Smelter speeds up to local control 01 November 2009
Severniy, which runs an integrated mining and smelting plant in Krivoy Rog, Ukraine, producing pig iron, reports a 20% increase in throughput, as well as reduced costs and improved quality, since installing local digital automation.
CSC, from nearby Kiev, undertook the site survey, identifying improvements such as de-bottlenecking the drying zones and optimising the gas and air supply – and recommended the local real-time control.
The system integrator installed two control panels on the plant floor, close to the smelting chamber so that operators can monitor inferred data and make rapid adjustments.
It also chose CC-Link plant floor digital communications, partly to handle the harsh environment, partly to enable future upgrades, and partly because it's an open standard.
As Steve Jones, general manager of the CC-Link Association, says, before open plant communications, commissioning big systems was a major undertaking. "But now it's a plug-and-go process. You mount the field devices, connect them to the network and power up the control panel."
At Severniy, all plant equipment plugged straight in – including Itabar gas valves, Limitorqe actuators, Citect SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) and Mitsubishi PLCs.
Brian Tinham
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