Tushar Kulkarni, Head – Solutions, Innomotics India, writes about innovative AI-based digital solutions for the cement and mining industries, which are enhancing energy efficiency and productivity while combating greenhouse gases for a sustainable future.

Since 2019, we are continuously investing and collaborating with industry experts to develop innovative digital solutions specific for the cement and mining industry to fight greenhouse gases and contribute to climate protection.
Our digital solutions in these industries increase energy efficiency and productivity of our customers’ entire operations.
By the end of FY27, cement consumption in India is expected to reach 450.78 million tonnes, driven majorly by expanding demand from housing, commercial construction, national infrastructure projects and industrial construction*. To meet the growing demand, many cement companies are planning or already undertaking capacity expansions. Despite market growth, challenges such as fluctuating raw material prices, energy costs, transportation costs, skill shortages and regulatory complexities continue to persist for cement plants.
Cement plants constantly strive to improve productivity and cost efficiency through sustainable manufacturing and operations along with environmental emission norms and regulations.
Over the last two decades, different technologies for advanced process control (APC) have developed for the cement industry, such as fuzzy logic and expert systems. However, with the technology changes happening and the increasing use of alternative fuel residual (AFR) and alternative raw materials, the requirement of innovative technology is the need of the hour.
Adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) will significantly help cement plants in their efforts towards innovation, efficiency and sustainability
goals through improved process optimization and increased productivity.
The Innomotics Digi-Suite (AI-based) is positioned to support the cement industry in this endeavour. Built on microservices architecture, Digi-Suite offers flexible self-learning AI based solutions which can be customised or tailor-made in accordance with plant / customer requirements. It enables customers to implement their digitalisation strategies in a stepwise manner and scale it up to an entire plant or multiple plants. Through this platform, customers can monitor and manage processes centrally. This approach
provides guidance for company-wide process standardisation, knowledge sharing and optimum utilisation of expert resources.
Further, the solution is cyber secured as per our product safety and security (PSS) norms. Once deployed, it requires minimal support (patch update based on OS updates).

AI-based pyro solution
The solution assists operations by providing optimal set-point to enable efficient and stable operation, thereby enhancing productivity and energy optimisation.
It is a dedicated machine learning-based model that provides accurate insights into future pyroprocess trends.
By incorporating long-term data sets for AI training, the trained AI models can learn from the past and establish correlations between parameters and time and between actions and outcomes. This knowledge, accumulated in the models, forms the basis for better control performance.
AI pyro solution being implemented at one of the leading cement plants in Europe, it is observed that the solution is supporting customers in optimising fuel consumption between coal and AFR and maintaining stable operation continuously.

Stability: Ensuring all temperature and pressures are within operating range optimising ID fan speed and pressure after preheater.
Coal reduction: Identifying optimum points where coal can be reduced.
Fuel ratio stabilisation with coal vs AFR: Set point for step-by-step moderation of AFR/coal is carried out by AI, thereby maintaining the required heat at the calciner and kiln.
Good quality and increased production: Any change in control parameter is carried out by ensuring the alite and free lime are within operating range. Potential to increase kiln feed, thereby increasing production.
Energy saving: Optimising fans at cooler. AI can achieve energy savings.
Preheater jamming reduction: AI observes SO2 and Chloride formation, material temperature and pressures changes AFR accordingly thereby, preheater jamming occurrence is reduced.
Optimise workforce: Best expert available for 24 hours.

**With provision for input parameters like fly ash, LSF, calorific value of fuel and AFR to keep the alite and free lime in the operating range or best suitable range considering the plant condition.

AI-based mill solution
The solution assists operations by providing optimal set-point to enable efficient and stable operation, thereby enhancing productivity.
Mill operation requires quick response to multiple control parameters based on critical process indicators, which makes it very dynamic in nature. This allows the operator to balance operations between reduced capacity to avoid stoppages or multiple stoppages due to overshooting of critical parameters.
Key Features:
AI Mill solution being implemented at one of the leading cement plants in India, it was observed that the solution supported customers to improve throughput, reduce energy consumption while maintaining stable operations continuously.

About the author
Tushar Kulkarni, Head – Solutions, Innomotics India