Comparative Survey Between Industrial Communication Protocols Applied in Hazardous Areas

Industrial communication in hazardous areas requires protocols that guarantee safety, reliability and efficiency. The aim of this study is therefore to compare the characteristics of Process Fieldbus for Process Automation (PROFIBUS PA), Fieldbus Foundation and Ethernet – Advanced Physical Layer (Ethernet-APL) applied in hazardous areas, considering not only their technical differences, but also their ability to provide intrinsically safe communication inside of an industrial environment.