Blast furnace Level-2 process control and optimization system

BFXpert is an integrated Level-2 process control and operator guidance system for superior blast furnace operation. It leverages artificial intelligence to take process optimization to the next level towards an autonomous blast furnace.

The system combines the best available process know-how with the most extensive expertise in blast furnace design and iron making equipment on a common platform. Thereby, BFXpert considers the great complexity of blast furnace operations and therefore provides a multifaceted, integrated approach to ensure a safe, ecological and economical operation of the iron making process.

This way BFXpert enables to achieve the target production at optimized cost and ensures a long life campaign.

Customer challenges addressed

  • Possess best available blast furnace process know-how, which is centralized at one place and supports especially new generation of blast furnace operators and engineers
  • Allow local engineers to compute new in-house ML calculations by using Artificial Intelligence
  • Mitigate CO2 emissions by lowering fuel rate and optimizing blast furnace processes
  • Decrease hot metal production cost by stabilizing liquid products, lowering fuel rate and improving downtime of equipment

Key features

  • Real-time control models
  • Monitoring, simulation and optimization models
  • Configurable system tools and functionalities
  • Integration of additional models
  • Artificial Intelligent modules

Highlights

  • Advanced raw material tracking

    The Advanced Raw Material Tracking enables digital mapping of material conveyance through the blast furnace bulk material feed models. This allows a predictive problem analysis and automated monitoring of digital values whereby various irregularities can be highlighted. The Advanced Raw Material Tracking offers the following main benefits:

    • Improved permeability control of the blast furnace
    • Early detection of stock house issues
    • Finer adjustment of chemical properties of charged material batches

  • 24/7 Operation stability

    BFXpert supports operators and engineers 24/7 and provides them know-how based information and recommendations in order to achieve stable and most efficient blast furnace operation.

  • Early detection of process anomalies enabling preventive actions

    BFXpert models are capable to provide early process phenomena detection with associated recommendations. This way operators can act as fast as possible, in order to come back to normal operation by adjusting fuel rate or blast parameters.

  • Reduction of hot metal production cost and reduced CO2 emissions

    BFXpert enables high precision of process control. As a result operating set points of the blast furnace can be set to more efficient values. In that context, especially coke rate savings of several kilograms has been proven at many customer.

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