8 ANDRITZ
Improving pulp mill operation with its twin
Increasingly precise simulations of a pulp mill’s process using so-called Digital Twins make improvements in efficiency easier to achieve. PPL reports
Pulp Paper & Logistics
Figure 1 The digital Twin - IDEAS model of a pulp mill’s evaporation process
simulation of processes using first-principle models has become a well-known and widely used engineering tool for various industries. As our understanding of processes has increased, representative models have become more realistic and sophisticated. The resulting improvement in accuracy has made simulation a fundamental predictive and diagnostic tool in process industries. Accurate simulation can reduce engineering and construction costs, optimise process design,
S January/February 2019
ince the 1980s, thanks to advances in computation technologies,
and improve operational performance by reducing costs and increasing efficiency. In fact, simulation technology has become so advanced that it is now possible to simulate the interrelated processes of an entire pulp mill and connect these in real time to the mill’s physical operation. These sophisticated first-principles based models are referred to as ‘Digital Twins’.
Defining the Digital Twin The term Digital Twin was first introduced by NASA [Ref 1] in 2010 and quickly adopted by
other industries. There is no official definition of Digital Twin as it relates to process industries; however, there are three important characteristics that are common across most descriptions of the term. Firstly, the simulation must be core to the functionality of the process. Secondly, the simulated process must follow the entire life cycle of the plant. And lastly, the simulation must be directly linked to the operation. Together, these three aspects create an intricate pairing between process and simulation – a Digital Twin. According to the industry
research and trend analysis group Gartner, the concept of
a Digital Twin is considered to be one of the most important disruptive technologies of 2018 [Ref 2]. As the internet and information technologies have been integrated into industrial operations, a new industry era known as Industry 4.0 (or the Industrial Internet of Things) has emerged. Digital Twins are a fundamental aspect of cyber- physical systems, which are one of the basic pillars of Industry 4.0, closely integrated with artificial intelligence and advanced analytics (see Figure 1). There are some major
differences between a traditional simulation and a Digital Twin. In addition to being connected
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36
