Nouryon and Semiotic Labs partnership will improve plant reliability

Semiotic Labs

NOURYON has signed a framework agreement with Semiotic Labs to implement technology that will predict when maintenance is required on pumps and other equipment.

Semiotic Labs was one of the winners of Nouryon’s 2018 Imagine Chemistry competition, which aims to encourage collaborative innovation. Nouryon has now signed a framework agreement with Semiotic Labs to use its technology at its plants. Semiotic’s self-learning technology uses electrical waveforms to accurately predict upcoming maintenance required on rotating equipment such as pumps, compressors, and conveyors. The technology can predict 90% of the upcoming maintenance up to five months in advance. This allows time to repair or replace equipment during planned maintenance, rather than having an unexpected interruption to production when equipment fails. The technology will improve reliability of supply and process safety.   

Marco Waas, Director R&D and Technology Industrial Chemicals at Nouryon, said: “Working with startups like Semiotic Labs allows us to tap into novel technologies that can provide significant benefits. Our customers rely on us for a reliable supply of essential raw materials and this predictive maintenance solution can greatly help improve the performance of our plants, while decreasing cost.”

Simon Jagers, Founder at Semiotic Labs, said: “Since the Imagine Chemistry challenge in 2018, we have been working together on a pilot programme to test and improve our technology. I am very pleased to see it making a difference in real-life production settings and look forward to the further rollout in partnership with Nouryon.”

The technology is already in use at Nouryon’s chlorine plant in Ibbenbüren, Germany, and will be rolled out to seven other European sites. The waveform analysis will also be further developed to look at ways to reduce CO₂ emissions, with large-scale implementations planned for early 2020.