Surface melting furnace, its operation management method and operation management program

Abstract

To provide an operation management method for a surface melting furnace that can evaluate whether or not the material to be treated has collapsed in a surface melting furnace in which the material to be treated is supplied from a supply port into a main combustion chamber to form a layer of the material to be treated, the layer being melted from the surface side, and the molten slag is discharged from the slag port, so that the surface gradually becomes lower toward the slag port. The method includes an imaging step of capturing a thermal image of the surface of the treatment layer L, and an evaluation step of evaluating the state of the treatment layer L based on the thermal image. F In the slug port vicinity region L located near the slug port 221 F1 In the evaluation process, the thermal image of the slug port is taken, and the presence or absence of collapse of the treated material is checked in the area L F1 The evaluation is based on thermal images.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a surface melting furnace in which the material to be treated is fed into the main combustion chamber so that the surface gradually becomes lower toward the slag port. The material is then melted from the surface side, and the molten slag is discharged from the slag port. The present invention also relates to a method and program for managing its operation. [Background technology]

[0002] As an example of the above-mentioned surface melting furnace, as shown in Patent Document 1, the material to be treated in the feed tube formed between the outer tube and the inner tube placed inside it is fed into the main combustion chamber formed below the ceiling part installed on the inner periphery of the inner tube, forming a roughly cone-shaped layer of the material to be treated, the surface of the material layer is melted by the heat generated by the burner installed on the ceiling part to form molten slag, and the molten slag is allowed to naturally flow out of the main combustion chamber through a slag port on the floor part of the outer tube. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 9-273736 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In the surface melting furnace described above, the melting process may not be performed properly depending on the condition of the material layer. For example, if the height difference between the top of the material layer and the slag port exceeds the appropriate range, or if the molten surface of the material protrudes beyond the appropriate range toward the slag port, the material may collapse. Unmelted material may roll from the surface of the material layer toward the slag port, resulting in insufficient residence time in the furnace. Depending on the size and location of the collapse, the material may be discharged unmelted from the slag port and mixed with the molten slag. Therefore, there is a need for a method to detect and deal with the collapse of the material.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and one object of the present invention is to provide an operation management method for a surface melting furnace that is capable of evaluating whether or not the workpiece will collapse. Another object of the present invention is to provide a surface melting furnace to which the operation management method can be applied, and an operation management program therefor. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to achieve the above object, the operation management method according to the present invention comprises: A method for managing the operation of a surface melting furnace, in which a material to be treated is supplied from a supply port into a main combustion chamber to form a layer of material to be treated, the layer having a surface that gradually becomes lower toward a slag port, the layer being melted from the surface side, and the molten slag is discharged from the slag port, an imaging step of capturing a thermal image of the surface of the treatment object layer; and evaluating the state of the treatment object layer based on the thermal image, In the imaging step, a thermal image of a slug port vicinity region on the surface located near the slug port is captured, The evaluation step is characterized in that the occurrence of collapse of the object to be treated is evaluated based on a thermal image of the area near the slug port.

[0007] Because unmelted material is cooler than the molten surface of the material layer, if unmelted material is present on the molten surface of the material layer, a thermal image of the molten surface of the material layer will include a low-temperature region representing the unmelted material. As mentioned above, if a collapse of the material occurs, the unmelted material rolls from the surface of the material layer toward the slag port. Therefore, if a low-temperature region is included in a thermal image of the slag port vicinity, which is usually located near the slag port where the surface is molten, this indicates that the unmelted material may have rolled into the slag port vicinity. Therefore, the operational management method described above can evaluate whether or not a collapse of the material has occurred based on a thermal image of the slag port vicinity.

[0008] In the operation management method according to the present invention, In the imaging step, a thermal image of a supply port side region on the surface, which is located closer to the supply port than the slug port vicinity region, is captured; In the evaluation step, it is preferable to evaluate whether or not the workpiece newly supplied into the main combustion chamber has slipped under the surface based on the thermal image of the supply port side region.

[0009] In some surface melting furnaces, at least a portion of the heat required to melt the incombustible materials contained in the materials is provided by the heat generated during combustion of the combustion aid contained in the materials. In this case, it is considered preferable to supply the materials to above the surface of the material layer so that sufficient oxygen is supplied to the combustion aid and combustion is carried out properly. However, depending on the height position of the surface of the material layer, materials newly supplied to the main combustion chamber may sink below the surface of the material layer. This must be avoided because it leads to incomplete combustion of the combustion aid, which reduces the furnace temperature and processing capacity.

[0010] In the above-described operational management method, the supply port-side region of the surface of the material layer is the region located closer to the supply port than the region near the slag port. When material is being supplied above the surface of the material layer, a thermal image of the supply port-side region is expected to show a low-temperature region, indicating material that is cooler than the molten surface of the material layer. Therefore, if the thermal image of the supply port-side region contains fewer low-temperature regions than expected, this indicates that newly supplied material may have slipped under the surface of the material layer. Therefore, the above-described operational management method allows for evaluation of the occurrence of material slippage based on a thermal image of the supply port-side region.

[0011] In the operation management method according to the present invention, In the evaluation step, it is preferable to evaluate whether or not the workpiece has collapsed based on the proportion of pixels that exhibit a temperature below a predetermined value among the pixels that make up the thermal image of the area near the slug port.

[0012] Because each pixel in the thermal image contains temperature information, the number and percentage of pixels corresponding to low-temperature regions where the temperature is below a predetermined value can be calculated from the temperature information of each pixel. This percentage serves as an index of the size of the low-temperature region. That is, a high percentage of pixels showing temperatures below a predetermined value among the pixels constituting the thermal image of the region near the slag port on the surface of the material layer indicates that there is a large amount of unmelted material in the region near the slag port on the surface of the material layer. In other words, a large amount of unmelted material has rolled off the surface of the material layer. An increase in this percentage over time indicates that an increase in the amount of unmelted material has rolled off the surface of the material layer.

[0013] Therefore, the operation management method having the above configuration makes it possible to evaluate whether or not collapse of the treated material has occurred based on the above ratio. As one example, when a thermal image of the area near the slag port is taken, it can be determined that collapse of the treated material has occurred if the ratio of pixels showing a temperature below a predetermined value exceeds a predetermined threshold. As another example, when at least two thermal images of the area near the slag port taken over time are taken, it can be determined that collapse of the treated material has occurred if the ratio of pixels showing a temperature below a predetermined value increases beyond a predetermined threshold.

[0014] In the operation management method according to the present invention, In the evaluation step, it is preferable to evaluate whether or not the workpiece has slipped under based on the proportion of pixels that exhibit a temperature below a predetermined value among the pixels that make up the thermal image of the supply port side region.

[0015] A low ratio of pixels showing a temperature below a predetermined value among the pixels constituting the thermal image of the supply port side region on the surface of the material layer means that there are few low-temperature material to be treated on the supply port side region on the surface of the material layer, in other words, many of the material to be treated newly supplied to the main combustion chamber have sunk below the supply port side region on the surface of the material layer. A decrease in this ratio over time means that more material to be treated has sunk below the supply port side region on the surface of the material layer.

[0016] Therefore, according to the operation management method configured as described above, it is possible to evaluate whether or not a workpiece has slipped under based on the ratio. As one example, it is possible to evaluate that a workpiece has slipped under when the ratio of pixels showing a temperature below a predetermined value in one thermal image of the supply port side region falls below a predetermined threshold. As another example, it is possible to evaluate that a workpiece has slipped under when the ratio of pixels showing a temperature below a predetermined value in at least two thermal images of the supply port side region taken over time falls below a predetermined threshold.

[0017] It is preferable that the operation management method according to the present invention further comprises an adjustment step of adjusting the operating conditions of the surface melting furnace based on the results of the evaluation step.

[0018] According to the operation management method configured as described above, if it is determined that the workpiece has collapsed or submerged, these phenomena can be improved or avoided by adjusting the operating conditions of the surface melting furnace.

[0019] In the operation management method according to the present invention, In the adjusting step, it is preferable to adjust at least one of the amount of the material to be treated supplied to the main combustion chamber, the supply position of the material to be treated supplied to the main combustion chamber, and the temperature of the main combustion chamber.

[0020] The amount of material supplied, the supply position of the material, and the temperature of the main combustion chamber are all operating conditions that directly affect the state of the material layer deposited in the main combustion chamber. The operation management method configured as described above can improve or prevent the material from collapsing or sinking by adjusting these operating conditions.

[0021] In the operation management method according to the present invention, The surface melting furnace is a ceiling portion provided with a heating device and having the main combustion chamber formed below; an inner cylinder provided on the outer periphery of the ceiling portion and capable of rising and falling together with the ceiling portion; an outer cylinder with a bottom, the inner cylinder being disposed inside the outer cylinder and being rotatable relative to the inner cylinder; It is preferable that the rotary surface melting furnace is equipped with a guide device provided at the bottom of the inner cylinder that guides the material to be treated located in a supply tube formed between the outer surface of the inner cylinder and the inner surface of the outer cylinder to the main combustion chamber as the outer cylinder rotates.

[0022] The operation management method according to the present invention can also be suitably carried out in the rotary surface melting furnace having the above-mentioned configuration.

[0023] In order to achieve the above object, the surface melting furnace according to the present invention comprises: A surface melting furnace comprising a main combustion chamber provided with a slag port, wherein a workpiece is supplied into the main combustion chamber so as to have a surface that gradually becomes lower toward the slag port, and a layer of the workpiece is formed by melting the layer from the surface side, a supply device that supplies the object to be treated into the main combustion chamber; a heating device for heating the main combustion chamber; an imaging device that captures a thermal image of the surface of the treatment object layer; a control device that evaluates the state of the workpiece layer based on the thermal image and adjusts the operating conditions of the surface melting furnace based on the evaluation result; the imaging device is configured to capture a thermal image of a proximate slug port region on the surface located proximate the slug port; The control device is characterized in that it is configured to evaluate whether or not the treated material has collapsed based on a thermal image of the area near the slag port, and to adjust the operation of at least one of the supply device and the heating device if it is determined that collapse has occurred.

[0024] When the operation control method according to the present invention is applied to the surface melting furnace having the above-described configuration, the evaluation process and the adjustment process can be executed by a control device. That is, with the surface melting furnace having the above-described configuration, it is possible to automatically evaluate whether or not the workpiece has collapsed or submerged, and to automatically adjust the operating conditions of the surface melting furnace based on the evaluation results.

[0025] In order to achieve the above object, the operation management program according to the present invention comprises: An operation management program for a surface melting furnace, in which a material to be treated is supplied into a main combustion chamber so as to have a surface that gradually becomes lower toward a slag port, a layer of the material to be treated is formed, and the material is melted from the surface side, and the molten slag is discharged from the slag port, an imaging step of capturing a thermal image of the surface of the workpiece layer; an evaluation step of evaluating a state of the object layer based on the thermal image; In the imaging step, a thermal image of a slug port vicinity region located in the vicinity of the slug port on the surface is captured, The evaluation step is characterized in that the presence or absence of collapse of the object to be treated is evaluated based on a thermal image of the area near the slug port.

[0026] The operation management program makes it possible to cause the surface melting furnace to execute the operation management method according to the present invention. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0027] [Figure 1] 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a schematic configuration of a surface melting furnace according to the present invention. [Figure 2] 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a surface melting furnace according to the present invention. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the imaging range of an infrared camera in a surface melting furnace. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the state of a processing object layer. [Figure 5] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the state of a processing object layer. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the state of a processing object layer. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the state of a processing object layer. [Figure 8] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a thermal image captured by an infrared camera. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0028] Hereinafter, embodiments of a surface melting furnace and its operation management method and operation management program according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that in the following description, a rotary surface melting furnace is used as an example, which melts incineration ash (an example of non-combustible material) generated from a garbage incinerator or the like by using the combustion heat of waste plastic (an example of a combustion aid). However, the present invention is not limited to this and can be applied to any surface melting furnace.

[0029] First Embodiment <Structure of the surface melting furnace> As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the surface melting furnace 1 includes a bottomed outer tube 2, an inner tube 3 arranged inside the outer tube 2 with its axis X aligned with that of the outer tube 2, a ceiling portion 4 provided on the lower part of the inner surface of the inner tube 3, a control device 5 that controls the operation of the surface melting furnace 1, a display device 6, and a conveying device 8.

[0030] A well-known rotary drive device 21 is connected to the outer cylinder 2, and the rotary drive device 21 drives the outer cylinder 2 to rotate relative to the inner cylinder 3. A slug port (slug port) 221 is provided in approximately the center of the floor 22 of the outer cylinder 2. An annular supply cylinder S is formed between the inner peripheral surface of the outer cylinder 2 and the outer peripheral surface of the inner cylinder 3, and a lid 7 that covers the upper opening of the supply cylinder S is supported on the top of the inner cylinder 3. A hopper 71 is provided on the lid 7, and a mixture of waste plastic and incineration ash mixed at a set ratio in a transport device 8 (a device composed of a mixer and conveyor, for example) is fed from the hopper 71 into the supply cylinder S as the material to be treated and stored therein.

[0031] The inner cylinder 3 is erected on the outer periphery of the ceiling 4 and is configured to be able to rise and fall together with the ceiling 4. A well-known lifting drive device 31 is connected to the inner cylinder 3, and the lifting drive device 31 drives the inner cylinder 3 and the ceiling 4 to rise and fall relative to the outer cylinder 2. A plurality of extrusion blades 32 (an example of a guide device) are provided at the bottom of the inner cylinder 3 at intervals around the circumference of the inner cylinder 3. The extrusion blades 32 are configured to extrude the material to be treated in the supply tube S located outside the inner cylinder 3 into the inner cylinder 3 as the outer cylinder 2 rotates. In other words, the space between the lower end of the inner cylinder 3 and the floor 22 of the outer cylinder 2 forms a supply port 33 for the material to be treated. In addition, a lower temperature sensor 9 for measuring the temperature of the lower part of the inner cylinder 3 is provided at the bottom of the inner cylinder 3, and the temperature measured by the lower temperature sensor 9 for measuring the temperature of the lower part of the inner cylinder is sent as a signal to the control device 5.

[0032] The ceiling 4 has a generally conical shape that opens downward, and a main combustion chamber M is formed between the ceiling 4 and the floor 22 of the outer cylinder 2. As the material to be treated is cut out of the main combustion chamber M, a material layer L that is generally cone-shaped in cross section and has a surface that gradually becomes lower toward the slag port 221 is formed. The ceiling 4 is provided with a burner 41 (an example of a heating device) that uses radiant heat from the combustion flame generated when the fuel is burned to heat the temperature inside the main combustion chamber M to 1200°C to 1400°C, which is above the melting point of the incineration ash.

[0033] By heating the upper space in the main combustion chamber M with the burner 41, the layer L of the material to be treated deposited in the lower part of the main combustion chamber M is melted from the surface side, and the melted surface L is melted by the molten slag. F The molten slag is discharged by gravity from the slag port 221 together with the exhaust gases in the main combustion chamber M. The temperature in the main combustion chamber M is measured by a main combustion chamber temperature sensor 42, which is, for example, a thermocouple, installed in the center of the ceiling 4, and the temperature is transmitted as a signal to the control device 5.

[0034] In addition, a combustion supporting gas supply device 43 is provided on the ceiling portion 4, for example, on the outer periphery of the ceiling portion 4, for supplying a combustion supporting gas (for example, oxygen or a gas containing oxygen) to the combustion supporting material on the surface of the treatment material layer L to promote its combustion.

[0035] Furthermore, the ceiling 4 is provided with an infrared camera 44 (an example of an imaging device) that captures an image of the surface of the workpiece layer L and generates a thermal image that indicates the temperature distribution on the surface using color or brightness. As shown in FIG. 3, the infrared camera 44 has an imaging range E1 that covers at least a portion of the circumferential direction of the surface of the workpiece layer L, which is approximately ring-shaped in a plan view. The imaging range E1 extends at least to the vicinity of the workpiece supply port 33 and the vicinity of the slag port 221 in the direction in which the molten slag flows toward the slag port 221 (the radial direction of the inner cylinder 3). The thermal image generated by the infrared camera 44 is transmitted as a signal to the control device 5.

[0036] Furthermore, the ceiling portion 4 is provided with a non-contact (laser type, ultrasonic type, etc.) surface height sensor 45 (see FIG. 2) that measures the surface height from the inner bottom surface of the outer cylinder 2 to the surface of the material layer L. The surface height sensor 45 can measure, for example, the height of a point on the surface of the material layer L that is located near the supply port 33. Note that the surface height may be a measurement value for one point obtained by one sensor, or may be an average value of measurements for multiple points obtained by multiple sensors.

[0037] The control device 5 is configured by a computer equipped with a memory, storage, and other storage devices, and a processor, and has, as functional units, a memory unit 51 and a processing unit 52. The memory unit 51 receives and stores signals from the infrared camera 44, the main combustion chamber temperature sensor 42, and the inner cylinder lower temperature sensor 9, and transmits the stored signals to the processing unit 52 in response to a request from the processing unit 52.

[0038] The processing unit 52 controls the feeding of the workpiece by the transport device 8, the rotation of the outer cylinder 2 by the rotation drive device 21, the elevation of the outer cylinder 2 by the elevation drive device 31, the output of the burner 41, the supply of auxiliary gas by the auxiliary gas supply device 43, etc., and performs image processing on the thermal image generated by the infrared camera 44. The processing unit 52 also adjusts the operating conditions of the surface melting furnace 1, as will be explained in the operation management method described below.

[0039] <State of the processed material layer> Hereinafter, several examples of the state of the treatment target layer L will be described with reference to Fig. 1 and Figs. 4 to 7. Note that in Figs. 4 to 7, some components are omitted for simplicity of the drawings.

[0040] The state of the material layer L in the main combustion chamber M changes depending on the operating conditions of the surface melting furnace 1. Specifically, when the supply position of the material to be treated moves up and down, the position of the top of the material layer L moves up and down accordingly, and the height between the top of the material layer L and the slag port 221 changes. In addition, when the supply amount of the material to be treated increases or decreases, the thickness of the upper part of the material layer L in the radial direction of the inner cylinder 3 changes accordingly.

[0041] Figure 1 shows the treated material layer L in which the drop between the top of the treated material layer L and the slag port 221 and the thickness of the upper part of the treated material layer L in the radial direction of the inner tube 3 are each within an appropriate range, and as a result, the treated material is supplied from the supply tube S into the main combustion chamber M onto the surface of the treated material layer L, and no collapse of the treated material occurs.

[0042] 4, if the supply position of the material to be treated is higher than in the case of FIG. 1, and the difference in height between the top of the material layer L and the slug port 221 exceeds an appropriate range, the material from the supply tube S is supplied onto the surface of the material layer L, but because the surface of the material layer L has a large slope, the unmelted material rolls down toward the slug port 221. In other words, FIG. 4 shows the material layer L in a state where the unmelted material collapses.

[0043] 5, when the supply amount of the material to be treated is reduced compared to the case of FIG. 1, and the thickness of the upper portion of the material layer L in the radial direction of the inner cylinder 3 becomes smaller than the appropriate range, the slope of the portion of the surface of the material layer L on the supply port 33 side is large, and similarly, the unmelted material to be treated rolls down toward the slug port 221. That is, FIG. 5 also shows the material layer L in a state where the collapse of the unmelted material to be treated occurs. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 6, when the supply amount of the material to be treated is increased compared to the case of FIG. 1, and the thickness of the upper portion of the material layer L in the radial direction of the inner cylinder 3 becomes larger than the appropriate range, and the melting surface L F When the slug protrudes toward the slug port 221, the material to be treated is supplied below the surface of the material layer L. That is, Fig. 6 shows the material layer L in a state where the material to be treated has submerged.

[0044] 7, the supply amount of the material to be treated is further increased compared to the case of FIG. 6, and as a result, the thickness of the upper layer of the material to be treated layer L in the radial direction of the inner cylinder 3 is further increased, and the melting surface L F If the slug port 221 protrudes too much, the melting surface L F Since the gradient of the melting surface LF The unmelted material to be treated that was covered with the slug is exposed and rolls down toward the slug port 221. That is, Fig. 7 shows the material layer L in a state where both the collapse of the unmelted material to be treated and the sinking of the material to be treated occur.

[0045] <Operational management method and program> The operation management program of the present invention is a program for causing a computer constituting the control device 5 to execute at least some of the steps corresponding to each process of the operation management method described below, and is stored in the memory device of the control device 5.

[0046] In the first embodiment, the operation management method includes a supplying step S11, a heating step S12, an imaging step S13, and an evaluating step S14.

[0047] The supply process S11 is a process in which the outer cylinder 2 is rotated by operating the rotary drive device 21, thereby feeding the material to be treated in the supply cylinder S, i.e., a mixture of waste plastic and incineration ash, into the main combustion chamber M to form a layer L of material to be treated, or replenishing the amount of material to be treated that has been melted.

[0048] The heating step S12 is a step of operating the burner 41 or, in addition, the combustion supporting gas supply device 43 to heat the main combustion chamber M. In this embodiment, when starting up the surface melting furnace 1, the burner 41 or, in addition, the combustion supporting gas supply device 43 is operated to raise the internal temperature of the main combustion chamber M to a predetermined target temperature (for example, 1300°C), thereby burning the waste plastics located on the surface side of the material layer L and melting the incineration ash. After the melting of the incineration ash begins, the operation of the burner 41 is stopped. After the operation of the burner 41 is stopped, the melting of the incineration ash continues due to the radiant heat from the combustion of the waste plastics (i.e., the system enters a self-sustaining operation state), and in parallel with this, the material to be treated is continuously or intermittently supplied in the supply step S1, thereby continuously melting the incineration ash.

[0049] The imaging step S13 is a step of imaging an area of ​​the surface of the workpiece layer L that falls within the imaging range E1 over time using the infrared camera 44 to generate a thermal image P (FIG. 8) that shows the temperature distribution in that area. Although not shown in the thermal image P of FIG. 8 for simplicity, an actual thermal image may include multiple areas that are color-coded or brightness-coded based on temperature differences.

[0050] The evaluation step S14 is a step of evaluating the state of the treatment target layer L, specifically, whether or not collapse of the treatment target has occurred, based on the thermal image P received from the storage unit 51.

[0051] As described above, when collapse occurs, the unmelted material rolls from the surface of the material layer L toward the slag port 221, and in the worst case scenario, is discharged from the slag port 221. Therefore, in the thermal image P captured by the infrared camera 44, the melting surface L is often observed in the area near the slag port 221, as shown in FIG. F Low temperature region E, which indicates an unmelted workpiece having a temperature lower than L If there is a thermal image that contains more than expected, this means that there is a high possibility that the object to be treated has collapsed.

[0052] Therefore, in the evaluation step S14, the processing unit 52 performs image processing on each of the thermal images P to identify the collapse evaluation target area E2 and the low-temperature area E L Identify the following.

[0053] The collapse evaluation target area E2 is the slag port vicinity area L located near the slag port 221, where the material supplied onto the material layer L is expected to melt and become molten slag when no collapse of the material occurs. F1 In this embodiment, the collapse evaluation target area E2 is a trapezoid with the short side on the slag port 221 side on the thermal image P, but it may have other shapes. Depending on the scale of the surface melting furnace 1, the collapse evaluation target area E2 may be a trapezoid with the short side on the slag port 221 side on the thermal image P, but it may be a trapezoid with the short side on the slag port F1The width of the collapse evaluation area E2 changes depending on the width of the slug port vicinity area L F1 The width of the .lambda.

[0054] Low temperature region E L is an area made up of pixels showing temperatures equal to or lower than a predetermined value, and the predetermined value can be set appropriately depending on the type of workpiece and the operating conditions of the surface melting furnace 1. As an example, the predetermined value can be set to 1200°C. As another example, the maximum temperature Tmax shown in the thermal image P can be multiplied by a coefficient smaller than 1 (for example, 0.9) and set to the predetermined value.

[0055] Then, the processing unit 52 selects the low-temperature region E L The processing unit 52 calculates the proportion of pixels corresponding to the pixel size, and determines whether the proportion exceeds a predetermined threshold. The predetermined threshold can be set arbitrarily, and can be set to 5%, for example. If a thermal image P in which the proportion exceeds the predetermined threshold is present among the thermal images P acquired over a predetermined period (which can be set arbitrarily), the processing unit 52 evaluates that collapse of the object to be treated has occurred. In other words, according to the operation management method of this embodiment, it is possible to evaluate whether collapse of the object to be treated has occurred. The evaluation results may be transmitted from the processing unit 52 to an output device (the display device 6 or any other type of device capable of transmitting information to an operator) and output.

[0056] Second Embodiment This embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that in the evaluation step S14 of the operation management method, in addition to the occurrence of collapse of the treated object, the occurrence of submersion of the treated object is evaluated. In the following explanation, explanation of the configuration that is the same as that of the first embodiment will be omitted.

[0057] As described above, when the sinking of the material to be treated occurs, the amount of unmelted material on the material layer L on the supply port 33 side decreases or disappears. Therefore, in the thermal image P of the surface of the material layer L captured by the infrared camera 44, a low-temperature region E2 indicating unmelted material to be treated appears in the region closer to the supply port 33 than the collapse evaluation target region E2, as shown in FIG. L If there is a thermal image containing less than expected, this means that there is a high possibility that the object to be treated has been submerged.

[0058] Therefore, in the evaluation step S14, the processing unit 52 performs image processing on each of the thermal images P to identify the submerged evaluation target region E3 and the low-temperature region E L Identify the following.

[0059] The penetration evaluation target area E3 is the slag port vicinity area L where the processed material is expected to intermittently appear in an unmelted or partially melted state on the surface of the processed material layer L when no penetration of the processed material occurs. F1 The supply port side region L located closer to the supply port 33 than the F2 In this embodiment, the submersion evaluation target area E3 is rectangular, but may have other shapes. F1 Similarly, depending on the scale of the surface melting furnace 1, the supply port side region L in the radial direction of the inner cylinder 3 F2 Since the width of the penetration evaluation area E3 also changes, the width of the supply port side area L F2 The width of the .lambda.

[0060] Then, the processing unit 52 selects pixels in the low temperature region E LThe processing unit 52 calculates the ratio of pixels corresponding to the target object, and determines whether the ratio is below a predetermined threshold. The predetermined threshold can be set arbitrarily, and can be set to 5%, for example. If there is no thermal image P in which the ratio is equal to or greater than the predetermined threshold among the thermal images P acquired over a predetermined period (which can be set arbitrarily), the processing unit 52 determines that the target object has slipped under. In other words, according to the operation management method of this embodiment, it is also possible to evaluate whether the target object has slipped under.

[0061] Third Embodiment This embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that the operation management method further includes an adjustment step S15 for adjusting the operating conditions of the surface melting furnace 1 based on the results of the evaluation step S14. In the following explanation, explanations of the same configuration as in the first embodiment will be omitted.

[0062] If the evaluation step S14 indicates that the workpiece has collapsed, the processing unit 52 of the control device 5 determines in the adjustment step S15 whether the surface height of the workpiece layer L has exceeded a predetermined threshold value. The threshold value may be a height that may cause the workpiece to collapse, and the specific value may be set appropriately depending on the size of the surface melting furnace 1 and the measurement location of the surface height sensor 45.

[0063] If the determination result indicates that the surface height of the material layer L exceeds a predetermined threshold (i.e., if the cause of the collapse is a large difference in height between the top of the material layer L and the slag port 221, as shown in FIG. 4), the processing unit 52 of the control device 5 lowers the inner cylinder 3 via the lifting drive device 31, lowering the supply position of the material to the main combustion chamber M. This reduces the difference in height between the top of the material layer L and the slag port 221 and the gradient of the surface of the material layer L, making it less likely that the material will collapse.

[0064] On the other hand, if the determination result shows that the surface height of the material layer L is below a predetermined threshold (i.e., if the cause of the collapse is a small supply of material and a small thickness in the upper part of the material layer L, as shown in FIG. 5), the processing unit 52 increases the output of the rotary drive device 21 to increase the rotation speed of the outer cylinder 2 and increase the supply of material to the main combustion chamber M. As a result, the collapsed material gradually accumulates and grows from the vicinity of the slag port toward the supply port 33, increasing the thickness in the height direction of the material layer L and reducing the surface gradient, making it less likely that the material will collapse.

[0065] The adjusting step S15 is performed until the evaluation step S14 no longer gives an evaluation result indicating that the object to be treated has collapsed.

[0066] [Fourth embodiment] This embodiment differs from the second embodiment in that the operation management method further includes an adjustment step S15 for adjusting the operating conditions of the surface melting furnace 1 based on the results of the evaluation step S14. In the following explanation, explanations of the same configuration as in the second embodiment will be omitted.

[0067] The results of the evaluation process S14 include a case where neither collapse nor submersion of the treated object occurs (Figure 1), a case where only collapse of the treated object occurs (Figures 4 and 5), a case where only submersion of the treated object occurs (Figure 6), and a case where both collapse and submersion of the treated object occur (Figure 7).

[0068] If neither the collapse nor the submersion of the object to be treated has occurred, the adjustment step S15 is not performed, that is, the processing unit 52 of the control device 5 maintains the current operating conditions.

[0069] When only the collapse of the workpiece occurs, as described in the third embodiment, the processing unit 52 increases the rotation speed of the outer cylinder 2 to increase the amount of the workpiece supplied to the main combustion chamber M, or lowers the inner cylinder 3 to lower the supply position of the workpiece to the main combustion chamber M, based on the determination result of whether the surface height of the workpiece layer L has exceeded a predetermined threshold. This makes it less likely that the workpiece will collapse.

[0070] When only the workpieces have slipped under, the processing unit 52 reduces the rotation speed of the outer cylinder 2 to decrease the amount of workpieces supplied to the main combustion chamber M. This reduces the thickness of the upper layer of the workpiece layer L in the radial direction of the inner cylinder 3, so that the workpieces newly supplied to the main combustion chamber M are more likely to be supplied on the surface of the workpiece layer L. Alternatively, the processing unit 52 raises the inner cylinder 3 to raise the supply position of the workpieces to the main combustion chamber M. Even in this case, the workpieces newly supplied to the main combustion chamber M are more likely to be supplied on the surface of the workpiece layer L.

[0071] When both the collapse and the sinking of the material to be treated occur, the treatment section 52 reduces the rotation speed of the outer cylinder 2 to decrease the amount of material to be treated supplied to the main combustion chamber M. This reduces the thickness of the upper layer of the material to be treated L in the radial direction of the inner cylinder 3, so that the material to be treated newly supplied to the main combustion chamber M is likely to be supplied on top of the material to be treated layer L, and the large protruding melting surface L F The melt surface L F The gradient of the melting point L decreases, so that collapse is less likely to occur. Alternatively, the treatment section 52 operates the burner 41 to raise the temperature of the main combustion chamber M. Even in this case, the thickness of the upper part of the layer L of the material to be treated in the radial direction of the inner cylinder 3 decreases due to the increase in the amount of melting, so that the material to be treated newly supplied to the main combustion chamber M is more likely to be supplied on top of the layer L of the material to be treated, and the melting surface L F Since the slope of the supply port 33 and the floor 22 is reduced, collapse is less likely to occur.

[0072] In each of the above cases, two or more adjustments may be combined. The adjustment step S15 is performed until neither the evaluation result that the object to be treated has collapsed nor the evaluation result that the object to be treated has submerged is obtained in the evaluation step S14.

[0073] If the upstream edge of the surface of the material layer L retreats to the bottom end of the inner cylinder 3, there is a risk that waste plastics acting as a combustion aid may adhere to the cutting blades 32. Therefore, when adjusting the rotation speed of the outer cylinder 2 or the output of the burner 41, the processing unit 52 estimates the position of the surface of the material layer L based on the temperature measured by the temperature sensor 9 at the bottom of the inner cylinder, and makes adjustments so that the upstream edge of the surface of the material layer L does not retreat to the bottom end of the inner cylinder 3.

[0074] Other Embodiments In the operation management method of the above-described embodiment, the occurrence of collapse or submersion of the treated material was evaluated for each thermal image P acquired over time, but the operation management method of the present invention may further evaluate the duration of collapse or submersion based on the evaluation result of the occurrence of collapse or submersion and the interval between capture of thermal images P. For example, if thermal images P are taken at 2-second intervals, the thermal image P to be evaluated as having a collapse (the pixels constituting the collapse evaluation target area E2) will be L When there are 10 consecutive thermal images P in time series in which the proportion of pixels corresponding to the low temperature region E1 exceeds a predetermined threshold, the processing unit 52 can evaluate that the collapse has continued for 20 seconds in the evaluation step S14. On the other hand, when there are 10 consecutive thermal images P in time series in which the proportion of pixels corresponding to the low temperature region E1 exceeds a predetermined threshold, the processing unit 52 can evaluate that the collapse has continued for 20 seconds in the evaluation step S14. L If there are 100 consecutive thermal images P) in time series in which the proportion of pixels corresponding to the above is below a predetermined threshold, in the evaluation step S14, the processing unit 52 can evaluate that the diving continued for 200 seconds. Then, the processing unit 52 may determine whether the duration of the collapse or submersion exceeds an arbitrarily settable threshold, and may display the result that the duration exceeds the threshold to the worker via the display device 6 or the like to urge the worker to take action. Furthermore, in the adjustment step S15, the processing unit 52 may adjust the operating conditions described above by increasing the degree of adjustment depending on the result that the duration exceeds the threshold. The interval at which the thermal images P are captured can be set arbitrarily, and can be a short interval such as one second or less, or a long interval such as five seconds or more.

[0075] In the above-described embodiment, the imageable range E1 is the slug port vicinity area L F1 and the supply port side area L F2 In the above example, the collapse evaluation target area E2 and the submersion evaluation target area E3 are identified and evaluated from the thermal image P captured by a single infrared camera 44, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the slag port vicinity area L F1 and the supply port side area L F2 Each of these is photographed by an individual infrared camera 44, and the slug port vicinity area L F1 The collapse evaluation target area E2 is identified from the thermal image and evaluated, and the supply port side area L F2 The submerged evaluation target area E3 may be identified from the thermal image and evaluated. Furthermore, the entire surface of the material layer L may be used as the evaluation target area using one infrared camera whose imaging range is the entire surface of the material layer L including the slag port 221, or the entire surface of the material layer L may be used as the evaluation target area using multiple infrared cameras.

[0076] In the above-described embodiment, the adjustment step S15 is performed by the control device 5, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, an operator may manually adjust the operating conditions by looking at the evaluation results output on the display device 6 or the like. [Explanation of symbols]

[0077] 1. Surface melting furnace 2 outer cylinder 21 Rotational drive unit 22 Floor 221 Slugport 23 Peripheral wall section 3 Inner cylinder 31 Lifting drive device 32 Cutting blade (guide device) 33 Supply port 4 Ceiling 41 Burner (heating device) 42 Main combustion chamber temperature sensor 43 Combustion support gas supply device 44 Infrared camera (imaging device) 45 Surface Height Sensor 5. Control device 51 Storage section 52 Processing section 6 Display device 7 Lid 71 Hopper 8 Conveyor (transport device) 9. Inner cylinder bottom temperature sensor S supply tube M Main combustion chamber L Processed object layer L F Melting surface L F1 Area near the slug port L F2 Supply port side area P Thermal Image E1 imaging range E2 Collapse assessment area E3 Area of ​​in-depth evaluation E L low temperature area X-axis center

Claims

1. A method for managing the operation of a surface melting furnace, in which a material to be treated is supplied from a supply port into a main combustion chamber to form a layer of material to be treated, the layer having a surface that gradually becomes lower toward a slag port, the layer being melted from the surface side, and the molten slag is discharged from the slag port, an imaging step of capturing a thermal image of the surface of the treatment object layer; and evaluating the state of the treatment object layer based on the thermal image, In the imaging step, a thermal image of a slug port vicinity region on the surface located near the slug port is captured, In the evaluation step, the occurrence or non-occurrence of collapse of the treated material is evaluated based on a thermal image of the area near the slag port.

2. In the imaging step, a thermal image of a supply port side region on the surface, which is located closer to the supply port than the slug port vicinity region, is captured; The operational management method described in claim 1, wherein the evaluation process evaluates whether or not the newly supplied workpiece into the main combustion chamber has slipped under the surface based on the thermal image of the supply port side area.

3. The operational management method described in claim 1, wherein in the evaluation process, the occurrence or non-occurrence of collapse of the treated material is evaluated based on the proportion of pixels that exhibit a temperature below a predetermined value among the pixels constituting the thermal image of the area near the slag port.

4. The operational management method described in claim 2, wherein in the evaluation process, the occurrence of the workpiece submerging is evaluated based on the proportion of pixels that exhibit a temperature below a predetermined value among the pixels constituting the thermal image of the supply port side area.

5. The operation management method according to claim 1 , further comprising an adjustment step of adjusting operating conditions of the surface melting furnace based on the results of the evaluation step.

6. 6. The operation management method according to claim 5, wherein the adjusting step adjusts at least one of the amount of the material to be treated supplied to the main combustion chamber, the supply position of the material to be treated supplied to the main combustion chamber, and the temperature of the main combustion chamber.

7. The surface melting furnace is a ceiling portion provided with a heating device and having the main combustion chamber formed below; an inner cylinder provided on the outer periphery of the ceiling portion and capable of rising and falling together with the ceiling portion; an outer cylinder with a bottom, the inner cylinder being disposed inside the outer cylinder and being rotatable relative to the inner cylinder; 5. The operation management method according to claim 1, wherein the rotary surface melting furnace is equipped with a guide device provided at the bottom of the inner cylinder that guides the material to be treated located in a supply tube formed between the outer peripheral surface of the inner cylinder and the inner peripheral surface of the outer cylinder into the main combustion chamber as the outer cylinder rotates.

8. A surface melting furnace comprising a main combustion chamber provided with a slag port, wherein a workpiece is supplied into the main combustion chamber so as to have a surface that gradually becomes lower toward the slag port, and a layer of the workpiece is formed by melting the layer from the surface side, a supply device that supplies the object to be treated into the main combustion chamber; a heating device for heating the main combustion chamber; an imaging device that captures a thermal image of the surface of the treatment object layer; a control device that evaluates the state of the workpiece layer based on the thermal image and adjusts the operating conditions of the surface melting furnace based on the evaluation result; the imaging device is configured to capture a thermal image of a proximate slug port region on the surface located proximate the slug port; The control device is configured to evaluate whether or not collapse of the workpiece has occurred based on a thermal image of the area near the slag port, and to adjust the operation of at least one of the supply device and the heating device if it is determined that collapse has occurred.

9. An operation management program for a surface melting furnace, in which a material to be treated is supplied into a main combustion chamber so as to have a surface that gradually becomes lower toward a slag port, a layer of the material to be treated is formed, and the material is melted from the surface side, and the molten slag is discharged from the slag port, an imaging step of capturing a thermal image of the surface of the workpiece layer; an evaluation step of evaluating a state of the object layer based on the thermal image; In the imaging step, a thermal image of a slug port vicinity region located in the vicinity of the slug port on the surface is captured, In the evaluation step, the operation management program evaluates whether or not the collapse of the treated material has occurred based on a thermal image of the area near the slag port.

Images