Method for a digital processing device, digital processing device and system comprising a digital processing device
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- EP · EP
- Patent Type
- Applications
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2024-04-30
- Publication Date
- 2026-03-11
AI Technical Summary
Existing systems for generating electricity and process heat, such as combined heat and power (CHP) plants, lack an overall consideration of the interaction between power generation and industrial production systems, leading to suboptimal operation and increased energy consumption.
A digital processing device with a communication module, storage devices for computer-implemented models of both the production plant and the power generation system, and a processing module that optimizes operating plans and schedules based on production data, weather forecasts, and energy market data to predict and manage electricity, heat, and cooling requirements, thereby synchronizing the operation of both systems with the electrical supply network.
This approach enables optimized operation of both power generation and industrial production systems, reducing energy consumption, stabilizing the electrical supply network, and minimizing CO2 emissions by adjusting production processes to match energy availability and demand.
Smart Images
Figure EP2024061828_07112024_PF_FP_ABST
Abstract
Description
[0001] Method for a digital processing device, digital processing device and system comprising a digital processing device
[0002] TECHNICAL FIELD
[0003] The present disclosure relates to a method for a digital processing device of a plant for generating electricity, useful heat, and / or cooling and a production plant, a digital processing device, a computer program product, and a system comprising a digital processing device and a front end of a plant for generating electricity, useful heat, and / or cooling and a production plant. Furthermore, a control and / or regulation system comprising a system comprising a digital processing device and a process control system of a plant for generating electricity, useful heat, and / or cooling and / or a process control system of a production plant is disclosed.
[0004] BACKGROUND
[0005] Plants for generating electrical power and process heat, such as combined heat and power (CHP) gas and steam turbine power plants, are used to supply industrial production plants with electricity and process heat.
[0006] EP3497307B1 describes a combined cycle CHP power plant with a control system comprising an expert system and a standby communication module that enables safe operation of the combined cycle CHP power plant even without constant supervision.
[0007] US Patent No. 10,620,598B2 discloses providing a cloud network within an external network that connects gas turbines of a power plant with other remote gas turbines, power plants, or facilities of suppliers or customers. Furthermore, an internal network is provided in which a power plant control system is provided, in which an optimization system optimizes the operation of the gas turbines based on a model of the power plant.
[0008] The publication US 2019 / 0339681 A1 describes a system for controlling a large number of industrial plants using a cloud server. The cloud server receives data from the industrial plants regarding the controllers and drives used in the industrial plants, which are analyzed and processed in the cloud server. However, a disadvantage of known production plant and power plant control systems is that their optimization neglects an overall consideration of the power plant and the industrial production plant, which is supplied with electricity, process heat, and / or district / heating by the power plant, and their interaction with the electrical grid.
[0009] BRIEF SUMMARY
[0010] The present disclosure is based on the object of providing a technology for a digital processing device of a plant for generating electricity, useful heat and / or cold and a production plant, a digital processing device, a system comprising a digital processing device and a control and / or regulating system, with the aid of which both the operation of the plant for generating electricity, useful heat and / or cold and the operation of the industrial production plant can be optimized.
[0011] To achieve this object, a method is proposed for a digital processing device of a plant for generating electricity, useful heat and / or cold, wherein the digital processing device comprises a communication module configured to communicate with a front end of the plant for generating electricity, useful heat and / or cold and the production plant, a first storage device configured to store a computer-implemented model of the production plant, a second storage device configured to store a computer-implemented model of the plant for generating electricity, useful heat and / or cold, and a processing module, wherein the method comprises: processing, in particular optimizing, an operating plan for the production plant, generating, by the processing module, based on production data of the production plant obtained from the front end,the model of the production plant and the operating plan for the production plant, a forecast of electricity, useful heat and / or cooling requirements for the production plant, generating, by the processing module, based on the forecast of the electricity, useful heat and / or cooling requirements for the production plant and the model of the plant for generating electricity, useful heat and / or cooling, a schedule for the plant for generating electricity, useful heat and / or cooling, sending, by the communication module, the operating plan for the production plant to the frontend, and sending, by the communication module, the schedule for the plant for generating electricity, useful heat and / or cooling to the frontend. The plant for generating electricity, useful heat and / or cooling can be any type of power plant that generates electricity,Useful heat and / or cold is generated. The plant can be, for example, a combined heat and power (CHP) power plant or a biomass plant with a steam turbine. The combined heat and power (CHP) power plant can comprise a gas turbine with a generator connected to it for generating electrical power, a waste heat boiler for generating steam by heating feedwater with the exhaust gas from the gas turbine, and a steam turbine operated with the steam generated in the waste heat boiler with a generator connected to it for generating electrical power, wherein steam exiting the steam turbine or hot condensate generated in the steam turbine is discharged as a process medium. The plant for generating electricity, useful heat and / or cold can also be a heat pump or a refrigeration machine. Thus, the useful heat and / or cold mentioned in this disclosure can be process heat and / or process cold. The plant for generating electricity,Useful heat and / or cold can include, in particular, a combined heat and power plant, a waste incineration plant, a photovoltaic plant, a wind turbine, a compression refrigeration plant, an adsorption / adsorption refrigeration plant, a biomass power plant, a steam boiler plant, a hot water boiler plant, a thermal and / or electrical storage system, a fuel cell, a cogeneration plant and / or a heat pump.
[0012] The production facility can be any type of consumer or any type of industrial production facility. In particular, the production facility is any type of industrial facility for the manufacture and / or processing of products, such as a paper mill, a brewery, a chemical park, or a steelworks. The production facility can also include a refrigeration system, for example, for a server room, a brewery, or a chemical park. The production facility can include a plurality of controllable and / or adjustable electrical machines in a factory. Preferably, the facility for generating electricity, useful heat, and / or cooling and the production facility are connected to the same electrical supply network.
[0013] The digital processing device can be a digital processing device, such as a computer, located at the site of the plant for generating electricity, useful heat, and / or cooling. The digital processing device can be an edge computer or a cloud backend. Accordingly, the frontend can be a cloud frontend.
[0014] The cloud backend can include resources required for various cloud services, such as virtual machines, web servers, application servers, database servers, security mechanisms, etc. A cloud backend file system can be distributed across multiple servers, disks, and machines so that if one unit fails, another unit can take over. The cloud backend can support the cloud frontend. The cloud backend supports the cloud frontend, for example, by providing data and services that the frontend needs to interact with users and process data. The cloud backend can provide the following support to the cloud frontend: The cloud backend can provide databases to enable the storage and query of data sent from the cloud frontend.The cloud backend can provide server and application services to enable the processing and provision of data and services to the cloud frontend. The cloud backend can provide network resources to enable communication between the cloud frontend and the cloud backend and other components of the application. The cloud backend can provide APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) to enable communication between the cloud frontend and the cloud backend and other components or external services of the application. The cloud backend includes, in particular, storage devices that can be located on different, remotely located servers. This can involve both spatial and system-architectural separation. The individual components of the cloud backends are connected to one another via a network, for example, the Internet, Ethernet, or a cellular network.The cloud backend may in particular comprise the following components: an application layer, such as a user interface, a service layer that enables the execution of tasks performed in the cloud, a cloud runtime similar to an operating system in a computer, cloud storage, such as solid-state drives (SSDs) or hard disk drives (HDDs), infrastructure and architecture, such as central processing units (CPUs), motherboards, graphics processing units (GPUs), network cards and accelerator cards, management software, i.e., "middleware" for the cloud backend platform that allocates different resources to each task in the cloud and ensures that each task is processed, and a security structure, such as debugging, system backup and anti-virus processes.
[0015] Accordingly, the cloud frontend can be client-side software and hardware components that enable communication between the cloud frontend and the cloud backend. The cloud backend is connected to the cloud frontend via a network, such as the Internet. A cloud service provider (or multiple cloud service providers) can manage and control the cloud backend. The cloud backend and / or the cloud frontend can be hosted on a variety of different cloud platforms, such as Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services, an in-house data center, or a third-party data center. The cloud frontend can also be a communication interface, in particular a communication interface with a user interface.
[0016] The computer-implemented model of the production plant can be a so-called "digital twin" of a production plant. With the digital twin, products and machines, as well as their components, are digitally modeled using digital tools, in particular including all geometric, kinematic, kinetic, and logic data. A digital twin is thus a digital image of physical assets in a real production plant and allows for the simulation, control, and optimization of the production plant. The digital twin enables comprehensive data exchange and includes data generation, data acquisition, and / or data archiving.It consists of models of a represented object and can also include simulations, algorithms, artificial intelligence (AI) models, and services that describe, influence, and predict the properties or behavior of the represented object, or offer services for this purpose. The digital representation of the production plant can cover the entire life cycle of the production plant, can be updated based on real-time data, and can use simulations, machine learning, and inference to support decision-making. Thus, the computer-implemented model of the production plant can include a variety of statistical digital models, dynamic digital models, symptom and failure models, and / or cause-and-effect logic of the production plant.
[0017] The computer-implemented model of the plant for generating electricity, useful heat, and / or cooling can also be a digital twin, which digitally maps all components of the plant for generating electricity, useful heat, and / or cooling, for example, a combined heat and power (CHP) power plant, so that the CHP (CHP) power plant can be controlled via the digital twin. The computer-implemented models of the production plant and the plant for generating electricity, useful heat, and / or cooling can also be modeled as a common, virtual energy system.
[0018] The forecast of electricity, useful heat and / or cooling requirements for the production plant can involve energy values in the unit MWh and heat and / or mass flows in the unit t / h. The process heat requirement can in particular involve steam and / or hot water. The operating plan for the production plant can involve time specifications for the control of units such as controllable, electrical, pneumatic or hydraulic machines in the production plant. The operating plan can thus comprise control data records assigned to one or a plurality of control programs for a production device in the production plant. Accordingly, the control data records can involve one or more control programs or operating programs, e.g. programs for a programmable logic controller (PLC). A control program can also relate to the control of an entire factory or production facility.The associated control data record can thus be configured to control a plurality of electrical machines in the production plant. A control program can, in particular, relate to a production line with a plurality of electrical machines in a factory or to a production facility having a plurality of production lines. In particular, the control programs can be controllers for the same production device, wherein the control programs have different power and / or heat requirements. For example, a first control program can control a production plant at maximum production speed, whereas a second control program can control the production plant at half production speed. Furthermore, different control programs can also relate to different execution times of a production process.For example, a first control program relates to the control of a production plant from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. and a second control program relates to the control of the same production plant from 8:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m., whereby operation of the production plant from 8:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m. results in lower electricity costs and relieves the load on the electrical power grid. Furthermore, the temporal sequence of production processes can be changed (so-called "job scheduling"). If the production plant consists of one or more combined plants for the manufacture of different products with different electricity requirements (e.g., a paper mill), it is possible, for example, to switch from the manufacture of products with high steam and / or electricity requirements (e.g., heavy paper) to the manufacture of products with lower steam and / or electricity requirements (e.g.,light paper) or vice versa when the grid stability of the electrical supply network requires a lower power demand.
[0019] Accordingly, processing the operating plan for the production plant can involve optimizing the operating plan for the production plant. Preferably, the operating plan for the production plant is optimized with respect to reduced electricity, process cooling, and / or process heat requirements and / or CO2-reduced production at the production plant. It is also possible for a control program to cause a negative power requirement, for example, if a control program switches an electrical machine in the production plant to generator mode. In this case, electrical energy from at least one DC link can be fed back into the electrical grid.
[0020] The schedule for the plant generating electricity, useful heat, and / or cooling can specify whether and when the plant or individual components of the plant are in operation, and what electricity, useful heat, and / or cooling the plant provides in a given time period. Restrictions such as minimum operating times, minimum downtimes, and / or minimum / maximum gradients for adjusting the plant's output between two time periods can be taken into account. Further restrictions can include required full-load hours per day, the number of switching cycles, times during which electricity must be supplied (so-called "must-run" times), power levels, and / or maximum / minimum power levels. Furthermore, different types of control energy, i.e., specifications for primary reserve, secondary reserve, minute reserve, and other system services, can be taken into account when generating the schedule for the plant.Temporary restrictions on individual components, such as those specified in a downtime tool, may also be stipulated as a restriction. Furthermore, an overall efficiency requirement may be required to be achieved on an annual average. Furthermore, a temporary CO2 emission limit may have been reached. The plant for generating electricity, useful heat, and / or cooling may also be a biomass plant where a direct marketer of subsidized generation capacity curtails the plant due to overgeneration.
[0021] Additional data, such as weather, grid, and / or electricity market data, can be used to generate forecasts of electricity, heat, and / or cooling demand for the production plant and, based on these forecasts, to create the operating plan for the production plant. Additional data, such as weather, grid, and / or electricity market data, can also be used to generate the plant's schedule for generating electricity, heat, and / or cooling.
[0022] Thus, the present method for a digital processing device can control production processes in production plants depending on the available electricity and steam. If, for example, relatively little electrical power (or analogously, heat / steam) is available in an electrical energy network (or analogously, in a heat / steam network), i.e., there is a generation-side bottleneck, the electricity and / or steam consumption of the production plant can be reduced. This can be achieved, for example, by switching off electricity- or steam-consuming components of the production plant (i.e., components requiring electrical or thermal power) or switching them to an energy-saving operating mode (i.e., an operating mode with lower power requirements).It is also possible to adapt production processes at the production facility to a forecasted power demand of the electrical or thermal supply grid. For example, the execution of production processes that have a high power demand can be postponed to times of day when there is typically no high power demand in the supply grid (i.e., when there is a power surplus in the supply grid). Thus, by controlling and / or regulating electrical or thermal consumers, the total power consumption of the production facility can be adjusted in such a way that the grid stability of the electrical or thermal supply grid is not negatively affected and / or CCh emissions are reduced.
[0023] Thus, with the method described above for a digital processing device, it is possible to optimize the operating plan for the production plant and the schedule for the plant for generating electricity, useful heat, and / or cooling in an overall view. For this purpose, the operating plan for the production plant and the schedule for the plant for generating electricity, useful heat, and / or cooling can be optimized using the digital models of the production plant and the plant for generating electricity, useful heat, and / or cooling based on various input parameters. In particular, the operating plan for the production plant and the schedule for the plant for generating electricity, useful heat, and / or cooling can be optimized with regard to electricity, useful heat, and / or cooling demand and / or CCh generation.For the optimization of the operating plan for the production plant and the schedule for the plant for generating electricity, useful heat and / or cooling, a machine learning module can further be provided in the digital processing device, which optimizes the operating plan for the production plant and the schedule for the plant for generating electricity, useful heat and / or cooling based on historical data of the production plant and the plant for generating electricity, useful heat and / or cooling as training data sets.
[0024] To optimize the forecast of the electricity, useful heat, and / or cooling demand for the production plant and the operating plan for the production plant, the method may further comprise the following steps: receiving, by the communication module, weather forecast data, utility grid data, and / or energy market data; and generating, by the processing module, based on the weather forecast data, utility grid data, and / or energy market data, the forecast of the electricity, useful heat, and / or cooling demand for the production plant and / or the processed operating plan for the production plant. The weather forecast data may include, for example, outside temperatures, wind speeds, solar radiation, air pressure, and humidity values.The supply grid data can, for example, be utilization data of the electrical supply grid to which the production plant and the plant for generating electricity, useful heat, and / or cooling are connected, or grid stability data of the electrical supply grid. The energy market data can be prices on the electricity exchange, the natural gas exchange, or spot markets, or trading data in over-the-counter (OTC) markets. The energy market data can also be prices for CO2 emissions, whereby, based on the prices for CO2 emissions, electricity can be purchased during a time when little or no CO2 emissions are caused for electricity generation.
[0025] The digital processing device may further comprise an optimization module. In this case, the method may further comprise the step of optimizing, by the optimization module, based on production data of the production plant obtained from the front end of the production plant and the model of the production plant, the prediction of the electricity, useful heat, and / or cooling demand for the production plant with respect to a reduced electricity, useful heat, and / or cooling demand and / or a CO2-reduced production of the production plant.
[0026] Furthermore, the method may comprise the steps of receiving, by the communication module from the front end, as production data of the production plant, data relating to a power, useful heat and / or cooling requirement of the production plant, production plans of the production plant, downtimes and / or operating restrictions of the production plant and / or malfunctions of the production plant, and using, by the processing module, the received data for generating the forecast of the power, useful heat and / or cooling requirement for the production plant and the processed operating plan for the production plant.
[0027] The operating plan for the production plant can include a chronological sequence of production steps in the production plant, a chronological shutdown of the production plant, a chronological shift of production processes, a power, useful heat, and / or cooling requirement of the production plant over time, and / or a chronological sequence and / or quantity of different products. The schedule for the plant generating power, useful heat, and / or cooling can include a power setpoint for a process control system of the plant generating power, useful heat, and / or cooling, a technical operating mode of the plant generating power, useful heat, and / or cooling, a provision of primary control power, a provision of positive and / or negative secondary control power, a provision of positive and / or negative minute reserve power, a provision of positive and / or negative system services of another type, and / or a heartbeat signal.The schedule can specify the values over time. The power setpoint can be a setpoint for generating machines, a setpoint for a steam quantity, a setpoint for exported power at a grid transfer point (this can also be negative, i.e., electricity is imported from the electrical grid), and / or a setpoint for total generation capacity.
[0028] To control and / or regulate the plant for generating electricity, useful heat and / or cooling, the method can comprise the step of writing, by the communication module, the schedule in real time via the frontend into a process control system of the plant for generating electricity, useful heat and / or cooling. The process control system of the plant for generating electricity, useful heat and / or cooling can, for example, be a power plant control system with the aid of which a CHP / CCGT power plant can be controlled and / or regulated. The process control system can also comprise several power plant control systems with the aid of which a CHP / CCGT power plant can be controlled and / or regulated.
[0029] To control and / or regulate the production plant, the method may include the step of writing, by the communication module, the operating plan in real time via the front end to a process control system of the production plant or to other systems (e.g., an energy management and / or planning system). The process control system of the production plant may be a digital, automated control system that controls geographically distributed control loops in a factory, a machine, or a control area.
[0030] To further optimize production at the production facility, the computer-implemented model of the production facility can be further detailed. For this purpose, the computer-implemented model of the production facility can comprise a computer-implemented model of a pre-production facility of the production facility. In this case, the method can further comprise the following steps: receiving, by the communication module from the front end, data relating to a power requirement of the pre-production facility, a production plan of the pre-production facility, downtimes or interruptions of the pre-production facility, malfunctions of the pre-production facility and / or inventory levels of the pre-production facility, using, by the processing module, the received data of the pre-production facility to generate an operating plan for the pre-production facility, and sending, by the communication module, the operating plan for the pre-production facility to the front end.To control the production plant, the method can further comprise the step of writing, by the communication module, the operating plan in real time via the front end into a process control system of the pre-production plant. The process control system of the pre-production plant can be a process control system that is independent of the production plant. This makes it possible to control the pre-production plant and the production plant separately. Furthermore, it is possible for the computer-implemented model of the production plant to define individual machines of the production plant or the pre-production plant.
[0031] To increase the grid stability of the supply grid, the method may further comprise the steps of receiving, by the communication module, grid stability data of an electrical supply grid to which the plant for generating electricity, useful heat and / or cooling and / or the production plant is connected, and generating, by the processing module, depending on the received grid stability data, the schedule for the plant for generating electricity, useful heat and / or cooling and / or the processed operating plan for the production plant.
[0032] To further increase the grid stability of the electrical supply grid, the method may further comprise the step of optimizing, by the processing module, with the operating plan for the production plant having a higher priority than the schedule for the plant for generating electricity, useful heat, and / or cooling. According to this aspect, it is taken into account that the production plant has a greater influence on the optimization, in particular the optimization with regard to electricity consumption, process heat consumption, process cooling consumption, CCh generation, and / or grid stability, than the plant for generating electricity, useful heat, and / or cooling.
[0033] Furthermore, the processing module can generate the schedule for the plant for generating electricity, useful heat, and / or cooling and the operating plan for the production plant such that the plant for generating electricity, useful heat, and / or cooling increases a generated heat load before the production plant starts production. For example, the production plant (e.g., a paper mill) informs the plant for generating electricity, useful heat, and / or cooling (e.g., a combined heat and power plant) that the production plant will start production at a specific time (e.g., in 15 minutes). The plant for generating electricity, useful heat, and / or cooling can then increase a heat load (e.g., a steam load). This can prevent a failure of the plant for generating electricity, useful heat, and / or cooling when the production plant starts production.Furthermore, grid stability of the electrical supply network can be ensured when the production plant starts production.
[0034] Furthermore, the processing module can generate the schedule for the plant for generating electricity, useful heat and / or cooling and the operating plan for the production plant in such a way that the production of the production plant is reduced before an increase in the power output of the plant for generating electricity, useful heat and / or cooling.
[0035] The processing module can further generate the operating plan for the production plant in which the production of the production plant is reduced in such a way that firstly the temporal sequences of production steps of the production plant and / or product types of the production plant are changed and only then the production of the production plant is interrupted.
[0036] The object stated at the outset is further achieved by a digital processing device for a plant for generating electricity, useful heat and / or cold and a production plant, wherein the digital processing device comprises the following: a communication module configured to communicate with a front end of the plant for generating electricity, useful heat and / or cold and the production plant, a first storage device configured to store a computer-implemented model of the production plant, a second storage device configured to store a computer-implemented model of the plant for generating electricity, useful heat and / or cold, and a processing module, wherein the digital processing device is configured to carry out one of the methods described above.The front end can in particular be a combined front end for the plant for generating electricity, useful heat and / or cooling and for the production plant.
[0037] The present disclosure further relates to a computer program product comprising instructions which, when the program is executed by a computer or a processor, cause the computer or processor to carry out one of the methods described above.
[0038] Furthermore, the present disclosure relates to a computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions that, when executed by a computer or a processor, cause the computer or processor to perform one of the methods described above. The object stated above is also achieved by a system comprising the following: a digital processing device as described above and a front end of a plant for generating electricity, useful heat, and / or cooling and a production plant, wherein the front end is communicatively connected to the digital processing device via a network. The system may be a cloud architecture.
[0039] Furthermore, the present disclosure comprises a control and / or regulation system comprising the following: a system described above, and a process control system of a plant for generating electricity, useful heat and / or cooling and / or a process control system of a production plant. Furthermore, a process control system of a pre-production plant can be provided. The process control system of the plant for generating electricity, useful heat and / or cooling is configured to control and / or regulate the plant for generating electricity, useful heat and / or cooling, and the process control system of the production plant is configured to control and / or regulate the production plant. The control and / or regulation system can be a cloud control and / or regulation system.
[0040] The process control systems (production and plant or power plant) can also be interconnected. For example, the plant for generating electricity, heat, and / or cooling can respond directly to a production outage based on a signal transmission between the process control systems. This allows the schedule of the plant for generating electricity, heat, and / or cooling to be overwritten by the digital processing device.
[0041] The aspects and variants described above can be combined without this being explicitly described. Each of the described embodiment variants is therefore to be considered optional to each embodiment variant or combinations thereof. The present disclosure is therefore not limited to the individual embodiments and variants in the described order or to a specific combination of the aspects and embodiment variants.
[0042] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Further advantages, details and features of the methods, devices and systems described here will become apparent from the following description of embodiments and the figures.
[0043] Fig. 1 shows a schematic representation of an embodiment of a cloud architecture;
[0044] Fig. 2 shows a schematic representation of an embodiment of a cloud backend; and
[0045] Fig. 3 shows a flowchart of a process for a cloud backend of a combined heat and power plant and an industrial production plant.
[0046] DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0047] Fig. 1 shows a schematic representation of an embodiment of a cloud architecture. The cloud architecture comprises a cloud backend, a combined heat and power plant and production plant frontend. The cloud backend is connected via the Internet to the combined heat and power plant and production plant frontend. Furthermore, the cloud backend is connected via the Internet to a weather forecast server, an energy market data server, and a supply grid server. The frontend is also in communication with a combined heat and power plant and an industrial production plant. In the embodiment of Fig. 1, the industrial production plant is a paper mill, with the combined heat and power plant supplying the paper mill with electricity and process steam. The supply grid server receives data relating to the supply grid from an electrical supply grid that connects the combined heat and power plant and the production plant, such as:Data relating to grid stability and the utilization of the electrical supply grid. The combined heat and power (CHP) power plant and the industrial production facility can also be connected to each other via a communications network, such as the Internet.
[0048] Figure 2 shows a schematic representation of a cloud backend. The cloud backend shown in Figure 2 may be the cloud backend shown in Figure 1.
[0049] The cloud backend comprises a communication module 10 configured to communicate with the cloud frontend of the combined cycle CHP power plant and the production plant, a first storage device 20 configured to store a computer-implemented model of the production plant (production model), a second storage device 30 configured to store a computer-implemented model of the combined cycle CHP power plant (power plant model), and a processing module 40 that can access the production model and the power plant model, execute simulations with different input parameters based on the production model and the power plant model, and generate optimized operating plans for the production plant and schedules for the combined cycle CHP power plant based thereon. These operating plans and schedules can then be sent as recommendations to the operators of the production plant or the combined cycle CHP power plant.However, it is also possible that the production plant or the combined heat and power plant can be controlled or regulated directly via their process control systems using the operating plans and timetables.
[0050] The cloud backend and cloud frontend of the combined cycle CHP plant and the production plant are hosted on the Microsoft Azure cloud computing platform. Other cloud platforms are conceivable. The computer-implemented model of the production plant is a digital twin of the paper mill, and the computer-implemented model of the combined cycle CHP plant is a digital twin of the combined cycle CHP plant.
[0051] Fig. 3 shows a flowchart of a method for a cloud backend of a combined heat and power (CHP) power plant and an industrial production plant. The method can be executed by the cloud backend shown in Figs. 1 and 2 and comprises the following method steps: S5: Processing, in particular optimizing, an operating plan for the production plant. S10: Generating, by the processing module 40, based on production data of the production plant received from the cloud frontend, the model of the production plant, and the operating plan for the production plant, a forecast of electrical power and / or heat demand for the production plant. S20: Generating, by the processing module 40, a schedule for the combined heat and power (CHP) power plant based on the forecast of the electrical power and / or heat demand for the production plant and the model of the combined heat and power plant.S30: Sending the operating plan for the production plant to the cloud frontend via communication module 10. S40: Sending the schedule for the combined heat and power plant to the cloud frontend via communication module 10.
[0052] When predicting electrical power and / or heat requirements for the production plant, energy values are given in units of MWh and steam values in units of t / h.
[0053] The operating plan for the production plant includes time specifications for controlling units of the production plant, such as controllable electrical machines in the paper mill. In particular, the operating plan for the production plant includes a chronological sequence of production steps in the paper mill, scheduled shutdowns of the paper mill, a temporal shift of production processes, and / or the electricity and / or heat requirements of the paper mill over time.
[0054] The schedule for the combined cycle CHP power plant specifies whether and when the power plant is in operation and what electricity and / or heat generation the power plant will provide in a given time period. Restrictions such as minimum operating times, minimum downtimes, and / or maximum gradients for the power plant's output adjustment between two time periods are taken into account. Further restrictions include required full-load hours per day, the number of switching cycles, the times during which electricity must be supplied, output levels, and / or maximum / minimum outputs. Furthermore, different types of control energy, i.e., specifications for primary reserve, secondary reserve, and minute reserve, are taken into account when generating the schedule for the combined cycle CHP power plant.The schedule for the combined cycle CHP power plant includes, in particular, a power setpoint for a process control system of the combined cycle CHP power plant, a technical operating mode of the combined cycle CHP power plant, a provision of primary control power, a provision of positive and / or negative secondary control power, a provision of positive and / or negative minute reserve power, and / or a heartbeat signal.
[0055] The temporal forecasts, operating plans and schedules can include units of days, hours, minutes, seconds and milliseconds.
[0056] The cloud backend communication module 10 can further receive weather forecast data from a weather forecast server, energy market data from an energy market data server, and utility grid data from a utility grid server. The processing module 40 can then, based on the weather forecast data, utility grid data, and / or energy market data, generate the forecast of the electrical power and / or heat demand for the paper mill and the operating plan for the paper mill.
[0057] The cloud backend shown in Fig. 2 can further comprise an optimization module 50. Accordingly, the cloud backend can perform the further method step of optimizing, by means of the optimization module 50, the prediction of the electrical power and / or heat demand for the paper mill based on the paper mill's production data obtained from the cloud frontend and the paper mill model. In particular, the electricity and / or heat demand for the paper mill is optimized with respect to a reduced electricity and / or heat demand and / or a CO2-reduced production of the paper mill.For optimized generation of the forecast of the electrical power and / or heat demand for the paper mill and the operating plan for the paper mill, the cloud backend may further comprise the steps of receiving, by the communication module 10 from the cloud frontend, as paper mill production data, an electrical power and / or heat demand of the paper mill, production plans of the paper mill, downtimes of the paper mill and / or disruptions of the paper mill, and using, by the processing module 40, the received data for generating the forecast of the electrical power and / or heat demand for the paper mill and the operating plan for the paper mill.
[0058] The combined cycle CHP power plant includes a process control system (not shown in the figures). To control and regulate the combined cycle CHP power plant, the cloud backend can perform the following process steps: Writing the schedule in real time via the cloud frontend to the combined cycle CHP power plant's process control system using the communication module 10.
[0059] The paper mill also includes a process control system (not shown in the figures). To control or regulate the paper mill, the cloud backend can perform the following process steps: Writing the operating plan in real time via the cloud frontend to a process control system of the paper mill via the communication module 10.
[0060] In a further embodiment of the present disclosure, the computer-implemented model of the paper mill comprises a computer-implemented model of a pre-production plant of the paper mill (not shown in Figs. 1 and 2). According to this embodiment, the cloud backend performs the following method steps: receiving, by the communication module 10, from the cloud frontend, data concerning a power requirement of the pre-production plant, a production plan of the pre-production plant, downtimes of the pre-production plant, malfunctions of the pre-production plant, and / or inventory levels of the pre-production plant; using, by the processing module 40, the received data of the pre-production plant to generate an operating plan for the pre-production plant; and sending, by the communication module 10, the operating plan for the pre-production plant to the cloud frontend.
[0061] To improve the grid stability of the supply grid, the cloud backend can further be configured to receive, via the communication module 10, grid stability data from an electrical supply grid to which the combined cycle CHP power plant and the paper mill are connected. The processing module 40 then generates the schedule for the combined cycle CHP power plant and the operating plan for the paper mill based on the received grid stability data.
[0062] According to a further development of the above embodiment, the processing module 40 optimizes the operating plan for the paper mill with a higher priority than the schedule for the combined cycle CHP power plant. Thus, the processing module 40 can generate the schedule for the combined cycle CHP power plant and the operating plan for the paper mill such that the combined cycle CHP power plant increases a generated steam load before the start of production at the paper mill. For example, the paper mill informs the combined cycle CHP power plant that the paper mill will start production in 15 minutes. The combined cycle CHP power plant can then increase its steam load. This can prevent a failure of the combined cycle CHP power plant when the paper mill starts production. Furthermore, grid stability of the electrical supply grid can be ensured when the paper mill starts production.Furthermore, the processing module 40 can generate the operating plan for the paper mill in which the production of the paper mill is reduced in such a way that firstly the time sequences of production steps of the paper mill and product types of the paper mill are changed, and only then the production of the paper mill is interrupted.
[0063] This provides a cloud-based technology that enables the optimization of the operating plan for a production plant and the schedule for a combined heat and power (CHP) power plant in a holistic view. In particular, the operating plan for the production plant and the schedule for the combined heat and power (CHP) power plant can be easily optimized with respect to electricity demand, heat demand, and / or CCh generation.
[0064] In the examples presented, various features and functions of the present disclosure have been described separately and in specific combinations. However, it is understood that many of these features and functions can be freely combined with one another, unless explicitly excluded.
[0065] Thus, the exemplary embodiments described above relate to a cloud backend and a cloud frontend, whereby the cloud backend can also generally be a digital processing device (for example, an edge computer) and the cloud frontend can also generally be a frontend. The combined heat and power (CHP) power plant can generally be a plant for generating electricity, useful heat, and / or cooling. Accordingly, the optimizations can also be implemented with respect to a reduction in electrical power, useful heat, and / or cooling.
Claims
CLAIMS 1. A method for a digital processing device of a plant for generating electricity, useful heat and / or cold, wherein the digital processing device comprises a communication module (10) configured to communicate with a front end of the plant for generating electricity, useful heat and / or cold and the production plant, a first storage device (20) configured to store a computer-implemented model of the production plant, a second storage device (30) configured to store a computer-implemented model of the plant for generating electricity, useful heat and / or cold, and a processing module (40), the method comprising: Processing (S5), in particular optimising, an operating plan for the production plant, Generating (S10), by the processing module (40), based on production data of the production plant received from the frontend, the model of the production plant and the operating plan for the production plant, a forecast of electricity, useful heat and / or cooling requirements for the production plant, Generating (S20), by the processing module (40), based on the prediction of the electricity, useful heat and / or cooling demand for the production plant and the model of the plant for generating electricity, useful heat and / or cooling, a schedule for the plant for generating electricity, useful heat and / or cooling, Sending (S30), through the communication module (10), the operating plan for the production plant to the frontend and Sending (S40), via the communication module (10), the schedule for the plant for generating electricity, useful heat and / or cooling to the frontend.
2. The method of claim 1, further comprising Receiving, by the communication module (10), weather forecast data, utility grid data and / or energy market data, and Generating, by the processing module (40), based on the weather forecast data, supply network data and / or energy market data, the forecast of the electricity, useful heat and / or cooling demand for the production plant and / or the processed operating plan for the production plant.
3. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the digital processing device further comprises an optimization module (50), and the method comprises: Optimizing, by the optimization module (50), based on production data of the production plant received from the frontend and the model of the production plant, the prediction of the electricity, useful heat and / or cooling demand for the production plant with respect to a reduced electricity, useful heat and / or cooling demand and / or a CO2-reduced production of the production plant.
4. Method according to one of the preceding claims, further comprising receiving, by the communication module (10) from the frontend, as Production data of the production plant, electricity, useful heat and / or cooling requirements of the production plant, production plans of the production plant, downtimes and / or operational restrictions of the production plant and / or malfunctions of the production plant and Using, by the processing module (40), the received data to generate the forecast of the electricity, useful heat and / or cooling demand for the production plant and the processed operating plan for the production plant.
5. Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the operating plan for the production plant comprises a chronological sequence of production steps of the production plant, a chronological shutdown of the production plant, an electricity, useful heat and / or cooling requirement of the production plant and / or a chronological sequence and / or quantity of different products; and / or the schedule for the plant for generating electricity, useful heat and / or cooling comprises a power setpoint for a process control system of the plant for generating electricity, useful heat and / or cooling, a technical operating mode of the plant for generating electricity, useful heat and / or cooling, a provision of primary control power, a provision of positive and / or negative secondary control power, a provision of positive and / or negative minute reserve power, and / or a heartbeat signal.
6. Method according to one of the preceding claims, further comprising writing, by the communication module (10), the timetable in real time via the Frontend into a process control system of the plant for generating electricity, useful heat and / or cooling; and / or Writing, through the communication module (10), the operating plan in real time via the frontend into a process control system of the production plant.
7. Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the computer-implemented model of the production plant is a computer-implemented model a pre-production plant of the production plant, and the method further comprises Receiving, by the communication module (10) from the frontend, data relating to a power requirement of the pre-production plant, a production plan of the pre-production plant, downtimes of the pre-production plant, faults of the pre-production plant and / or stock levels of the pre-production plant, Using, by the processing module (40), the received data of the pre-production plant to generate an operating plan for the pre-production plant and Sending, through the communication module (10), the operating plan for the pre-production plant to the frontend.
8. Method according to one of the preceding claims, further comprising Receiving, by the communication module (10), network stability data of a supply network to which the plant for generating electricity, useful heat and / or cooling and / or the production plant is connected, and Generating, by the processing module (40), as a function of the received grid stability data, the schedule for the plant for generating electricity, useful heat and / or cooling and / or the processed operating plan for the production plant.
9. The method of claim 8, further comprising Optimizing, by the processing module (40), with a higher priority of the operating plan for the production plant than the schedule for the plant for generating electricity, useful heat and / or cooling.
10. The method according to claim 8 or 9, wherein the processing module (40) generates or processes the schedule for the plant for generating electricity, useful heat and / or cold and the operating plan for the production plant in such a way that the plant for generating electricity, useful heat and / or cold increases a generated heat load before a start of production of the production plant.
11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the processing module (40) generates the operating plan for the production plant, in which a production of the production plant is reduced, in such a way that firstly chronological sequences of production steps of the production plant and / or product types of the production plant are changed and only then is the production of the production plant interrupted.
12. Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the plant for generating electricity, useful heat and / or cold comprises a combined heat and power plant, a waste incineration plant, a photovoltaic plant, a wind turbine, a compression refrigeration plant, an adsorption / absorption refrigeration plant, a biomass power plant, a steam boiler plant, a hot water boiler plant, a thermal and / or electrical storage system, a fuel cell, a cogeneration plant and / or a heat pump.
13. Digital processing device for a plant for generating electricity, useful heat and / or cold and a production plant, comprising a communication module (10) which is configured to communicate with a front end of the plant for generating electricity, useful heat and / or cold and the production plant, a first storage device (20) which is configured to store a computer-implemented model of the production plant, a second storage device (30) which is configured to store a computer-implemented model of the plant for generating electricity, useful heat and / or cold, and a processing module (40), wherein the digital processing device is configured to carry out the method according to one of the preceding claims.
14. A computer program product comprising instructions which, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to carry out the method according to any one of the preceding claims 1 to 12.
15. A system comprising the digital processing device according to claim 13; and a front end of a plant for generating electricity, useful heat and / or cooling and a production plant, wherein the front end is in communication with the digital processing device via a network.
16. Control and / or regulation system comprising the system according to claim 15, and a process control system of a plant for generating electricity, useful heat and / or cooling and / or a process control system of a production plant.