ABB (Baden, Switzerland; www.abb.com) has announced that two Votorantim Cimentos (Votorantim, Brazil; www.votorantim.com.br) sites in Brazil have realized benefits as a result of upgrading to ABB’s Expert Optimizer automation technology solution.
A maker of concrete, mortar and cement, Vototrantim completed the upgrade at its Itau and Salto facilities, which had used the previous version of Expert Optimizer (known as LINKman) since 1995. The Salto plant’s upgrade was completed in October 2008, and the Itau plant’s upgrade was completed in February 2009.
Among the benefits observed by the plants since the upgrade was more stable use and control of the burning of alternative fuels, and with less disruption to the process. This has allowed both plants to increase the amount of alternative fuels they use, which in turn is having a positive impact on reducing production costs. Expert Optimizer, part of ABB’s CPM Minerals suite of solutions, ensures that the kiln is operated under optimum conditions according to the customer’s goals. At the Itau and Salto plants this has meant that the energy spikes created by burning alternative fuels, especially tires, are anticipated and managed by Expert Optimizer.
In upgrading to the new version, no site-specific features from the earlier version were lost. ABB’s upgrade approach preserved more than ten years of knowledge from the previous version and brought the operators access to the latest technologies incorporated in Expert Optimizer, like Model Predictive Control (MPC) and Mixed Logical Dynamic (MLD) systems.