Objective IN THE FUTURE, THE COMPUTER SYSTEM WILL BE IMPROVED ALTHOUGH COMPUTER CONTROL WILL NOT BE INTRODUCED AT THE PLANT.PREVIOUS WORK CARRIED OUT BY THE LEATHERHEAD FOOD RESEARCH ASSOCIATION (EEC CONTRACT NO. 245-77-EE-UK) SHOWED AN AVERAGE FUEL CONSUMPTION OF 3.47 MJ/KG OF STEAM PRODUCED IN FOOD FACTORY BOILERS. BOILER UTILISATION WAS ALSO LOW (45 %). LOW BOILER UTILISATION CAN BE TRACED TO ERRATIC AND WIDELY FLUCTUATING DEMAND FROM A NUMBER OF STEAM USERS. THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS WORK IS TO STUDY, IN COLLABORATION WITH AN INDUSTRIAL PARTNER (PL GROUP (FOODS) LTD), THE COST-EFFECTIVE MANAGEMENT OF STEAM SUPPLY AND DISTRIBUTION IN A FOOD PROCESSING EDIBLE OIL. THE INDUSTRIAL PARTNER EMPLOYS THREE BOILERS SUPPLYING FIVE MAJOR AND A NUMBER OF LESS IMPORTANT STEAM USERS (FOR HEATING AND TO GENERATE VACUA). THE POSSIBILITY OF PROVIDING ALL THE FACTORY STEAM REQUIREMENT WITH A SINGLE BOILER WILL ALSO BE INVESTIGATED. A MICRO-COMPUTER IS TO BE USED IN THE BOILER HOUSE TO MONITOR THE OPERATIONS OF THE STEAM USERS IN THE FACTORY AND THENCE TO COMPUTE THE STEAM DEMAND SOME MINUTES IN ADVANCE. THIS INFORMATION WILL BE USED BY THE MICRO-COMPUTER TO CONTROL THE FIRING OF THE BOILERS SO THAT, AS FAR AS POSSIBLE, STEAM AVAILABILITY IS ADJUSTED TO MEET PEAKS AND TROUGHS IN DEMAND. BY FORWARD LOAD FORECASTING, IT WILL ALSO BE POSSIBLE TO AVOID THE SIMULTANEOUS DEMAND FROM TWO MAJOR INTERMITTENT STEAM USERS (THIS WOULD REDUCE THE PRESSURE OF THE HIGH PRESSURE MAIN WHICH WOULD CAUSE A MALFUNCTION OF THE VACUUM SYSTEM WITH A SERIOUS LOSS OF PRODUCT QUALITY). THE MICRO-COMPUTER WILL BE ALSO USED TO REGULATE THE FIRING CONDITIONS OF THE BOILERS, USING THE "RADIATION PEAK-SEEKING" TECHNIQUES DEVELOPED BY LAND PYROMETERS, (EEC CONTRACT NO. 396-78-EE-IR). PL GROUP INSTALLED A COMPUTER TO LOG DATA FROM STEAM FLOW METERS AND BOILER HOUSE SENSORS AND TO COMPUTE BOILER EFFICIENCIES. A PROGRAMME OF DATA ACQUISITION AND MONITORING HAS BEEN ESTABLISHED. THE BEGINNING OF A CONTROL STRATEGY EXISTED BUT WAS DIFFICULT TO COMPLETE BEFORE MORE QUANTITATIVE DATA ON STEAM USERS AND BOILER STEAM PRODUCTION WHERE OBTAINED. DURING THE INVESTIGATION A NUMBER OF ENERGY CONSERVATION OPPORTUNITIES WERE IDENTIFIED. THESE INCLUDED HEAT RECOVERY AS WELL AS REDUCED USE OF STEAM FOR VACUUM RAISING AND BOILER FEED WATER PREHEATING, THAT TOGETHER AMOUNTED TO ABOUT 15 % OF THE NORMAL STEAM REQUIREMENT. IT WAS THEREFORE DECIDED BY THE FACTORY MANAGEMENT THAT A SUFFICIENT CASE FOR PROCEEDING TO COMPUTER LOAD FORECASTING AND PEAK SHEDDING HAS NOT BEEN MADE SINCE IT WAS MORE REWARDING TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE OTHER SAVINGS IDENTIFIED. THE SAVINGS WERE QUANTIFIED AND INVOLVED RELATIVELY LOW RISK. IN ADDITION, THEY WOULD SO REDUCE THE UTILISATION OF THE BOILERS THAT IT WOULD BE UNLIKELY THAT A MAJOR LOSS OF STEAM PRESSURE WOULD OCCUR DURING NORMAL PRODUCTION ACTIVITY (THIS PROBLEM COULD OCCUR ABOUT TEN TIMES IN A YEAR). THE INVESTIGATION ALSO SHOWED THAT EVEN IF THESE SAVINGS WERE MADE, THE TOTAL STEAM LOAD (UNDER NORMAL OPERATION) WOULD NOT BE WITHIN THE CAPACITY OF A SINGLE BOILER. Programme(s) PRE-ENNONUC 2C - Energy research and development programme (EEC), 1979-1983 Topic(s) Data not available Call for proposal Data not available Funding Scheme Data not available Coordinator LEATHERHEAD INTERNATIONAL LIMITED EU contribution No data Address Randalls Road KT22 7RY LEATHERHEAD United Kingdom See on map Total cost No data Participants (1) Sort alphabetically Sort by EU Contribution Expand all Collapse all PL GROUP (FOODS) LTD EU contribution No data Address See on map Total cost No data
