Emulation of Petri net controller with programmable logic controller in industrial process plant

Industrial Process Control is constantly expand, regarding their control more and more solutions are presently in the market. These include mature methods like Petri nets, and standardized languages, which are commonly used in the field of programmable logic controllers (PLCs). The paper presents the Ladder Diagram programming language, that is one of the standardized languages, and one of the most widely used for industrial automation systems. In these circumstances, it is useful to make a comparison between the two methods, drawing out the advantages and the disadvantages of each solution separately. Petri nets benefit from the existence of a highly developed mathematical support and high flexibility in analyzing all elements that can influence the conduct of an event, which is a major advantage. Also, this method allows both ON-line and OFF-line simulations of the Industrial Process Control.