News & Knowledge

We’re your source for automation news. Keep up with the latest industry updates and E Tech employee spotlights, as well as tips and guidance from our manufacturing experts.  

E Tech Group Builds a PlantPAx Automation Solution for a Cultivated Meat Pilot Plant

Food and beverage automation is undergoing a series of transformations, from more ethical livestock treatment to eliminating artificial ingredients and processes to improving the hygiene of irrigation systems in agriculture. But perhaps the most impactful and paradigm-shifting development in this industry is the emergence of lab-grown meat, which is changing not only how we view meat production and consumption, but also how we view the nature of food automation. Understanding the Cultivated Meat Movement Cultivated meat, also called lab-grown or cultured meat, grows mammalian and fish cells for human consumption in a process similar to biotech drug substance manufacturing. Cultured meat is real meat that is grown from a cell bank of a small number of real animal cells. It doesn’t require animals to be raised, fed, and slaughtered as traditional meat does.    In theory, cultured meat should be more sustainable than traditional animal-slaughtered meat. Bio-cultured meat requires significantly less land and water, has a better yield per pound of feedstock, and produces pure meat protein and/or fat that creates minimal waste and byproducts. A single batch can grow 350 pounds of pure meat protein in less than two weeks with no feathers, beaks, claws, blood, bones, or excrement to dispose of.  Traditional meat raises the animals where few people live and must be transported to a slaughter facility, processed and further transported to market. Cultured meat plants can be built much closer to population centers, reducing travel time and expense. Additionally, because it is grown in a sterile environment, it is cleaner and has a shelf life that is significantly longer than slaughtered meat – as most contaminants that spoil meat are introduced during slaughter processing.  Cultured Meat Automation Intersects with Biotech Automation Growing cultivated meat is a relatively new concept in the biotech marketplace. Although this new industry is … Continued

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Understanding the S88 Standard: A Comprehensive Guide for Beginners

Authored By: Jakub Mocny, PhD, Group Engineering Manager In the world of industrial automation, the S88 standard, also known as ANSI/ISA-88 or Batch Control, plays a vital role in providing a universal framework for the control and automation of manufacturing processes. Developed by the International Society of Automation (ISA), the S88 standard offers a structured approach to designing, implementing, and maintaining batch processes. For those who are new to the S88 standard and want to delve into its applications across various industries, this article serves as a guide to understanding the fundamentals of the S88 standard, its benefits, and an overview of its working principles. What is the S88 Standard for Batch Control Systems? The S88 standard provides a comprehensive and modular methodology for designing, implementing and managing batch processes in industries such as: The S88 standard establishes a consistent and structured approach to defining the equipment, control strategies, procedural operations, and information systems required for effective batch process automation. Within the ISA-95 framework, batch systems adhering to S88 standard are identified as Level 2 systems. They are subordinate to Level 3 MES systems and achieve process control through interaction automation and control systems (ISA-95 Level 1 and 2).  In practical terms, a batch control application executes recipes. A recipe is a sequence of operations containing multiple recipe phases. Recipe phases interface with the physical plant equipment through equipment phases typically executed by PLCs. S88 sets guidelines for best practices that help industries self-regulate quality and consistency. Applications of the S88 Standard in Industrial Automation While the S88 standard was originally developed for batch processes, its applications are not limited to specific industries. The versatility of the standard enables its adoption in a wide range of fields. In general, automation system builders may benefit from using the S88 concepts even … Continued

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