Picture this: Critical data from live feed in the recovery boiler
ANDRITZ has utilized visual technology, combined it with the latest in digitization methods and created the Metris AVA Recovery Boiler Toolbox, designed to revolutionize the monitoring and managing of critical boiler operations and activities.
The concept sounds quite simple; have a live video feed from various recovery boiler operations and analyze the images to enable smooth operation. But the Metris AVA Recovery Boiler Toolbox goes much further than that – which is where the real beauty of the new concept lies. The five tools in the box analyze images and spot potential problems using algorithms and then convert the information into usable numbers on a screen. This means operators can be warned of any potential problems, identify trends, and ensure the boiler is operating to its maximum efficiency – all from images sent via existing installed cameras or even handheld phones and tablets.
There are already huge proven benefits with the implementation of the new technology, including personnel and mill safety, increased production, chemical use reduction, less maintenance costs, and increased availability of the recovery boiler.
The toolbox has been designed for simplicity of installation and operation. It is an independent platform, either cloud-based or server-based at the mill that can be applied to operate in any recovery boiler to visually monitor five different essential activities during operation; carry-over, the char bed, liquor/fuel spray orientation, smelt flow, and smelt reduction.
Recovery boiler sample taken with Metris AVA
SAFETY FIRST
As always with ANDRITZ equipment and technology, safety is first on the list of priorities.
Heikki Lappalainen, Development Manager, ANDRITZ, says, “We have the digital technology, we have the process knowledge, and we know recovery boiler systems and equipment inside out. With AVA we have brought all these elements together to create a unique concept for efficient and safe running of recovery boilers both old and new.
“What we have now is a tool that can tell operators exactly what the situation is inside the recovery boiler, particularly in regard to safety issues. We are now able to measure, for instance, carry-over or when liquor or fuel spray are increasing, or when the char bed may collapse. The operator can now see all this information in numbers, on a screen, without the need to check the boiler itself manually when there might be a potentially hazardous situation.”
COMPLETE RANGE OF METRIS AVA TOOLS FOR PULP MILLS: As well as the toolbox for recovery boilers, ANDRITZ has also developed Metris AVA technology for other key areas of the pulp mills.
RECOVERY BOILERS – OFTEN THE BOTTLENECK IN PULP PRODUCTION
While safety is a key factor to the AVA concept for recovery boilers, when it comes to process optimization, it is the benefits that really attract attention. Lappalainen explains, “Number one in our customers’ eye is, of course, safety, but the economical benefits of the AVA tools are huge. The visual technology, combined with intelligent reporting enables operators to see inside the process in a different way, making the boiler much easier to tune and identify bottlenecks.
“This means first of all they can produce more pulp, but also they can increase steam production at the same time as recovering more chemicals.”
