ABB’s Expert Optimizer for Ozarow cement plant
ABB announced that CRH plc recently selected ABB’s award winning cpmPlus Expert Optimizer for installation at CHR’s Ozarow cement plant in Poland. Ozarow has been producing quality materials for the building industry since 1978. Since 1995 the Ozarow plant has been part of the successful CRH plc group. CRH operates in 35 countries and employs approximately 80 000 people. CRH has a strong commitment to corporate social responsibility, and so continually seeks ways to reduce waste and improve resource use. Part of this commitment has led to installing the Expert Optimizer at five other Western European CRH plants and Ozarow will be the sixth installation.
At Ozarow, the Expert Optimizer will be installed on the kiln, cooler and calciner. The kiln is 99 m long and has a diameter of 5.75 m, making it one of the largest cement kilns in Europe. The plant is already using a range of alternative fuels, and one of the motivations for installing the Expert Optimizer is to increase their use.
The Expert Optimizer, part of ABB’s cpmPlus series of solutions, ensures that the kiln, cooler, calciner and mills are operated under optimum conditions according to the customer’s goals. By expertly applying Model Predictive Control (MPC), the Expert Optimizer is able to stabilize and then optimize the process which helps plant management to reach profitability and sustainability goals. The Expert Optimizer finds the best operating conditions to maximize output, minimize fuel consumption and use energy effectively for each part of the process which is to be optimized.
Primary commissioning began in December 2010 and project completion is scheduled for mid 2011. The project is being delivered in partnership between ABB Switzerland and ABB Poland. Andrew Wilson, Sales Manager for CPM Minerals, said “One of the great things about ABB’s global reach is being able to work with local ABB offices which brings real added value for the customer”.
