CAREER OPPORTUNITIES

Automation improves personal effectiveness

while reducing drudgery "The term automation" says one De­partment of Labor official with un­disguised feeling, "is a hopeless semantic jungle." Most everyone would agree. The term has so many different connotations to so many dif­ferent people that it has long ceased to have any clear-cut meaning.

One industry man defines automa­tion very loosely as any way of doing things better with machines. Some­one else describes it as the use of highly automatic devices. One writer describes automation as the use of advanced mechanical devices, es­pecially in combination with self-regu­lating controls and/or high-speed computers. Others think of automa­tion as the control of processes exclu­sively by computers—although many people believe this should properly be called computerized automation. The latest Webster's dictionary elegantly defines automation as the "automati­cally controlled operation of an ap-

A symbol of advancing automation, this high-speed computer is being built at IBM's Poughkeepsiey N.Y., plant. Com­puters of this type can carry out as many as 8 million additions a minute

paratus, process, or system by me­chanical or electronic devices that take the place of human organs of observa­tion, effort, and decision."

Especially among labor groups, the term admittedly has come into bad repute. To some people today, auto­mation is a fear second only to the fear of nuclear holocaust. Discussing the fierce anxiety struck in the hearts of many people by automation and particularly by computers, Patrick Ryan, a British author, writes in the New Scientist, "A computer performs its mathematical miracles in secret, thus adding fear of the inexplicable to fear of the omniscient. And it is but logical in folklore that so prodigi­ous a work-eater will make millions of honest pen-pushers unemployed, tak­ing over their jobs with one electronic claw and handing them their [dismis­sal] cards with another."

Certainly, most chemists and chem­ical engineers would agree that auto­mation is opening up vast opportuni­ties for leading more productive, more creative lives. Automation is making it possible for them to solve scientific and engineering problems that, for all

practical purposes, could never be solved before. It is taking the mo­notony and drudgery out of many forms of laboratory work and many complex scientific and engineering calculations. It is making it possible for chemical engineers to design plants that operate at previously unheard-of efficiencies. And it is placing many plant processes for the first time on a sound scientific footing.

Effects on Employment

Will automation reduce the demand for chemists and chemical engineers? Most observers answer with a resound­ing no. If anything, they say, auto­mation is likely to increase the de­mand. The development of auto­mated plant processes, for example, requires much more basic knowledge of chemical reaction mechanisms, re­action rates, mass transfer, heat trans­fer, and other factors than was ever needed before in plant design. Chem­ists and chemical engineers will be called upon to provide this mounting volume of essential scientific knowl­edge. Also, since automation, es-

pecially the computer, encourages the deeper, more comprehensive analysis of plant design, the engineer may end up doing more work, rather than less.

On the other hand, some chemical technicians may find that part of their work load is eliminated by the new, automated analytical instruments. Technicians will have to learn new skills to oversee the operation of these instruments. But the need for tech­nicians will still be great.

The effects of automation on the employment of plant personnel in the chemical industry are expected to be relatively slight. One reason is that most chemical plants have long used automatic, labor-saving devices.

Impact on Chemical Profession

Automation, it can safely be said, is having a profound impact on the lives of chemists and chemical engi­neers. It is changing the types of work they do and the skills they need. It is increasing their efficiency and enlarging their professional capabili­ties. To a marked degree, it is chang­ing their basic outlook on chemical re­search and chemical plant operation.

In their daily work, chemists and chemical engineers may encounter automation in several different areas:

• The use of highly automatic devices in the laboratory and in the plant—devices that may or may not involve computers.

• The use of computers in data processing—to solve an endless array of mathematical problems in research and engineering.

•The use of computers in informa­tion retrieval.

• The use of computers to control plant operations—directly or indirectly.

• The use of computers to simulate proposed plant processes.

Automation in the Laboratory

At an accelerated pace, automation is moving into the chemical laboratory. Some new devices, for example, not only carry out titrations automatically but also automatically print out the volume of titrant used. Some instru­ments, such as Technicon's AutoAna-lyzer, perform fairly elaborate multi-step analyses of samples for any one of a variety of chemical components at a rate of about 40 to 60 samples an hour—completely automatically.

In more and more laboratories, gas

chromatographs, ultraviolet spectro­photometers, mass spectrometers, and other instruments are being used to­gether with computers that automati­cally read the peaks and print out the chemical analyses. In these and other ways, automation is relieving the lab­oratory man of many dull, routine chores. As a result, he is free to de­vote a larger share of his time to more creative work.

Data Processing

More and more, the research man today is relying on computers to cal­culate his research results. For ex­ample, he is using computers to deter­mine crystalline structures from com­plex x-ray diffraction data. He is us­ing computers to carry out statistical analyses of his data and thus deter­mine the validity of his laboratory results. He is also using computers in designing his experiments more efficiently, so he obtains more com­plete and useful data even though he carries out fewer experiments. By properly planning his research in this way, he may be able to reduce the number of his experiments by 75% or more.

As far as the chemical engineer do­ing design work is concerned, the impact of computers has been phe­nomenal. Before the advent of com­puters, a typical chemical engineer designing a column for complex multi-component distillation might have spent two or three weeks carrying out the laborious plate-to-plate calcula­tions by hand. Because this proce­dure was so time-consuming and tedi­ous, he might have made only one complete design calculation, with per­haps several relatively minor varia­tions. However, now that computers are available that can carry out each complete design calculation in a mat­ter of minutes, he may be able to ex­plore 10, 20, or even 30 alternate possibilities. His final design, there­fore, is likely to be much closer to optimum.

Today, chemical engineers are using computers to design a wide array of plant equipment—distillation columns, heat exchangers, reaction vessels, fil­tration units, control systems, piping networks. In some cases, they are also using computers to design entire chemical plants that operate as a well-integrated whole—an engineering de­sign problem that only a few years ago was generally regarded as stag­

geringly difficult, if not impossible. Chemical engineers are also turning to computers to work out heat bal­ances, material balances, and plant cost estimates.

Information Retrieval

Almost all major chemical compan­ies today are using computers in in­formation retrieval. Computers are greatly facilitating the job of locating information in company reports, tech-

At Celanese's plant in Bay City, Tex., a digital computer system monitors and controls the operations of a petrochemical complex. Seen here are some of the instruments and recorders

nical journals, government reports, books, patents, and other documents.

Computers are increasing markedly the speed and thoroughness of litera­ture searching. At Gulf Research & Development, for example, a com­puter can rapidly search an index of more than 100,000 U.S. patents and answer questions at an average rate of only 1.5 minutes per question.

Among the biggest users of compu­ters for chemical information retrieval is Chemical Abstracts Service. Since 1960, it has been using computers to produce Chemical Titles, published every two weeks. An index to arti­cles in the current issues of 690 U.S. and foreign journals, it lists the key words in the titles of articles alpha­betically and in context for easy scan­ning. CAS is also using computers to develop a registry of chemical com­pounds that by the end of this year

MARCH 14, 196 6 C&EN 13A

will include about 400,000 compounds. Eventually, the registry files, which will be used for structural and sub-structural searches, will provide the basis for a national computerized chemical information service.

Computers in Process Control

Probably the most glamorous use of computers in the chemical industry is in the control of plant processing operations. Computers are being used to collect data from process instru­ments and then calculate and print out the precise adjustments that the op­erator must manually make to improve operating conditions. In some plants, the computers exercise direct control: They themselves make the adjust­ments in the control devices that gov­ern flow rates, temperatures, pressures, and other variables.

The advantages of using computers in direct on-line process control are tremendous. Because they can rapidly and accurately handle massive quanti­ties of data required for decision-mak­ing, computers greatly increase the speed and precision with which proc­essing adjustments are made when operating conditions get out of line. "Compared to a human operator," one chemical engineer explains, "a com­puter is immeasurably more vigilant." As a result, product yields are in­creased, product quality is increased. Also, operating safety is increased.

Many companies say that, by use of process-control computers, they can reduce costs significantly. By in­creasing yields, computers decrease raw material costs for a given volume of output. By producing a consistently high-quality product, they eliminate the cost of reprocessing off-grade ma­terial. By improving plant design, they can often reduce the cost of plant equipment. And by permitting a re­duction in the number of workers re­quired, they can decrease labor costs, although in the chemical industry this effect is usually slight.

Expected Growth

According to a report issued in 1964 by Corplan Associates, a man­agement consulting firm in Chicago, the chemical processing industry in 1963 was using about 350 process-control computers. By 1970, Corplan predicts, the chemical processing in­dustry will be using about 4000 such computers.

Some industry observers, however, are convinced that the growth of com­puter-controlled plants in the chemi­cal industry will not take place as fast as some people anticipate. "One reason," says a company spokesman, "is that most chemical processes are unique and require extensive indi­vidual study before they can begin to be computerized.,, Says another in­dustry spokesman, "The trouble is that we just don't know enough about many chemical processes to convert them successfully to direct computer control. Also, the cost of automating many processes is prohibitive—at least at present. Obviously, the problem is a lot tougher than many people think."

Despite the hurdles, an increasing number of plants in the chemical in­dustry are using process-control com­puters. In some cases, these may control only a single unit, such as a distillation column or a catalytic cracker. In other cases, these com­puters may control large groups of equipment.

Admittedly, the use of computers to provide complete on-line control of processing operations in the chemical industry is still in the beginning stages. However, application of this technique is expected to grow rapidly.

Simulating a Plant Process

Computers are also being used more and more today to simulate plant op­erations. Normally, analog computers have been used for this purpose. However, the recent development of highly effective simulation languages for digital computers is hastening the day when digital machines will be taking over a large share of this func­tion. Chiefly, this is because digital machines can generally handle bigger problems and can be operated at lower cost.

In the simulation method, a mathe­matical model of a chemical process is fed into the computer. The compu­ter can then be used to determine how the various processing variables affect one another—for example, how a change in operating temperature can alter the pressure, the product yield, the product purity, and so on. From a safety standpoint, one of the com­pelling advantages of this computer approach is that it can be used to de­termine under what specific condi­tions an exothermic reaction, for ex­ample, will become explosive.

In many cases, computer simulation has greatly reduced the amount of time that chemists and chemical engi­neers have to spend in pilot plant work. In some cases, pilot plant ex­periments can be limited to just those tests needed to confirm the major re­sults previously obtained by the com­puter.

Some enthusiasts claim that the computer method will eliminate the need for pilot plants entirely. Others, believing that generally the method will not provide all of the operating information needed, are deeply skepti­cal. Pilot plants, they are convinced, will still be essential. "Computers may do a superb job of simulating many important features of pilot plant operation," says one chemical engi­neer. "However, the computer has at least one monumental flaw: It doesn't turn out any chemical product that can be sent out for trade evaluation by your sales force."

Special Skilh Required

In this age of automation, what special skills do chemists and chemical engineers need if they are to use the new technology most effectively? One of the most important needs, say many practicing chemists and chemi­cal engineers, is increased knowledge of mathematics. Effective use of com­puters requires special proficiency in calculus, particularly differential equa­tions. Chemists and chemical engi­neers need to know how to express scientific and engineering problems in the mathematical terms that a com­puter can handle. They also need to know more about statistics, thermo­dynamics, chemical kinetics, mass transfer. They also need to become increasingly familiar with control theory and instrumentation.

In addition, chemists and chemical engineers should be intimately familiar with the varied uses of computers. They should know how to communi­cate with computers in FORTRAN, ALGOL, or other computer language. They should know what types of prob­lems can be handled most efficiently by a computer, rather than by, say, a desk calculator. They should also be familiar with computer programing and with the information input re­quired by computers.

In general, the average chemist or chemical engineer does not need to know how to program the more intri­cate problems that he may wish to

14A C&EN MARCH 14, 1966

have solved by a computer. This job can usually be turned over to a com­puter specialist. The chemist or chemical engineer also does not need to know much about the inner elec­tronic workings of computers. The actual operation and maintenance of computers are ordinarily handled by computer technicians. Knowledge of computer operation and maintenance doesn't do any harm, of course, and some chemists and chemical engineers ("the ones who are really hipped on these machines") have become highly adept in these areas.

Computer Training in the Schools

During the past five years or so, im­portant changes have been made in the undergraduate and graduate cur-riculums of chemists and chemical

engineers to give them a good work­ing knowledge of computers. Now, many chemistry graduates and most chemical engineering graduates have acquired valuable basic training in computer language, computer pro­graming, and other computer-related skills. Many industry people have nothing but glowing praise for the splendid job that many universities are doing in this area. "Even in their sophomore year," says David H. Roberts, engineering vice president at Stauffer Chemical, exuberantly, "the kids are solving problems left and right with computers. Marvel-

In some schools, an undergraduate chemist or chemical engineer may take a full-term credit course in com­

puters. In other schools, computer training is given in a noncredit course of perhaps three or four weeks. In many schools, the use of computers is woven into other courses, such as mathematics, thermodynamics, engi­neering design, unit operations, and so on. Although some of the assigned problems in these courses can also be handled by the old, time-consuming brute force methods using slide rules or desk calculators, the only way they can be solved efficiently, the students soon learn, is by using computers.

Computer Training in Industry

Almost every chemical company of any real size in the U.S. today offers its technical people courses in com­puters. These courses are particu­larly helpful to people who have

John Nostrand at Union Carbide's Nuclear Research Center in Sterling Forest, N.Y., sends data to a computer at IBM's time-sharing Datacenter in New York City. A 7044 computer uses the data to determine the daily deterioration of radioisotopes

been out of school for 10 years or more and have little or no knowledge of computer use. In these courses, they learn about computer programing and computer language. They also learn about the standard computer programs already available in the company's computer library.

Most of these courses are given on company time at the plant or labora­tory. Many companies also pay part or all of the tuition of scientists and engineers who wish to take computer courses at nearby universities. In addition, many companies give various selected people time off to take the training courses offered by computer manufacturers.

The amount of computer know-how that a chemist or chemical engineer

in industry should have depends to some extent on the company he works for. In some companies, the engineer is expected to write his own pro­grams (unless, of course, they are al­ready available in the company li­brary) and be thoroughly acquainted with computer operation. In other companies, the job of programing is turned over largely to specialists in the central computer group.

An engineer with only brief train­ing in computer programing, says a Union Carbide spokesman, might take two weeks to work out a required pro­gram. On the other hand, a member of the company's central computer group might easily formulate the same program in a day or less. It's more efficient, he says, to use the central group. However, he hastens to add, an engineer can obviously discuss his problem much more readily and intel­ligently with specialists in the central group if he is familiar with computer fundamentals.

Says Dr. Robert B. Grant, director of management services at Celanese, "The engineer is sharpest who learns to make full use of the computer spe­cialist. After all, the passengers on an airplane are not expected to operate the controls in the cockpit; they leave that job to the specialist. On the other hand, the engineer certainly should know enough about his problem to be able to check the computer's answer for reasonableness."

An Esso spokesman, however, points out, "We expect our scientists and en­gineers to understand their computer programs fully. They don't just wash their hands of the matter by casually turning the entire job over to the com­puter specialist. Of course, the actual operation of the computer is handled by a skilled technician."

Clearly, the use of computers by industry, the Government, and the uni­versities is growing. At present, the U.S. is calling on the services of some 18,000 computers of all types—a figure that is increasing at a rate of about 25% a year.

Says one chemical industry execu­tive, "In the future, computers will be a way of life with many chemists and most chemical engineers. The chemist who fails to take advantage of computers may be handicapping him­self severely. The chemical engineer who fails to make effective use of these machines may be running the very real risk of becoming a one-cylin­der engineer."

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