Displaying items by tag: ABB
The race to digitise the cement industry
10 July 2019The big announcement from LafargeHolcim this week was the launch of its Industry 4.0 plan known as ‘Plants of Tomorrow.’ The scheme hopes to use automation technologies and robotics, artificial intelligence, predictive maintenance and digital twin technologies across the company’s entire production process. Operational efficiency gains of 15 - 20% are promised.
There wasn’t much detail beyond the use of the Siggenthal integrated cement plant in Switzerland as the ‘lighthouse’ of the scheme, where around 30 proof-of-concept technology ideas will be tested. One technology it did flesh out a little was its long-running Technical Information System (TIS). This follows the work between Holcim and the power and automation product supplier ABB. LafargeHolcim says that over 80% of its plants around the world use the TIS to provide data transparency at plant, country, regional and global level. It added that some country operations have more than a decade of historic technical data available. This last point is pertinent as the data could potentially be used to support the training of any machine learning algorithms the company might want to invest in. The building materials company also mentioned its LH Maqer subsidiary. This startup incubator was launched at the end of 2018.
LafargeHolcim appears to be playing catch up here with Cemex, which has steadily been promoting its own Industry 4.0 developments in recent years. Emphasis on ‘promotion’ here as only yesterday, the day LafargeHolcim made its big reveal, Cemex happened to release information about a recent roundtable in France that it participated in on digitisation and productivity in the construction sector.
Notably in March 2019, the Mexican multinational struck a deal with Petuum to implement its Industrial AI Autopilot software products for autonomous cement plant operations at its plants around the world in March 2019. Readers can find out more about Petuum’s work with Cemex in the June 2019 issue of Global Cement Magazine. In late 2017 Cemex too set up a division, Cemex Ventures, to engage with startups, universities and other organisations. Cemex has also been building its digital customer integration platform Cemex Go since around the same time.
One interpretation of Industry 4.0 is as a German-industrial approach to the so-called fourth or digital revolution pushed by Anglophone software companies. The idea of taking as much data from a production process, such as making cement, is enticing but the prospect of actually doing something useful with this tsunami of information is daunting. Typically algorithm techniques or predictive maintenance seem so far to focus on discrete parts of a process such as a finish grinding mill or final product logistics networks. Companies like Germany’s Inform focus on the latter for example and, incidentally, it celebrated its 50th anniversary this week.
If automated systems start making apparently nonsensical yet useful decisions across the whole raw materials, production and supply chains, then Industry 4.0 will reach its full potential. This moment, if it comes, will be analogous to the time IBM’s computer Deep Blue managed to beat chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov in the late 1990s. What’s more likely are automated systems that can perform consistently outside the human operator comfort zone edging up against hard physical process constraints.
Meanwhile, what will be interesting to watch here is whether LafargeHolcim will be able to leverage any advantage over Cemex by having more cement plants to pull data from. Before LafargeHolcim started selling off its south-east Asian subsidiaries it had more than three times as many cement plants as Cemex. If data really is more valuable than oil these days then starting late in the industrial digital arms race may not be as deleterious as one might first think.
US: ABB has launched its Dodge Safety Mount spherical roller bearings product with a built-in patented locking mechanism. It says that this new feature can reduce installation time by up to 75% compared to traditional products. It is mounted by tightening fasteners, instead of using a hammer and other tools. The new system also allows for simple installation and removal from the same side of the bearing. The new bearing is intended for bulk material and air handling applications.
Safety Mount bearings feature a triple-lip contact seal and corrosion-resistant flinger sealing system, which prevents contamination from entering the product during installation and operation. A labyrinth seal option is available for high-speed and high-temperature applications. The product can also be used with ABB Ability Smart Sensor.
Tan Thang Cement orders more integrated digital automation and electrical equipment from ABB
19 September 2018Vietnam: Tan Thang Cement has ordered additional integrated digital automation and electrical equipment from Switzerland’s ABB for a new 2Mt/yr plant it is building in Nghe An province. The order is a follow- up order to the initial automation and electrical systems delivery from ABB for this site, which is currently under construction.
The follow-up order includes a 110kV AIS Substation (Air Insulated Substation), with a SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) system based on ABB Ability System 800xA for Power Control, as well as telecommunications, and High Voltage primary and secondary equipment to support the electrical infrastructure. ABB will also deliver power transformers, distribution transformers, an Intelligent Motor Control Centre, Auxiliary Control Centre, Emergency Diesel Generator, DC power supply, various field devices and related commissioning services.
ABB’s initial delivery included ABB Ability System 800xA DCS (Distributed Control System) to integrate control, electrical and communication systems for optimal visibility into all processes for stable production and efficient use of raw materials and energy. It also included ABB Ability Knowledge Manager and Expert Optimizer software, as well as basic communication and electrical system infrastructure and equipment.
The project is scheduled to be commissioned in late 2019.
Turkey: Switzerland’s ABB says that Batısöke Çimento is one of the first companies in the world to install its ABB Ability MNS Digital product, a scalable, modular low-voltage (LV) smart switchgear solution to optimise operations at its cement plant near Aydin.
MNS Digital incorporates ‘intelligent’ devices with a data interface to enable remote operation, monitoring and condition-based maintenance. It gives the operator access to real-time data. MNS Digital can connect to the ABB Ability cloud platform, a local SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) or ECMS (electrical control and monitoring system), to extended Automation System 800xA or other types of distributed process control systems (DCSs). ABB is also supplying a medium-voltage switchgear product, UniGear Digital, to the plant.
Cement distributors concerned about production at INC
15 January 2018Paraguay: The association of cement distributors in Vallemi has expressed its concern over low production levels at Industria Nacional del Cemento’s (INC) plant. The association says that the cement plant has been unable to guarantee clinker production or dispatches of cement, according to the ABC newspaper. Cement shortages are expected unless normal production is resumed.
The kiln at INC’s plant in Vallemi as reportedly stopped repeatedly since September 2017. It stopped operating on 27 December 2017 and has been waiting for engineers from ABB to carry out repairs. Parts were due to arrive in mid-January 2018. INC has denied reports that cement production and supply have been affected.
ABB India wins order from Emami Cement
14 December 2017India: ABB India has won an order from Emami Cement for an automation and electrical system for a new 2Mt/yr plant in Odisha. ABB will be undertaking complete project implementation including supply, erection, testing and commissioning for the electrical distribution and distributed control system (DCS), according to the Press Trust of India. The 800xA DCS is intended to help monitor, control and optimise the cement manufacturing process while maximising plant uptime.
Saudi Arabia: ABB has commissioned an electrical infrastructure upgrade for the Eastern Province Cement Company’s (EPCC) two cement production lines at its plant in Al Khursaniya. The project upgraded the existing 75MV Switchgear Panels and integrated the power supply systems with the ABB 800xA automation system already in place. Commissioning was completed in February 2016.
“ABB has completed the final upgrade on site in a record time during the planned maintenance shutdowns of the plant,” said Mohammad Arif Khan, Electrical and Instrumentation Manager at EPCC. “The excellent teamwork between EPCC and ABB engineers made it possible to meet this challenge without affecting the production of the other production lines.”
The scope of supply included the replacement of the 30-year old protection compartment of 75MV (13.8kV and 4.16kV) Switchgear Panels with the latest generation of ABB Relion protection relays, integration via IEC61850 with the 800xA automation system and the delivery of computer and network equipment. ABB also provided project management, engineering, site services and training together with its supplier EcoWatt Projects.
Indonesia: ABB, a power and automation technology group, has won an order from Tianjin Cement Industry Design & Research Institute Co. Ltd, a subsidiary of Sinoma Group, for a variable-speed drive solution for a dual pinion ball mill at the PT Semen Bosowa Maros cement plant in Indonesia.
The equipment will be delivered in March 2016 and commissioned in the third quarter of 2016. ABB was selected for that project because the end customer is satisfied with earlier deliveries for the first cement grinding line at the plant, including a gearless mill drive (GMD) and a vertical mill with ABB slip ring motors.
"ABB's solution was favoured for several reasons, not least because of the high level of efficiency offered by the permanent magnet motors used and the absence of a gearbox in the system, which maximises availability and reliability," said Rachid Hamdani, Project Director of PT Semen Bosowa Maros.
This will be the first drive system for a grinding application with permanent magnet motors in this power range. The solution has the highest efficiency among all variable-speed drive systems and will raise productivity at the plant, while minimising electricity consumption.
ABB completes upgrade at Eastern Province Cement Company
02 April 2014Saudi Arabia: ABB has completed a process control system upgrade to three cement production lines at Eastern Province Cement Company (EPCC) in Al Khursaniya, Saudi Arabia. Power and automation technology supplier ABB updated the Extended Automation System 800xA to the latest standards.
"ABB has completed the final upgrade on site in a record time during the planned maintenance shutdown of the plant", said Mohammad Arif Khan, Electrical and Instrumentation Manager at EPCC.
The scope of supply included the updating the Extended Automation System 800xA licences, computer, laboratory and raw meal proportioning system hardware, as well as project management, engineering and site services, including training. The modernisation follows a previous process control system upgrade of the production lines number one and two in 2003, as well as equipment deliveries for the extension of the plant with line number three in 2005. The contract was booked in June 2013. Commissioning was completed in December 2013.
ABB scores US$18m modernisation for Century
14 August 2012Switzerland/India: Engineering company ABB has secured an order worth US$18m in India to design, engineer and supply integrated automation and modern electrification systems for Century Cement's Manikgarh cement plant in central India.
ABB's delivery is part of a two-line expansion and plant modernisation project that will add production capacity of 2.8Mt/yr, more than doubling its current production capacity. The project also includes a 60MW thermal power plant onsite. providing a reliable on-site power supply that will improve energy efficiency. The turnkey project is scheduled to be completed by early 2014.
"Our proven experience in executing large and complex projects, minerals and cement industry expertise and leading automation and power technologies helped us to secure this important order," said Veli-Matti Reinikkala, head of ABB's Process Automation division.
ABB will deliver integrated power and automation systems using a plant-wide 800xA automation system to control, connect and optimise the performance of all processes and systems. The scope of supply includes medium-voltage switchgear, distribution transformers and other electrical equipment and power systems, intelligent low-voltage motor control centres, variable speed drives, instrumentation and collaborative production management systems. ABB will also provide design, engineering, project commissioning and other site services.