Expert system for optimization of cement mills
Summary: The milling process in cement plants is extremely energy-intensive, accounting for nearly 45 % of the overall electrical energy requirements. Siemens has designed an expert system which uses actual plant data to make precise predictions about quality parameters for a production plant, and which can be integrated into the existing PCS-7 control system with no additional hardware. Mill control can be optimized on the basis of predicted quality parameters, which in turn reduces energy consumption and has a positive influence on the plant’s cost-effectiveness and availability, as well as on product quality. The first pilot project was conducted at the Südbayerische Portland-Zementwerk in Rohrdorf.
1 Portland cement production in Rohrdorf
At the Südbayerische Portland-Zementwerk in Rohrdorf, the raw materials extracted from the neighboring quarries that are necessary for producing Portland cement clinker are stored in a blending bed hall and then ground into raw meal in a raw mill. In the rotary kiln the raw meal is then burnt to cement clinker, which is the basic material for all types of cement. The plant has four ball mills for a total output of around 270 t/h. Grinding is performed in a ball mill with steel balls of different sizes. Depending on the type of cement, materials such as...
