Expert System for Energy Efficiency and Pollution Abatement in Industry

Objective

Objectives

The objective of this project is to develop, apply and test an expert system methodology (EXLIBRIS) for optimised design, operation and control of high temperature industrial units such as furnaces, melting kilns, chemical reactors and high temperature heat exchangers. The EXLIBRIS expert system will be validated against data from a pilot plant and under full scale working conditions in an industrial plant. EXLIBRIS will be specified, developed, tested and validated by the Technical University of Lisbon, Imperial College of Science Technology and Medicine (London), Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Faculté Polytechnique de Mons, Groupement pour la Recherche sur les Echangeurs Thermiques (Grenoble) and Centre for Renewable Energy Sources (Athens), with the support, guidance and contribution of the industrial partners Santos Barosa - Vidros S.A. Societé Européenne des Produits Réfractaires, Titan Cement Company. S.A. and Lizmontagens S.A..

Technical Approach

The EXLIBRIS expert system is based on an innovative integration of physically-based and model-based knowledge with advanced optimisation algorithms. The predictive capacity of the EXLIBRIS system gives the possibility of operation optimisation (if on-line used) and of design optimisation (if off-line used). Advanced modelling will be used to create a knowledge-based system that, together with advanced interfaces, optimisation algorithms, process and model reconstructed data bases will form an expert system for the optimisation of high temperature equipment. This physically-based approach allows to exploit the capacities of the expert system in order to optimise high temperature units, overcoming traditional limitations due to the presence of complex physical phenomena.
Expected Achievements and Exploitation

Efficient and clean production, in most energy intensive systems, requires the use of high temperature units able to yield products with reduced energy input, raw materials consumption, equipment degradation and liquid, gas, solid and thermal wastes. The EXLIBRIS system is aimed to assist the design, operation and control of high temperature equipment capable to meet those requirements. From a future industrial utilisation of the results, it is expected that an energy efficiency increase of 5-6%, a pollution abatement of 40% and an equipment life time of 20% will be achieved in a typical industrial furnace of 4 to 8 MW.

Fields of science

• engineering and technology › environmental engineering › energy and fuels › renewable energy
• natural sciences › computer and information sciences › artificial intelligence › expert systems
• natural sciences › earth and related environmental sciences › environmental sciences › pollution

Programme(s)

• FP4-NNE-JOULE C - Specific programme for research and technological development, including demonstration in the field of non-nuclear energy, 1994-1998

Topic(s)

• 0202 - RUE in industry

Call for proposal

Data not available

Funding Scheme

CSC - Cost-sharing contracts

Coordinator

INSTITUTO SUPERIOR TECNICO

Address

Avenida Rovisco Pais
1096 Lisboa
Portugal

Participants (9)

CENTRE FOR RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES

Greece

Address

Km 19th,marathonos Avenue 19th Km
19009 Raphina (Pikeermi)

Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique (CEA)

France

Address

Centre D'études De Grenoble
38041 Grenoble

Faculté Polytechnique de Mons

Belgium

Address

56,rue De L'epargne
7000 Mons

IMPERIAL COLLEGE OF SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND MEDICINE

United Kingdom

Address

Exhibition Road
SW7 2BX London

Katholieke Universiteit Leuven

Belgium

Address

46,w. De Croylaan
3001 Heverlee

Lizmontagens - Empresa de Montagens Termo-Industriais

Portugal

Address

56-10,av. Alm. Gago Coutinho
1700 Lisboa

Santos Barosa - Vitros SA

Portugal

Address

Rua Santos Barosa
2431 Marinha Grande

Société Européenne des Produits Réfractaires

France

Address

7,route Nationale
84131 Le Pontet

Titan Cement Company SA

Greece

Address

22 A,halkidos Street
11143 Athens