Oxygen Supply Pressure Control for Fluctuating Plant Demand
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current air separation apparatuses in steelmaking plants rely on operator experience and intuition to adjust oxygen gas production, leading to inefficiencies and excess gas release due to unpredictable demand fluctuations, especially in batch mode operations.
Innovation Solution
A supply quantity adjustment device that calculates total demand and sets production coefficients based on plant information and pressure values to automatically adjust oxygen gas production, utilizing a backup system to maintain consistent supply and reduce waste.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If operator experience and intuition are used to adjust production quantity, then flexibility in batch mode operations is maintained, but demand prediction accuracy deteriorates leading to excess gas release
Solution Approach 1:
The control unit continuously monitors actual demand from supply destinations and compares it with predicted demand, using this feedback to automatically adjust the production quantity. This closed-loop feedback mechanism replaces operator intuition with real-time data-driven control, maintaining flexibility while improving prediction accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The air separation apparatus performs self-adjustment of production quantity through automated control based on actual demand data. The system serves itself by automatically modifying production parameters without requiring operator intervention, thereby eliminating the limitations of human intuition while maintaining operational flexibility.
2Reliability
If production quantity is increased to meet peak demand, then supply reliability is improved, but loss of substance increases due to excess gas production
Solution Approach 1:
The production quantity is dynamically adjusted based on actual demand fluctuations rather than maintaining a fixed high production level. The control unit continuously modifies production parameters to match real-time demand, ensuring supply reliability during peak periods while minimizing excess production during low-demand periods, thereby reducing gas loss.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes production parameters (such as feed air flow rate, oxygen product withdrawal rate) dynamically based on actual demand conditions. By adjusting these parameters in response to real-time demand data, the system maintains supply reliability when needed while avoiding excessive production and associated gas losses during periods of lower demand.
3Speed
If production quantity is rapidly adjusted to respond to demand fluctuations, then responsiveness is improved, but stability of production process deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The control unit performs preliminary adjustments to production parameters based on predicted demand trends before actual demand changes occur. This anticipatory control allows the system to respond to demand fluctuations more smoothly without abrupt changes, maintaining both responsiveness and production stability by preparing adjustment actions in advance.
Data Source
AI summary
A supply quantity adjustment device 500 comprises: a total demand quantity calculation unit 502 that calculates a total demand quantity used at a supply destination, based on plant information; an excess/deficit information setting unit 503 that compares the total demand quantity and a flow rate set value and sets a first calculated pressure value; a backup coefficient setting unit that sets a backup coefficient set value based on a reference gasholder pressure, the first calculated pressure value, a reference backup pressure set value, and a measured gasholder pressure value; and a production coefficient setting unit that compares a production pressure set value obtained by adding the reference gasholder pressure and a first pressure output value with the measured gasholder pressure value, and sets a production coefficient so as to modify a variation in the quantity of product gas produced by the air separation apparatus.