OPERCOP
Link to the tool http://www.vtt.fi/tuo/63/apros/
Vendor of the tool
VTT Industrial Systems (http://www.vtt.fi/tuo/indexe.htm)
Pay-back time in months
N/A
Type of simulation used
Scheduling
Short description of the project
The process in question is Genencor International's enzyme process in Hanko, Finland. After fermentation the enzyme solution goes through several finishing steps in which water and cellular mass is removed. The critical point of the process is ultra filtration since the filters contaminate and their capacity decrease. It is important to determine the optimal washing cycles. The simulation model was created to forecast the process flows, liquid volumes in storages and operation of the filters for next 48 hours. Adaptive models for the contamination of filters are the essential part of the model. The system has been in use since 1999 and in addition to short term production planning and optimisation it has been used for planning of campaign changes. (Reference: Hämäläinen, J., Järvimäki, I., Weiss, R., Ekbom, S., Jyrkkä, T. and Dahl, J., Jälkikäsittelyprosessin ennakoiva ajosuunnittelu ja ohjaus, Proceedings of Automaatio 1999, Helsinki 1999.)
Soft Benefits
It is possible to predict fault situations, optimise the operational plan over shifts, plan campaign changes and plan maintenance. The process is also operated smoother and the production capacity is used more efficiently. Also the amount of yield has increased. The proper scheduling system developed in this project was neccessary for beeing able to operate this type of plant. The operation of the new plant would be not feasible without this system.
Public quantitative benefits
Quantitative benefits were difficult to estimate because the system was taken into operation in a new plant. Therefore no comparison old-new could be made.
