Almost everyone is familiar with the concept of industrial revolution that took place in the 18th and 19th centuries. It was a massive transition from manual labor to machine labor, from manufactory to factory and the subsequent global transformations of the production process were linked with this term.

Talking about ideas, the development of mass production, the widespread use of electricity and chemicals was described by the concept of the second industrial revolution.

The third industrial revolution marked the implementation of information and communication technologies in production. This in turn contributed to the formation of a post-industrial society.

Nowadays we meet a new concept that opens the door to the future. The industry 4.0, or the fourth industrial revolution, is a massive implementation of cyberphysical systems into production. This will serve as an impetus for changes in a variety of areas of life. Labor market, society, political systems, innovative technologies are just some of spheres where changes occur.

Big Data, Internet of things, autonomous robotic systems, 3D printing and quantum computing are all components that together will present a new vision of what production should be. While this concept remains hypothetical, many of its fragments have already been developed, for example, virtual reality and 3D printing.

However, progress in other areas is somewhat hampered by a lack of technology and due to the complexity of implementation in the context of mass consumption. One of the main aspects of the fourth industrial revolution are Blockchain and the Internet of things.

The Internet of things is an automation system for routine decisions by providing a developed setup of “communication” of things that involves the opportunity of things to identify, characterize and transfer data to each other and process them.

Blockchain is a continuous sequence of blocks containing information, built according to certain rules. This makes it possible to reduce the centralized management by transferring some of its powers in a networked manner to an organized society. Decision-making and implementation of other actions by the community as a whole enhances the transparency and reliability of the system.

There are many examples of projects that to some extent implement certain aspects of the fourth industrial revolution. But the company that most closely approached the concept of Industry 4.0 is Smart Refinery Technologies.

Mission of SRT group is implementing blockchain-technologies into the oil refining industry on a global scale, and they SRT group is making significant progress in this. The project proposes the creation of a new business model in the oil refining industry based on the SRT blockchain-platform, which will increase the economic efficiency of the platform participants by automating business processes, reducing transaction costs and ensuring transparency and reliability of data.

Smart Refinery Technologies Group, since 2012, is a developer and supplier of high-tech refining equipment for small and medium-sized oil refineries. The company has developed technological processes and equipment based on new generation zeolite catalysts. The proposed equipment will significantly improve the profitability of small oil refineries by increasing the depth of refining and improving the quality of petroleum products — gasoline and diesel fuel.

In order to ensure the rapid development of the refinery network based on SRT Group’s technologies and equipment, it is planned to apply a model of preferential lease of equipment with payment of licensing fees for the actual volumes of processing of raw materials. This will allow oil refiners to introduce new processes without risks and start earning profits in a short time.

The business processes within the framework of this concept can most effectively be organized in the form of a blockchain that will automatically collect information based on the parameters of the operating oil refining equipment, as well as make calculations between participants using the platform’s cryptocurrency and blockchain.

Up to date, there is no blockchain platform in the world on the basis of which it would be possible to implement a similar business model of the relationship between equipment suppliers, oil refiners and investors in oil refining projects. And so the solution offered by SRT Group is an innovative approach to the organization of business processes within the framework of oil refining activities.

The SRT platform will function on the basis of the Ethereum blockchain system, using the Proof of Authority consensus mechanism. The PoA consensus mechanism in the SRT network is chosen to reduce delays and operating costs. It will be possible to quickly display the status of a private network in a public network in order to ensure the consistency and integrity of data. And the most important component of this platform will be the Internet of things — a distributed network infrastructure integrated with an automated process control system for industrial equipment.

It is possible that Industry 4.0 is still only a predictable event, but SRT Group is making a huge step towards the future by introducing innovative concepts in refining industry and allowing them to adopt their experience, realizing a new large-scale turn of human history.