A framework for quality control of baked carbon anodes manufacturing plants

该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灵活性，以科普碳阳极原材料（焦炭和沥青）质量下降和变化增加的问题。为了实现这一目标，提出了一个框架，实时决策的制造条件，包括过程监控和质量控制。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变化。多元潜变量统计方法将根据历史阳极制造和冶炼厂数据开发。这些工具将用于1）监控从原材料到最终产品的整个制造链2）用于计算过程变量的校正动作，以便减少焙烧阳极特性的可变性（即前馈/反馈质量控制），和3）用于建立焙烧阳极性能的多变量规格区域以帮助实现还原槽中的最佳性能。将拟议的质量控制工具转移到工业中将使他们能够生产出更一致的阳极，尽管原材料的变化越来越大。通过优化生产链，减少可变性可带来以下预期收益：节省成本、减少浪费、降低碳消耗和提高能源效率。实际上，通过生产质量更稳定的焙烧阳极和在焙烧前拦截有缺陷的绿色阳极，碳过度消耗实际上可以减少5%。这种碳过度消耗的减少将使绿色房屋气体排放量减少1600吨CO2/年。运营成本的节省还将使加拿大的炼铝厂在世界舞台上更具竞争力，从而通过出口和转化铝对加拿大经济作出贡献。巩固加拿大铝工业的领导地位将有助于维持操作员、技术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.