OREANDA-NEWS. April 12, 2011. Six-month use of furnace intelligence specialist system since commissioning of No.1 furnace of iron-making plant in Baoshan Iron & Steel Co., Ltd. reduced per ton iron fuel consumption by near 3.7kg, annual cost by over 20 million yuan and increased first-grade liquid iron rate from 79% to 83%. The system autonomously developed by Baosteel is domestic first closed-loop automatic control furnace operation system with full-range diagnosis and control for furnace temperature, slag and coal gas flow, knowledge accumulation and autonomous storage, signifying a new age and development phase of Baosteel iron-making technology, reported the press-centre of Baosteel.

The system is iron-making frontier technology of the day. Its essence is to formulate, program and digitalize existing furnace refinery technology and operation practice into a set of high intelligent computer system for furnace closed-loop automatic control, eliminating discrepancy in furnace stability and technical parameters due to differed practical operation.

In recent years, with continued iron-making technology progress and rapid computer technology development, leading enterprises in the world started R&D of furnace intelligence specialist system. Since commissioning over twenty years ago, technological leaps and bounds were achieved by Baosteel with bountiful knowledge in operation, world advanced technical parameters and coal injection technology. Its continued upgrade and renewal of technical equipments and online module information provided favorable conditions for coming-into-being of the system. 

End of 2008, iron-making plant and equipment department of Baoshan Iron & Steel Co., Ltd., Baosight Software Co., Ltd. started large furnace intelligence specialist system project in joint efforts. System covered main operation process with seven functional modules of temperature control, coal gas flow and slag property adjustment, automatic hot blast furnace control, longevity and slag disposal management, special furnace condition prediction and was put on stream in No.1 furnace last September. It could predict and evaluate furnace conditions, intervene in advance to ensure stability and eliminate discrepancy caused by personnel factors. Compared with systems of the same kind home and abroad, Baosteel furnace specialist system is strong intelligent system integrating closed-loop control and logic reasoning with knowledge accumulation and autonomous storage to automatically learn of and modify operation parameters when circumstances change.

Closed-loop control through intelligence specialist system signified sophistication in furnace and computer technologies. Six patents, over ten know-how were born with the system. Success rate of closed-loop control by the system in six months exceeded 95%. Its effective operation played a positive role in stabilizing furnace conditions, reducing fuel and auxiliary consumption and improving liquid iron quality. Its success was significant in solving problems of continued production expansion and technology reserve shortage with bright prospects for future application.