MES development for optimal distribution of fuel and energy resources in blast-furnace production

The optimal distribution of fuel and energy resources, in particular injected fuel and oxygen, within a group of blast furnaces is a crucial task because process performance of individual furnaces significantly varies. With the preset total consumption of injected fuel and oxygen for the blast-furnace plant, it is important to have an operating methodology for assessment of efficient use of these resources in blast furnaces and perform their optimal distribution. Availability of many factors and criteria determining efficiency of fuel-enriched blast as well as constraints for consumption of fuel and energy resources significantly complicates the problem of determining the optimal blast parameters which can provide the best technical and economic operation parameters of both individual furnaces and a group of furnaces or blast-furnace plant as a whole. This paper reviews an algorithm and methods for solving the problem of the optimal distribution of fuel and energy resources in blast-furnace production. The optimization problem was set using as an example the optimal distribution of natural gas in a group of blast furnaces considering individual process constraints for each furnace and operation parameters of the blast-furnace plant. It describes software for solving this problem, providing more efficient use of fuel and energy resources in blast furnaces in conditions of changing smelting parameters. Application of the developed MES (Manufacturing Execution System) software for blastfurnace smelting improves efficiency of decision making by engineers and operators in conditions of changes in volume of fuel and energy resources, unstable composition and quality of melted iron ore raw materials and market conditions.