HOW AUTOMATION IS HELPING THE ALUMINIUM INDUSTRY TO LEAP INTO THE FUTURE
BY JAKOB ÁSMUNDSSON, CEO, DTE
Aluminium is a critical metal for the industries changing the world, from electric vehicles to solar energy. The aluminium sector is also battling a number of headwinds, ranging from high energy costs and thinner margins to scrap utilisation and pressures to reduce carbon emissions. To secure its future, the industry needs to embrace innovations and measurement is an area ripe for change.
Previously, metal samples needed to be handled by human operators and cooled before being analysed. This exposed operators to hazards and was less than ideal from an operations standpoint, prone to contamination and errors. Now, Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy( LIBS) is fuelling an industry transformation by revolutionising how metals are analysed. LIBS fires a high-energy laser pulse at the sample surface of liquid aluminium. The pulse vaporises a microscopic quantity of metal, creating a high-temperature plasma plume from which a unique emission spectrum is generated for every element present.
LIBS makes it possible for molten metal to be rapidly analysed, with data being collected in real time to inform process operations. Data from LIBS can be used to prevent overprocessing and associated wasted energy, along with detecting critical safety incidents such as tap-outs. Laser measurement tools have benefits reaching beyond measurement to overall operations and finished products, as DTE’ s partnership with Ramboll demonstrates.
By partnering with global leaders in engineering and consulting, DTE is enhancing process control for aluminium producers by combining its Molten Metal Analysers with world-class expertise in industrial automation and equipment integration. The industry now has a complete solution for real-time chemical composition analysis, allowing aluminium producers to optimise their processes with precise, in-situ data. Industrial 4.0 is all about the convergence of data, systems integration and automation, and DTE is helping aluminium producers to achieve just that and stay at the forefront of innovation.
LIBS is far more than just a measurement tool, and when integrated with wider systems and processes, it acts as part of a nervous system for aluminium operations. At a time when aluminium producers are battling headwinds, using the insights gained from a melt to optimise processes, save energy, and lower emissions is a real competitive advantage in a volatile world. The new era of aluminium production is here, and measurement is taking centre stage as an innovation transforming the industry for the better.
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AUTOMATION, CONTROL & ENGINEERING 9