A framework for quality control of baked carbon anodes manufacturing plants

这项研究计划旨在提高原铝冶炼厂，特别是阳极制造商的工艺智能和敏捷性，以应对碳阳极原材料(焦炭和沥青)质量下降和变化多端的问题。为实现这一目标，提出了一种涉及过程监控和质量控制的制造条件实时决策框架。将开发新的成像和声学传感器，以跟踪目前无法获得的关键原材料和工艺变量的可变性。将根据阳极制造和冶炼厂的历史数据，开发多元潜在变量统计方法。这些工具将用于1)监控整个制造链，从原材料到最终产品(即焙烧阳极)，并及早发现异常情况；2)计算工艺变量的修正措施，以减少焙烧阳极性能的变异性(即前馈/反馈质量控制)；3)建立焙烧阳极性能的多元规范区域，以帮助实现电解槽的最佳性能。将拟议的质量控制工具转让给该行业，将使他们能够生产更一致的阳极，尽管原材料的变化性越来越大。通过优化生产链，减少变化性可以带来以下预期的好处：节省成本、减少浪费、降低碳消耗和提高能源效率。事实上，通过生产质量更稳定的烘烤阳极，以及在烘焙之前截断有问题的绿色阳极，碳过度消耗实际上有望减少5%。这样减少碳过度消耗将使温室气体排放量每年减少1600吨二氧化碳。运营成本的节省还将使加拿大铝冶炼厂在世界舞台上更具竞争力，从而通过出口和转化铝来为加拿大经济做出贡献。巩固加拿大铝业的领导地位将有助于维持操作员、技术人员和工程师以及专业供应商和工程公司的高薪工作。

This research program aims at improving process intelligence and agility of primary aluminum smelters, and anode manufacturers in particular, to cope with the declining quality and increasing variability of the carbon anode raw materials (coke and pitch). To achieve this, a framework for real-time decision making on manufacturing conditions is proposed, involving process monitoring and quality control. New imaging and acoustics sensors will be developed to track variability of key raw materials and process variables that are currently unavailable. Multivariate latent variable statistical methods will be developed based on historical anode manufacturing and smelter data. These tools will be used 1) for monitoring the entire manufacturing chain, from raw materials to final products (i.e. baked anodes), and early detection of abnormal situations, 2) for computing correcting actions for process variables in order to reduce variability in baked anode properties (i.e. feedforward/feedback quality control), and 3) for establishing multivariate specification regions for baked anode properties to help achieve optimal performance in the reduction cells. Transferring the proposed quality control tools to the industry will allow them producing more consistent anodes in spite of the increasing variability of raw materials. By enabling the production chain to be optimized, reducing variability leads to the following expected benefits: costs savings, waste reduction, lower carbon consumption, and higher energy efficiency. Indeed, a 5% reduction in carbon overconsumption is realistically expected through producing baked anodes of more consistent quality and by intercepting faulty green anodes before baking them. Such a reduction in carbon overconsumption would reduce green house gas emissions by 1600 tons CO2/year. Savings in operating costs would also enable Canadian aluminum smelters to be more competitive on the world scene and hence contribute to the Canadian economy by exporting and transforming aluminum. Consolidating the leadership position of the Canadian aluminum industry would help maintain highly paid jobs for operators, technicians and engineers, and specialized suppliers and engineering firms.