Thread Content
According to a report from Sinochem New Network, on April 16, at the 8th Fourth Council (Enlarged) Meeting of the China Coking Industry Association as well as the annual meeting of its Expert Committee, held in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, experts present noted that China’s coking industry is currently in an important phase of accelerating its transition from traditional manufacturing to intelligent manufacturing. By focusing on improvements in production management and adopting the concept of optimizing coking processes, it is possible to drive the digital transformation of this industry. Li Baoli, chairman of Jilin Baolike Trade Co., Ltd., told reporters that with the comprehensive implementation of ultra-low emission policies and the ongoing pursuit of the \"dual carbon\" goals, intelligence has gradually become a key tool for coking enterprises to improve operational efficiency, ensure safety and environmental protection, and promote green and low-carbon development. Although the coking industry already has a certain foundation in automation, due to factors such as long processing chains, complex operating conditions, high temperatures and pressures, and the presence of many corrosive substances, its level of intelligence development still lags behind that of advanced industries in the process sector such as petrochemicals and power generation. Most companies are still in the transition phase from mechanization and automation to digitalization and intelligence. “Data in actual production contains noise or deviations, making it difficult to support ‘digital coking’; therefore, it is necessary to establish a foundation of clean data based on process mechanisms. ”Shi Yanfeng, president of the China Coking Industry Association, emphasized that a data foundation must also be established for digitalization during the optimization of process systems. Piet, the former manager of the Schwelgen coking plant in Germany, agrees with this view. He suggests that Chinese companies should continuously check and calibrate process sensors to ensure that the Clean Data generated can be used in highly complex models, and that they should establish centralized databases and digital twin systems specific to the coking industry to facilitate use by engineers and workers. “The industry must take improvements in production management as a starting point and adopt the concept of optimizing coking process systems. ”Shi Yanfeng further explained that to implement this concept, it is necessary to encourage the industry to treat different plant areas such as coal preparation, coking, gas purification, and auxiliary systems as a single entity, incorporating them all into digital flow management. A digital twin system for the entire process should be developed, thereby enabling a shift from localized stability to coordinated optimization across the whole system. For enterprises, it is also necessary to use a coke quality prediction model as a core tool to determine the optimal cost-effectiveness of raw materials as well as the narrowest possible range of fluctuations in coke oven temperatures. Environmental constraints, market prices, and equipment lifespan should also be taken into account in the algorithms, in order to minimize energy consumption and optimize quality. In response, Li Baoli put forward four suggestions: first, accelerate the deployment of online monitoring equipment and sensing systems to enable real-time collection of key components, operating conditions, and abnormal signals of the desulfurization liquid ； Secondly, by leveraging mechanism models, data models, and process simulation techniques, deep analysis of operational data is carried out to achieve condition identification, trend prediction, and parameter optimization, thereby gradually developing the capability for closed-loop control that can automatically generate control commands and even execute them ； Third, accelerate the establishment of standards and data specifications related to intelligence, in order to improve system compatibility and the ability for widespread adoption ； Fourth, it is necessary to strengthen collaboration among industry, academia, and research institutions as well as talent development, in order to build a team of interdisciplinary professionals with skills in process engineering, equipment operation, control systems, and data analysis, thereby providing continuous support for the intelligent transformation of the coking industry. “System optimization is the essential path for coking enterprises to reduce costs and increase efficiency. ”Wei Dongxu, head of the production department at Yizhou Technology Co., Ltd., said that the three pillars of process system optimization – \"refinement, precision, and standardization\" – will not only drive the digital transformation of enterprises in this industry. By enabling refined raw material management, precise process control, and standardized operations, they will also help improve management levels, leading to simultaneous improvements in cost, quality, and efficiency, thereby enhancing the competitiveness of enterprises in the market.