Control Engineering

Last week after I did the posting about ExxonMobil's advertising for the Olympics, I made some phone calls and managed to talk to Truman Bell, who is the program chair for the company's diversity and education efforts. We recorded a podcast that is now available for you to hear. As I was thinking about the questions to ask, I realized I was preoccupied with the TV spots and wasn't thinking about what's behind them.

The TV spots aren't there to fill the skills gap. They're a bit of corporate advertising to remind people that ExxonMobil is doing all these things. It's the things that matter most. As you'll hear from Bell in the pod...Read More

Comments (0)

If you live in the eastern third of the U.S., you might recall that last week was the fifth anniversary of the great 2003 blackout. Yes, it was August 14, 2003 when more than 50 million people had their lights go out. The question is, did we learn anything from that incident? Is that sort of thing less likely to happen today? According to an article in USA Today, the answer to both is a qualified "yes," however there is still more to do.

The sophistication of grid control has improved significantly, and this depends heavily on industrial automation. (Hopefully there's a back-up power supply.) Utilities have made major investments in the control infrastructure that have improved its resilience.

The most ...Read More

Comments (0)

The decline in driving in the U.S. continues, according to an AP story. In June, Americans drove 12.2 billion fewer miles than in 2007. That's a 4.7% decrease. That still seems low to me, and there are probably (hopefully) greater reductions to come.

If you read this blog with any regularity, you will recall that I managed to ride my bike to work one Saturday just to see if it could be done. I suggested then that I would try it again on a weekday. If you've been waiting for a report on that, here it is: Since that Saturday (August 2) I have ridden my bike three times, (August 7, 11, 14) including today. I believe my initial estimates of the total distance may be a bit overstated, as the bike path offers something of a crow-flys advantage. A more accura...Read More

Comments (0)

In spite of the floods in Iowa earlier this summer, corn harvests are still projected to be near records, and the amount of corn used to make ethanol will be the highest ever. The Chicago Tribune published a comprehensive article this morning that provides a thorough look at the industry. Let's unpack those facts for a moment and consider what it all means.

First, the crop prediction: The U.S. Agriculture Department says the harvest is expected to deliver 12.3 billion bushels, more than anticipated even last month. That figure is slightly below the record harvest of 2007.

Second, where that corn will go: Traditionally, most corn is used for animal feed with a much smaller amount used for food and seed purposes. Over the last...Read More

Comments (0)

I suppose when you have as much money as ExxonMobil, you can use it to do things that are useful to your industry. (One of the most beneficial in my thinking would be to buy stuff from Control Engineering advertisers and say you're doing it because of the ads. Just a thought.) Anyway, last Friday evening my wife and I were watching the Olympics opening ceremonies and one of the numerous advertisers was ExxonMobil talking about how they encourage math and science education to ensure the next generation of engineers.

The company's Website doesn't show the specific commercial, but this one will give you the idea. I only saw the commercial once, but I think Kenneth Le...Read More

Comments (1)

Yesterday the U.S. EPA made a pronouncement that the requirement for mixing ethanol with gasoline will remain. This comes in spite of objections from food producers who claim the requirement is causing serious resource displacements and driving up the cost of many food products, particularly beef and chicken. Of course, grain farmers are certainly happy as this helps support the price of corn and ultimately all cereal crops.

Mixing ethanol with gasoline has been going on for some time, but the scale is increasing. In 2004, the EPA says we used 3.5 billion gallons of biofuels, mostly corn-based ethanol, but also some biodiesel. The ethanol plan for 2008 was to use 5.4 billion gallons, but last December, the EPA cranked up the minimum to 9 billion gallons. Fulf...Read More

Comments (1)

Congress has been in something of an upheaval lately as members try to go on vacation. Nancy Pelosi has been keeping a vote on new domestic drilling off the house floor, although she may have to let it happen due to heavy political pressure. There has been much on the editorial pages lately about the matter. Columnist Charles Krauthammer has the right idea in my opinion.

Voices throughout the U.S. are pushing for more extensive domestic drilling to help relieve oil cost pressure. The question on many lips is why h...Read More

Comments (0)

As I consider ways to reduce energy use, one of the things that I keep thinking about is my daily commute to work. I live on the north side of Glen Ellyn, which means my drive to work in Oak Brook is about 12 miles each way of suburban surface streets. So let's say for the sake of argument that my commute consumes about a gallon of gas for the round trip.

I have a bicycle, which I haven't ridden much over the last decade and probably longer. It's an ancient Schwinn Continental 10-speed that I bought at the Wheaton police auction in 1982 or so. When I was a teenager, that was regarded as a very nice bike, and well outside my price range. So when I was able to get one for less than $50 with a fairly large frame at the auction, I grabbed it. After all these years, the...Read More

Comments (1)

This morning the Chicago Tribune asked a question that's been on my mind. Will we return to our old gas guzzling ways if the price of oil begins to decline? If history is any indicator, the answer is yes, in a heartbeat. The question is, where is the tipping point?

If the price of oil stabilizes in the $125 per barrel range, we can expect gas pump prices around $4.00 per gallon, maybe even a bit less. That might be enough to keep people in line and the consumption curve could still continue its slow decline. But what happens if gas prices drop to $3.50? Or $3.00? Will all our attempts to reduce consumption and develop alternatives fall by the wayside as they did in the 1970's and 1980's? Will Escalades and Hummers come back with a vengeance?...Read More

Comments (0)

Earlier this week I received a press release that a coal-to-liquid plant is going to be built in Benwood, West Virginia. This project is valued at $800 million and is being funded by CONSOL Energy, Synthesis Energy Systems (SES), and the Regional Economic Development Project.

Just in case this technology doesn't ring any bells for you, it's a process by which coal is partially burned under controlled conditions in a gasifier. All solids are converted except for a small amount of ash. The result is syngas, a mixture including: hydrogen, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, water vapor, methane, and traces of hydrogen sulfide and other impurities. The gas is clean and essentially free of tars and oils.

The syngas can be con...Read More

Comments (1)

The Siemens Automation Summit has drawn to a close in Chicago, and the exiderdome will soon set sail on its tour of the U.S., which will last well into 2009. Unfortunately, things got off to a slow start delayed by weather and Chicago's famous trade show related bureaucracy. You can read about it's arrival and what happened during the summit in our multi-publication coverage.

I suspect anyone who has ever set up a trade show booth in McCormick Place can share stories about having to deal with the union regulations and labor policies that have driven many events from the city. My ...Read More

Comments (0)

You should check out this article from our sister publication, Design News. For a mere $10 grand, you can have your own E-Fuel 100, a mini brewery capable of making fuel grade ethanol. This device is a truly fascinating bit of technology. You really have your own process plant in a box that can ferment sugar and then extract the ethanol, or you can load it with old booze and extract the ethanol from that.

The process by which it separates water and ethanol is particularly interesting. It does not use distillation, but something that sounds similar to reverse osmosis. The article suggests that the process is not suitable for large scale installations, but that might merit...Read More

Comments (0)