Analysis of PLC vs. DCS in Industrial Petrochemical Applications

Within industry today, advancements in process and control technologies have given way to differing control systems in the form of programmable logic controllers (PLC) and distributed control systems (DCS). Over the past decade, PLCs have now been able to bridge certain gaps within process and control systems that were capabilities only typically found within DCS environments. This paper will provide an overview of various control system strategies and design considerations with regard to both PLC and DCS schemes within petrochemical applications.