EnVisA - Energy Visualisation with Artificial Intelligence

Purpose and goal

The purpose of the project is to increase the reuse of the energy-rich gases generated as by-products during steelmaking at SSAB in Luleå. Some of the gas is reused internally, while the rest is sent to the combined heat and power plant at LuleKraft to generate electricity and district heating. All gases cannot be reused for different reasons, and some gas must be flared. In some cases, LuleKraft has to use oil to reach their production targets. The target is to increase the reuse of gas and thus to reduce the oil consumption at LuleKraft by optimizing the gas system at SSAB.

Expected results and effects

Today there is only a limited sharing of information between the internal producers at SSAB and LuleKraft, and the systems are run almost independently. By creating a system for energy visualization combined with AI, a system is obtained which enable a real-time view of the energy performance and the availability of surplus gases. Additionally, the system can optimize and predict the supply of surplus gases. This can lead to a more climate friendly district heating system with increased re-use of gases and lower oil consumption.

Planned approach and implementation

Process data from SSAB together with production plans from both SSAB and LuleKraft are stored in a common database. The performance of the gas system can then be visualized in several ways which will help system operators in their decision making. The data will also be used for training an AI module that can predict the availability and heating value of the gas in the near future. The system will then be evaluated by using simulations and industrial trials. The evaluation is based on comparisons of the oil consumption and amount of flared gas both before and after operating the new system.