--- title: "MQTT Broker for Chemical Plants & Tank Farms | ConnectMQ" description: "Stream tank levels, process, utility and emissions data from DCS, PLCs and edge gateways to your historian, MES and analytics over a managed MQTT broker." url: "https://connectmq.com/industries/chemicals/" language: "en" --- ![](https://connectmq.com/images/industries/hero/chemicals.webp) # Chemical plant data, beyond the DCS Your DCS runs the process. ConnectMQ moves the data around it — tank levels, utilities, rotating equipment and emissions — from edge gateways to the historian, MES, maintenance and AI tools that need it, over standard MQTT and TLS. [Try it free](https://app.connectmq.com/signup) [Use cases](#use-cases) No card required The challenge ## Where chemical plant data gets stuck 1. 01 ### Data locked in the control layer Process values sit in the DCS and historian behind strict network zones. Every new consumer — a LIMS, an energy report, an optimisation model — means another OPC connection and another firewall request. 2. 02 ### Tank farms and utilities in the dark Tank farms, wastewater, cooling towers, compressed air and steam often run on standalone PLCs, RTUs or radar gauges that nobody reads in real time — until someone walks the tank farm with a clipboard. 3. 03 ### Point-to-point at every site Each plant has its own tag names, gateways and scripts. Comparing a reactor at one site with its twin at another means mapping spreadsheets, not subscribing to a topic. Why ConnectMQ ## A data layer next to your control system, not inside it ConnectMQ is a managed MQTT broker: edge gateways publish read-only process and asset data once, and every application subscribes. Control and safety stay in your DCS and SIS. - ### A private broker, run for you Each plant or group gets its own isolated broker instance. No broker servers to patch in the DMZ, no cluster to babysit — your team focuses on gateways and applications. - ### Outbound, encrypted, scoped Gateways connect out over TLS with their own credentials, and per-topic ACLs limit each one to its unit. A lab app can read tank levels without seeing anything else. - ### One ISA-95 namespace Model enterprise, site, area, unit and equipment in the ISA-95 topic workspace, so historian, MES and analytics subscribe to the same tree with wildcards. - ### Alerts on what matters Threshold rules flag a tank above its high level, a pump running hot or a stack reading out of range and notify the right team — alongside your DCS alarms, never instead of them. Key use cases ## Key use cases in Chemicals Chemical producers usually start outside the control loop — tank inventory, rotating equipment health and environmental data — then feed the same topics to AI agents and optimisation tools. [ ### Tank Level Monitoring Remote level readings from fuel, chemical, LPG and bulk tanks for vendor-managed inventory and timely refills Explore the use case](https://connectmq.com/use-cases/tank-level-monitoring/)[ ### Industrial Agentic AI Operations Give your AI agents live plant data and a guarded way to act, through the unified namespace Explore the use case](https://connectmq.com/use-cases/industrial-agentic-ai/)[ ### Predictive Maintenance Stream vibration, temperature and motor current to your models and open work orders before a machine fails Explore the use case](https://connectmq.com/use-cases/predictive-maintenance/)[ ### Cleanroom & GMP Environmental Monitoring Particle counts, differential pressure, temperature and humidity from cleanrooms into your EMS, dashboards and alerts Explore the use case](https://connectmq.com/use-cases/cleanroom-environmental-monitoring/) Architecture ## From the unit to your applications - DCS / PLC via OPC UA gateway - Radar & level transmitters - Pump & compressor sensors - Stack & ambient analysers **ConnectMQ**MQTT 3.1.1 · 5 · TLS - Process historian - MES & LIMS - CMMS & maintenance - AI agents & analytics Example topic namespace ``` chem/antwerp/tank-farm/tk-101/level chem/antwerp/unit-3/p-305a/vibration chem/antwerp/environment/stack-2/emissions chem/antwerp/unit-3/r-301/status (retained) ``` Related solutions ## Solutions for Chemicals [ ### Industrial IoT & Smart Manufacturing Machines, PLC gateways, OEE and quality data Learn more](https://connectmq.com/industrial-iot/) ## Chemicals: frequently asked questions Can MQTT be used in a chemical plant alongside a DCS? Yes. The usual pattern is an edge gateway that reads values from the DCS or PLCs — over OPC UA or Modbus — and publishes them read-only over MQTT. The DCS keeps running the process and the SIS keeps protecting it; MQTT only distributes the data to applications outside the control layer. MQTT vs OPC UA for chemical plants: which should I use? Both. OPC UA is strong inside the control network, close to the DCS and PLCs. MQTT is better for moving that data out to many consumers: gateways publish once over an outbound connection and any number of applications subscribe. Many plants convert OPC UA to MQTT at the edge with Kepware, Ignition or Node-RED. Is MQTT secure enough for process plant data? On ConnectMQ every connection can use TLS, every gateway and application has its own username and password, and per-topic ACLs control who may publish or subscribe to what. Gateways only open outbound connections, so nothing in the plant network has to accept inbound traffic. Network zoning and your security review stay with you. How do I monitor tank levels with MQTT? Connect radar or pressure level transmitters to a PLC, RTU or cellular gateway that publishes level and temperature to topics such as chem/antwerp/tank-farm/tk-101/level. Retained messages give a dashboard the last level the moment it opens, and threshold rules alert on high or low levels. ## Pilot your plant data layer on ConnectMQ Start on the Free plan — no card required. Connect one unit or tank farm, prove the data flow, then move to Basic or Scale when you go live. No overage charges, cancel anytime. [Get started](https://app.connectmq.com/signup) [See pricing](https://connectmq.com/pricing/) ## Other industries - [Manufacturing](https://connectmq.com/industries/manufacturing/) - [Automotive](https://connectmq.com/industries/automotive/) - [Oil & Gas](https://connectmq.com/industries/oil-gas/) - [Utilities](https://connectmq.com/industries/utilities/) - [Renewable Energy](https://connectmq.com/industries/renewable-energy/) - [Pharma & Life Sciences](https://connectmq.com/industries/pharma-life-sciences/) - [Food & Beverage](https://connectmq.com/industries/food-beverage/) - [Healthcare](https://connectmq.com/industries/healthcare/) - [Transportation & Logistics](https://connectmq.com/industries/transportation-logistics/) - [Retail & E-commerce](https://connectmq.com/industries/retail-ecommerce/) - [Telecom](https://connectmq.com/industries/telecom/) - [Financial Services](https://connectmq.com/industries/financial-services/) - [Agriculture](https://connectmq.com/industries/agriculture/) ## Articles [All articles](https://connectmq.com/blog/) Managed MQTT Cloud ### [How to Choose an IoT MQTT Broker: 12 Criteria and the Questions to Ask Your Vendor](https://connectmq.com/blog/how-to-choose-an-iot-mqtt-broker/) A practical 12-point checklist for choosing an IoT MQTT broker, a table of questions to ask every vendor, and a five-minute hands-on test you can run against broker.connectmq.com. September 21, 20269 min read Managed MQTT Cloud ### [What Is a Managed MQTT Broker? Benefits, Costs and How to Choose](https://connectmq.com/blog/managed-mqtt-broker/) A managed MQTT broker lets you run IoT messaging without operating servers, certificates or patches yourself. Compare managed and self-hosted, pick a deployment model and connect your first client in five minutes. September 1, 202610 min read Industrial IoT ### [Sparkplug B and the Unified Namespace: Structuring Industrial IoT Data on MQTT](https://connectmq.com/blog/mqtt-sparkplug-b-unified-namespace/) Sparkplug B gives industrial MQTT a strict session and payload model, while a Unified Namespace gives your plant data a single, readable home. Here is how they fit together, with topic design tips and live examples. August 26, 20269 min read