Successful Use of Digital Twin Technology and Advanced Control to Optimize Industrial Energy Systems

Modern technology has provided chemical and petrochemical plants with the option of using Digital Twins in their day-to-day operations. Indeed, Digital Twins can nearly perfectly replicate plant dynamics in a virtual environment when first-principle models are used during the design phase. And, once developed, they can be incorporated into several of the plant’s strategic goals: safety, reliability, training, profitability and carbon footprint reduction.

This paper will present a few examples of the use of Digital Twins on industrial energy systems:

• Increase reliability and safety by testing and commissioning critical assets (BMS, island shedding logic, Advanced Controls, etc.)
• Implementation of Advanced Controls to stabilize and optimize operation
• Improve a facility’s carbon footprint by implementing a Dynamic Energy Management System
• Improve operator training using a Digital Twin.