Metso updates Optimus Pellet optimiser with digital enhancements

Metso is introducing a new version of the Optimus™ Pellet optimiser to, it says, further strengthen its digital offering for traveling grate iron ore pelletising plants.

Optimus Pellet optimiser is a digital optimiser system which runs the pellet plants at maximum profitability full automatically. The upgrade contains new embedded process intelligence that can assist plant operators in making smart situational operating decisions and implement those decisions with modern advanced process control methods, according to the company.

The Optimus Pellet optimiser leverages a highly detailed thermodynamic grate model, which is now backed by operational data. It can control the relevant parts of the process, including gas fans and dampers, and indurating temperature profile, thus ensuring the processes run at the desired operating range. Moreover, it issues advice and warnings to operators to reveal important information about process bottlenecks that may otherwise go unnoticed.

Robert Schiemann, Senior R&D Manager, Ferrous and Heat Transfer at Metso, said: “As an advanced process control and expert system, the Optimus Pellet optimiser runs the pellet indurating plant automatically in the situationally best way to optimise the performance and, thus, the profitability of plant operation. It finds the optimal plant operating point and pursues it with advanced state-of-the-art control methods to ensure operational stability, optimal plant operation and efficiency. Our pellet plant process expertise forms the core of this unique optimiser. This functionality has been upgraded to increase the operational benefits even further.”

Optimus Pellet is part of Metso’s exhaustive suite of digital pellet plant solutions for iron ore pelletising plants that help improve process performance, production capacity and product quality, as well as reduce energy consumption, the environmental impact and operation and maintenance costs. These solutions include VisioPellet, Pallet Car Condition Monitoring System and Training simulator, among others.