Manufacturing / Steel
POSCO: Controlling the iron ore sintering process
- Company
- POSCO
- Country
- South Korea
- Adoption stage
- Limited operation
- Source published
- Date basis
- The date the source was published. It can differ from the date adoption started.
- How the source was checked
- Read the full source text
The work problem
Sintering is the key process that turns powdered iron ore into lumps suitable for charging into a blast furnace. Operating the sintering machine was work that site operators had to handle as simple repetition. Pohang Works set itself the task of going beyond automating individual equipment and weaving the control technologies into one.
Technology and data
Pohang Works put an AI based smart control system into the sintering process. Using sensors, it finely controls the charge line where raw material builds up. It automatically controls trolley speed so that the exhaust gas temperature follows the set point. The technology was developed jointly by the ironmaking department at Pohang Works and the Process DX Research Institute at the technical research laboratories. Kim Young-hyun, the deputy general manager in the ironmaking department who led the development, said he wanted to turn the know-how of Pohang Works' skilled operators into logic with AI and create a standard by which anyone can produce the best quality.
Results
Pohang Works said this improvement recorded an operating rate of 99 percent and a hit rate of 97 percent, sharply reducing variation in operation. It explained that a stable supply of high-quality sinter also contributed to stable furnace conditions in the downstream blast furnace. The model verified at No. 3 sintering is now being extended to other processes such as No. 2 and No. 4 sintering. It also said that automating sintering machine operation created an environment where site operators move out of simple repetitive work and concentrate on higher value work.
Limits and open questions
The source does not disclose the definition of the hit rate or its basis for comparison. It also does not give the operating rate before the improvement, so the size of the rise cannot be known.
Sources
- 보도자료 - PRESS - 포스코 미디어센터posco.com, Accessed
Compiled from public sources. These are not results from ATF Works customers.