CASE STUDY 4: Committed to Optimization in CIMPOR Portugal

Cimentos de Portugal, SGPS, S.A., or CIMPOR as it is known, is the largest cement company in Portugal. CIMPOR operates in eleven countries worldwide, including Portugal, Spain, Mozambique, Morocco, Brazil, Tunisia, Egypt, Cape Verde, South Africa, Turkey and China. CIMPOR manufactures and markets cement, hydraulic lime, concrete and aggregates, precast concrete and dry mortars. CIMPORs total clinker production capacity is close to 28 million tonnes per year. CIMPOR has four plants in Portugal. The Cabo Mondego plant produces hydraulic lime, while the remaining three are cement plants, with a combined capacity of seven million tonnes per year. The four facilities are well distributed across the country, with Alhandra just outside Lisbon, Cabo Mondego and Souselas in the North near Coimbra and Loul in the Algarve. CIMPOR has been using advanced control solutions from FLSmidth Automation (FLSA) for more than a decade. Alhandra and Souselas initially used FLSAs previousgeneration control system, which consisted of ECS/FuzzyExpert based on a Digital VMS platform, in various sections of the plants. When FLSA launched the new generation of the system, ECS/ProcessExpert (PXP), the Loul plant and Line 3 at the Souselas plant began using the new technology.

Cimpor plants in Portugal This article focuses on the implementation of PXP at Souselas Line 3 sector, and reviews the project from start to finish, outlining the processes, solutions and project execution. The need for automation and control Line 3 at the Souselas plant consists of one upgraded SLC-D kiln with a cross-bar cooler, one vertical roller mill for raw material grinding, and two closed-circuit ball mills for cement grinding. The kiln uses a mix of 50 percent coal and 50 percent petcoke as fuel in both the calciner and the main burner.

The pyro department faced significant process-related problems. These included: high temperatures producing excessively fine clinker the formation of large build-ups in the precalciner and tertiary air duct kiln instability due to several factors, including tertiary air duct blockage, a lack of oxygen in the kiln inlet (due to sulphur build-up in the smoke chamber and riser duct), snowman formation, and hot clinker leaving the cooler. The production management considered it crucial to significantly enhance kiln stability and boost the quality of the clinker-free lime. The average production rate and plant availability needed to be increased. From the control point of view, the ID-fan was identified as a significant bottleneck in the pyro section. It was crucial for the advanced control system to maximise production in spite of this constraint.

Kiln and tertiary air duct at line 3, Souselas, Portugal. The grinding department also required improvements. The plant management wanted an expert control system that could control the fineness and the quality of the cement. This was ground-breaking as it was the first time the grinding division had achieved such a high level of automatic control. In general, the Souselas plant needed modernisation. The management wanted to increase automation, reduce the operators workload in the control room, and homogenise production by unifying the plants operations. It was clear that investing in PXP technology was the best way to achieve these goals. PXPs unique flexibility was highlighted by the fact that the plants control system was based on the Siemens WinCC system with Control Logix PLC. Even though the underlying technology was different, it was possible to achieve a direct data exchange between PXP and the process using PXPs built-in I/O drivers.

How the ECS/ProcessExpert (PXP) system works PXP is the latest generation of FLSAs advanced control platform for high-level process control and optimisation solutions. The platform offers a number of technologies that support the most appropriate control solution for a given process. Based on its predecessor, PXP is more flexible thanks to its ability to combine different technologies and easier to maintain. Known as an autopilot in cement plants, PXP not only controls and optimises the process under normal conditions, but can also handle irregular circumstances that require different control strategies in order to avoid process drift and instability. To help identify specific problem situations and plan effective solutions, FLSA works closely with plant operators and production engineers to discuss needs, requirements and conditions. Each PXP application includes a number of key performance indicators for each process, allowing operators to easily monitor process performance at any given time. Monthly performance assessment reports enable production management and FLSAs after-sales service and support staff to evaluate the overall process and controller conditions. This helps to ensure that operations run smoothly. Irregularities in the kiln In addition to developing and customising the normal control strategy for the Souselas Line 3 kiln, FLSA also implemented a number of strategies for handling irregular conditions. One such strategy is the calciner control scheme, which includes high-priority actions in calciner fuel control in case of temperature increase in the lower cyclones. This means that the normal calciner controller level is overruled by the high-priority controller if the cyclone 4 temperature increases for any reason. Another highpriority controller strategy for this kiln deals with handling of high CO levels in the preheater. A high-priority controller can take appropriate action based on observation of the CO dynamics in order to maintain balanced feed, air and fuel levels. In this way it is able to override the production and quality optimisation controller if deemed necessary. PXPs high-priority controllers ensure that actuator use is managed according to given process conditions, even in conflicting directions. The result is a higher degree of controller availability. especially in abnormal conditions when operators tend to switch the controller off in order to rectify the process. The kiln application also has a soft sensor, which is designed to produce kiln inlet gas analysis results for the controller in case of a temporary lack of online results due to hardware maintenance.

Operator user-interface of PXP-kiln controller Implementing PXP in the mills Installing the PXP application for the vertical roller mill was a straightforward process. The installed application is FLSAs standard Model-based Predictive Control system, which controls total feed and separator speed based on measurements from mill differential pressure, vibrations, product fineness, mill power and reject elevator load. The purpose of the controller is to maximise the production while maintaining the product fineness. PXP also controls the feed ratio by basic, single input and output, and ensures quality control. The total feed directly determines the clinker feed, and the gypsum and limestone feed are both controlled as a feed ratio of the clinker. So the gypsum and limestone amounts are based on main clinker feeder. These amounts only change when a new laboratory value is introduced. There is an additional control that regulates the gypsum and limestone feeders, maintaining the required level of SO3 and LOI based on the minimum amount of clinker in the overall mix. The combined results of these process controllers benefit the entire plant and its output. In particular, the PXP system has improved mill stability at Souselas and increased the operators confidence in monitoring mill performance and control.

Operator user-interface of PXP-VRM controller A smooth implementation process The PXP project was made up of three phases: 1) A pre-commissioning visit to discuss process issues and control strategy and plan implementation practicalities 2) Introducing operators to PXP and providing user training 3) Implementing the kiln, cooler, raw mill and cement mills applications The three-phase implementation process took 20 weeks in 2007. Applications were installed in four different sections of the plant. Post-commissioning services is a fundamental aspect of FLSAs capabilities. This guarantees that the PXP system functions perfectly, regardless of where it has been implemented. Souselas management has initiated a service agreement to ensure a close partnership between CIMPOR and FLSA in the future. The agreement covers various types of service including both remote and on-site tuning, and a comprehensive maintenance programme. An immediate improvement in kiln performance Enhanced kiln control at Souselas produced direct improvements in the multi-level calciner control scheme results. Overall kiln stability is highly dependent on stable calciner operation, and the operators were positively surprised by PXPs influence on the calciners performance and the impact on general kiln stability. The production managers were also impressed by the PXP effect. They praised the improvement in kiln stability and reliability and the significant reduction in clinker quality variation. As the table below illustrates, prior to the PXP installation there was a standard deviation of free lime of up to 1.42. However, in the months following the

installation, the standard deviation of free lime was reduced to between 0.3 and 0.75, with an overall standard deviation reduction from 0.88 to 0.55 for the whole April to July period. The average free lime standard deviation between April and July 2007 was 2.08. From August to mid-November, it was only 1.68. The free lime target for PXP is 1.6. Free lime std. dev. 0,88 0,55 Production

April-July (before PXP) 259 t/hour August-November (after 268 t/hour PXP) Improvements 37,5% 3,5% Preliminary average results of the PXP kiln 3 controller. The management aimed for a minimum hourly feed rate of 260 tonnes in the pyro department. The average kiln feed during April to July was 259 tonnes per hour, while the kiln feed from August to the middle of November was 268 tonnes per hour. This shows that PXP not only caused the standard deviation to decrease, but also significantly boosted the kiln feed. The run factor figures showing system utilisation in daily operation are very satisfactory. Even in the last stages of pyro department commissioning, the system run factor in September 2007 was as high as 78 percent. The operator set PXP to off-line mode for 18 percent of operation time in this month. The remaining one percent indicates situations when PXP automatically switched off because it was unprepared. After some minor tuning, the run factor was significantly improved in October 2007. By experience, increased operator confidence will result in even higher run factor in the near future.

The road to success The PXP implementation work at Souselas was considered as a successful process both from plants and FLSAs view points. The success was due to a variety of different factors.

Communication is always crucial in this type of project. Close discussion between FLSA engineers and Souselas staff about the process control strategies, control variables and actuators was a priority. FLSAs on-site PXP training was essential for helping operators understand system behaviour and giving them the confidence they needed to use the autopilot system effectively. The combination of training and consultations provided plant supervisors with a thorough understanding of PXPs flexibility, tuning and maintenance options thus removing any ambiguity and ensuring that they could get the best out of the new system. The success of the Souselas implementation was based on the following factors: In the first training session, one person per shift was responsible for facilitating the commissioning period for the whole production team. The production team and those responsible for implementation kept in close communication. High levels of equipment availability and schedule flexibility. Both companies worked as a team, forming a strong relationship based on trust and shared knowledge. Remote access connection to FLSA after the commissioning period.

From the commissioners point of view, a successful project requires: Good interaction between the production management, the operators and the FLSA implementation team. Commissioners need to feel that they are part of the team and have the freedom to work the necessary hours. For example, commissioners may need to work cement mills at off-peak times, when electricity is cheaper, allowing more time for tuning. Operators explaining the strategy behind the application, so that the reasons for using it are clearly understood. Commissioners working closely with operators so they benefit from each others specialised knowledge.

It is clear that at Souselas, the CIMPOR/FLSmidth partnership is based on trust and profound compatibility!