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Advanced Process Control (APC) Solution for Spodumene Calcination Rotary Kiln

In a market environment with cyclical lithium price fluctuations, the Spodumene Calcination Rotary Kiln, as the 'heart' of the industry chain, has its operating efficiency and stability directly determining an enterprise's profitability and market competitiveness. This solution will detail how we utilize a new generation of Advanced Process Control technology—fusing Model Predictive Control (MPC), Expert Systems (ES), and Artificial Intelligence Large Models (LM)—to precisely resolve the core operational conflict between 'high conversion rate' and 'ring formation risk.' We will elevate the rotary kiln's operating efficiency to a new height, build a solid and sustainable cost moat for you, help your enterprise navigate the cycles, and achieve operational excellence.

Strategic Positioning

strategic positioning

Building a Cost Moat Amidst Volatility

In a market environment with cyclical lithium price fluctuations, the core strategy for enterprises to establish a long-term competitive advantage and navigate market cycles is to utilize intelligent means to maximally optimize production costs and maximize resource utilization.

Anti-Cyclical Volatility

Low-cost enterprises can maintain profitability and defend/expand market share even during price downturns.

Increase Return on Investment

By significantly reducing energy and material consumption, achieve higher profit margins under the same price conditions and boost asset return on investment.

Sustainable Development

Efficient resource utilization, reduced carbon emissions, achieving the dual goals of economic benefit and environmental protection.

Problem Description and Core Pain Points

core pain points

Rotary kiln operation control faces profound inherent contradictions that traditional methods can no longer resolve.

High Conversion Rate vs. Ring Formation Risk

To ensure $\alpha$-$\beta$ phase transition, a high temperature of 1050-1100°C must be maintained, but material tends to melt and form rings, forcing production shutdowns.

Human Operation Bottleneck

Personnel tend towards conservative operation, leading to high energy consumption and low capacity. Inconsistent performance across shifts causes quality fluctuations.

Limitations of Traditional Control

PID cannot handle multivariable strong coupling and long time delay, making precise and stable optimization control difficult.

Raw Material Composition Disturbances

Fluctuations in ore grade, impurities, and moisture content are major unmeasured disturbances, exacerbating operational instability.

Case Study

Analysis

Gaozheng Cement Plant Rotary Kiln Project

Data Validates the Transformation

By implementing expert system-based intelligent control, we translated veteran operators' vague judgments (such as 'the fire is too strong') into precise, computer-executable commands, solving the challenges of large clinker quality fluctuations, high energy consumption, and dependence on manual labor.

Key Indicator Improvement Comparison

Percentage represents the degree of improvement

Temperature Stability

Clinker Quality

Energy Consumption

Equipment Efficiency

±8℃

More Stable Burning Zone Temperature

Original ±25℃

±0.2%

Fluctuation of Free Calcium Oxide (f-CaO) in Clinker

Original ±1.0%

5M＋

Annual Fuel Cost Savings

80%

Reduction in Downtime

Solution Upgrade

Plan upgrade

The Leap from Cement to Lithium Salt

The success of our cement plant project proves the value of the expert system. However, the lithium spodumene industry's demands for control precision far exceed those of the cement industry, necessitating a targeted upgrade to the solution.

Cement Industry

Characteristics

Wider Operating Window

Higher tolerance for parameters like temperature.

Lower Material Value

The value per ton of clinker is relatively limited.

Moderate Quality Requirements

Relatively relaxed control requirements for final product quality.

"Post-Facto Reactive" Control

Feedback control based on issues is generally sufficient.

Spodumene

Industry Challenges

Extremely Narrow Operating Window

Calcination temperature must be precisely controlled within 1050-1100°C.

Extremely High Material Value

Lithium-containing minerals are highly valuable; any loss is costly.

Strict Quality Requirements

Beta-phase conversion rate directly affects final recovery rate, requiring >98%.

Requires "Forward-Looking" Predictive Control

Must actively predict and avoid risks, rather than passively respond.

Schematic of Process Risks in Spodumene Calcination Rotary Kiln

Alpha-Spodumene

High-Temperature Conversion Zone

Ring Formation Risk Zone

Beta-Spodumene

Operating Temperature Window

The narrow process operating window increases control difficulty

Temperature Too Low

Ideal Balance Point

Temperature Too High

The Way to Break the Impasse

Solution to Break the Deadlock

Three-Layer Hybrid Intelligent Architecture

Pure Expert Systems or MPC are insufficient to meet the stringent challenges of the lithium salt industry. We propose a new intelligent architecture that deeply integrates algorithms, data, and expert knowledge to achieve a synergistic effect where 1+1+1 > 3.

Layer 1: MPC Optimizer

Layer 2: Expert Guardian System (ES)

Layer 3: AI Large Model Empowerment (LM)

The Optimizer

Model Predictive Control (MPC)

As the core engine of the system, it is responsible for continuous, real-time online optimization. It uses dynamic mathematical models to 'predict' the future and calculates the optimal sequence of operations that achieves economic objectives (lowest energy consumption, highest output) while satisfying all safety and process constraints.

Handle Multivariable Coupling

Inherently describe the mutual influence of each input on all outputs, enabling global coordinated control.

Compensate for Long Time Delays

"Foresight" and compensate for the time delay caused by material transport, enabling proactive control.

Strict Constraint Handling

Push the process to operate at the edge of safety constraints, unearthing hidden production potential.

System Architecture

Product Architecture

The Closed Loop from Data to Decision

The system achieves advanced closed-loop control of the physical process by deeply integrating the three-layer intelligent core with the underlying DCS/PLC and database via the OPC UA communication protocol.

System Integration Overview

Core Key Functions

Core key functions

Global control based on a defined variable matrix (CVs, MVs, DVs) and a multi-objective optimization function guided by economic benefits, quality, and safety.

Control Interface

MPC Predictive Control Principle

Visualization Interface and Reports

Automatic Control of Calcination Kiln

Creating Quantifiable Value for Your Enterprise

quantifiable value

Our APC system is not just a technological upgrade; it is the core engine driving business growth and cost optimization.

Process Stability Improvement

Key parameter standard deviation reduced by 50%-70%, significantly reducing process fluctuations and laying the foundation for high-quality production.

Overall Energy Consumption/Cost Reduction

Unit product energy consumption reduced by 5%-15%, directly saving costs on steam, electricity, etc., and increasing profit margin.

Product Yield/Capacity Increase

Core product yield increased by 2%-5%, key product conversion rate stabilized above 98%, maximizing plant output.

Operational Automation Rate Increase

Manual intervention in key loops reduced by >80%, formalizing expert experience, achieving "black screen operation," and minimizing human error.

Our Core Strengths

quantifiable value

We don't just provide software; we are your long-term partner in achieving operational excellence.

Leading MPC Algorithm

Adopt industry-leading multivariable predictive control algorithms to accurately handle strong coupling and large time-delay issues, ensuring optimal control effectiveness.

Integration of Top Process Knowledge

Strong collaboration with top institutions like Carson Design Institute to integrate the invaluable experience of expert kiln operators into the system, achieving a perfect fusion of intelligence and process expertise.

Industry-Focused Team

Our team consists not only of control experts but also senior engineers with a profound understanding of your industry's process, ensuring the solution is highly aligned with actual operating conditions from the source.

Flexible Customization and Integration

The platform possesses high flexibility and openness, allowing for functional customization according to your specific needs and seamless integration with existing DCS, MES, and other systems.

Expected Outcomes and Core Advantages

core advantages

The implementation of the intelligent control system can achieve multi-dimensional, quantifiable economic benefits and strategic operational advantages, bringing continuous competitive improvement to the enterprise.

Proactive Predictive Control

The operating mode is upgraded from passive feedback to active prediction, with the system automatically performing global optimization for more stable operation.

Significant Risk Reduction

Intelligent early warning predicts anomalies like ring formation in advance, transforming post-event handling into proactive prevention, ensuring production continuity.

Operator Role Elevation

Operators shift from executors to supervisors, reducing human fluctuations, eliminating shift-to-shift differences, and enhancing human efficiency.

Technological Synergy Advantage

MPC, ES, and LM complement each other, forming a synergistic effect of 1+1+1>3, making the system more resilient and adaptable.

Knowledge Transfer and Formalization

Convert senior expert experience into enterprise digital assets, solving the risk of knowledge loss and formalizing core technological competitiveness.

Quantifiable Economic Benefits

Ensure a substantial return on project investment in the short term by increasing conversion rate, reducing energy consumption, and boosting capacity.

Professional, Rigorous Implementation Process

Implementation Process

We ensure the timely and high-quality delivery of APC projects and the realization of expected benefits through a standardized project management process.