Digitalization Chances to improve plant performance

Dipl.-Ing. Stefan Bräuner, Dr. Hannes Storch, Dipl.-Ing. Karl-Heinz Daum

Energy efficient processes with maximized heat recovery and efficient operation have moved more and more into focus in the sulphuric acid business. Even metallurgical plants are now expected to produce high pressure steam for power generation. With the help of proven processes, like the LURECTM, HEROSTM and HIPROSTM, this demand can easily be satisfied. Heat recovery causes interconnections between different areas of a complex to become more common. Additionally individual plants have increased in complexity, which both leads to higher requirements for operational personnel. The unfortunate combination of higher personnel mobility and fluctuation with the very remote locations of green or brown field sulphuric acid plant projects results in often inexperienced personnel, who need support to operate today’s state of the art sulphuric acid plant. By combining Outotec’s process knowledge with actual operational data of the plant, a digitalization system can greatly assist operation. The combination of higher efficiency and assistance through digitalization will be further detailed in this paper.