controllers are located in a central control room Distributed control & monitoring High cost of cabling Large central monitoring panel for large number of controllers Difficult to implement control algorithms other than PID Difficult for coordination of control loops

Programmable Logical Control Mainly for discrete control (ON/OFF) Simple continuous control Faster response - system shut & emergency shut down

Digital components are less susceptible to aging & environmental variations Digital components are more reliable & less sensitive to:
parameter variations noise Disturbance

Digital processors are more compact & lightweight Single chip microprocessor are versatile, flexible and powerful for different control applications The cost of microprocessors is continuously going down

DDC - Direct Digital Control DCS - Distributed Control Systems

Central Computer 64 - 128 loops per computer PID algorithm Centralized : control, monitoring, danger Long cables - high cost A simple replacement of analog controllers

Distributed computers/controllers 8 loops per controller Function blocks in controllers : PID, ratio, select control Continuous control + discrete control Local controllers : savings in cabling, distributed control, distributed danger Centralized monitoring : digital communication Advanced control, customized control & plant management

Analog field instrument carries one piece of information (4-20 mA) Signal calibration is done by field instruments Digital pulse signal to replace 4-20 mA Diagnostic signal is transmitted by a digital signal together with 4-20 mA HART Protocol Always one-to-one communication

The logical step improving on the familiar DCS

even more distributed control

Digital : replaces 4-20 mA signal Replaces the DCS architecture

function even more digital field devices