Section 3: Intelligent big data meet industry - CISDI’s benchmark projects

2019 saw CISDI make major breakthroughs in delivering intelligent big data solutions for transforming the steel sector.

A number of industry firsts and benchmark projects went operational.

CISDI’s intelligent stockyard has now accounted for 75 per cent of China’s market share. Its intelligent ironmaking, rolling and warehousing systems were widely applied to Baowu Group plants. The development of its intelligent water and reduced-manpower wharf systems made CISDI a star brand for ferrous metallurgical intelligent manufacturing.

CISDI and HUAWEI signed a strategic agreement for closer working partnerships. CISAI Tech - CISDI and Sinovation Ventures - was established in Chongqing, China, as a quasi-unicorn company for AI.

CISAI Tech has created the world’s first intelligent autonomous locomotive for hot metal transport. It features all-weather environmental perception, all-obstacle precise identification, automatic coupling between the locomotive and ladle car and precision positioning, removing the need for manual workers in unsafe site conditions.

At the Smart China Expo 2019, CISDI unveiled Shuitu Cloud, its first industrial cloud which is based on HUAWEI’s ARM chip framework and a safe, autonomous and controllable industrial eco-cloud. It attracted wide attention at the expo.

CISDI is the inventor of the world’s first digital and unmanned ferrous metallurgical stockyard. In 2019 it supplied the intelligent products to WISCO, Laiwu Steel, Maanshan Steel and Baotou Steel. Their performance indicators reached world-class levels.

Baowu Group’s Zhanjiang stockyard C was modernised by CISDI to an integrated and centralised control, enriching and enhancing its intelligent stockyard solutions.

Laiwu Steel’s 16-year-old stockyard was transformed by CISDI to an enclosed model with green credentials. It is now operating with intelligent control, an unmanned stacker and reclaimer, digital yard and intelligent blending system.

The world’s first pan-ironmaking integrated, centralised control centre was created by CISDI for Baowu Group’s Shaogang in China. The CISDigital Integrated Control Centre (ICC) covers the plant’s stockyard, coke oven, sinter plant, blast furnace ironmaking, energy and water.

The control centre was rapidly expanded to embrace Shaogang’s upgraded highly-efficient managements - Intelligent Centre 2.0 and to WISCO’s pan-ironmaking and hot rolling integrated, centralised control centres. Interest from China’s steel complexes flooded in as a result.

CISDI created another industry splash at Baowu Group’s Zhanjiang - the world’s first intelligent water system with zero liquid discharge.

CISDI’s intelligent logistics team also achieved remarkable results in 2019, creating Zhanjiang Steel’s intelligent hot metal transport and intelligent wharf management systems and Baosteel Bayi Steel’s intelligent hot-rolled coil warehouse.

Baowu Group Shaogang – industry’s first integrated, centralised control centre

Shaogang’s intelligent centre was a steel industry first for centralising and on-scale commercialising the internet of things, mobile internet, big data and cloud computing expertise.

It has been operational for over a year and as a result, over 400 workers have been removed from working in hazardous areas. Labour efficiency has increased by 20 to 40 per cent.

The blast furnace’s fuel rate was reduced by 2 to 10 per cent. Cost savings ranged from $1.5 to $7. The plant-wide energy utilisation efficiency was improved by 5 per cent and production safety was greatly enhanced.

An island configuration was devised for Shaogang’s integrated, centralised control centre

Baowu Group Zhanjiang – industry’s first intelligent hot metal transport system

The autonomous locomotive system running at Zhanjiang Steel marks a deep integration between AI, intelligence and industry. Featuring a self-learning, self-adapting, high-precision control model, the locomotive has all-weather environmental perception and can identify obstacles in its path and act accordingly.

Transportation of hot metal has been made cheaper and remarkably more efficient, working conditions have been improved and labour costs have been cut.

Loaded with hot metal, Zhanjiang Steel’s autonomous locomotive traverses the railway crossing from the ironmaking plant to steelmaking plant

Bayi Steel – industry’s first intelligent hot-rolled coil warehouse

The intelligent coil warehousing system at Bayi Steel smartly manages the warehouse and has a driverless crane.

The system has enabled the steelworks to reduce the workforce by 50 per cent while increasing warehouse dispatch efficiency by 50 per cent.

The crane’s maximum lifting capacity is up by 10%.

Thanks to intelligent management, no coil is being damaged during storage and transportation.

Bayi Steel’s intelligent coil warehouse

Zhanjiang Steel – industry’s first intelligent water centre

The intelligent water centre integrated 15 original operation rooms, dozens of isolated systems and 160,000-point data into a one-room centralised control platform, which features a shared network, a control desk, a production monitor drawing and a plant-wide water balance sheet.

The steelworks, which produces 10-million tonnes of steel a year, produces zero liquid discharge. Fundamental improvements in water utilisation efficiency and treatment have been made in addition to savings in production costs. 

Zhanjiang Steel’s intelligent water centre

Section 4: Surge in green business

2019 saw big advancements for CISDI’s thermal engineering, energy conservation, solid waste treatment, ultra-low emissions and environmental consulting businesses.

China’s green-seeking enterprises embraced CISDI’s products.

Its technology for BOF primary fume’s wet electrostatic precipitator was in demand. Its coking waste water treatment systems saw its first commercialisation, and solid waste treatment plants and reheating furnaces were created for China’s Zhanjiang Steel and Ruifeng Steel.

2019 was a year of export success for CISDI’s green products – the first gas holder was exported to Turkey and the first low-calorific-value, high-efficiency gas-fired power generator was exported to Vietnam.

Other firsts included the high-end automobile sheet annealing furnace rebuild at Ansteel.

The first 250,000-tonne producing rotary hearth furnace was started up at Shougang Jingtang and 2019 saw the first ultra-high-temperature, ultra-high-pressure HRSG power generator unit for Hoa Phat in Vietnam.

CISDI also carried out the first environmental impact assessment for Baowu Group’s 10-million-tonne capacity Yancheng Steel plant.

FHS’s CDQ power generator – energy efficiency booster

CISDI built the coke dry-quenching power generator for Formosa Ha Tinh Steel in Vietnam to an EPC mode.

This generator not only boosts FHS’s energy consumption indicators, it is also increasing FHS’s profitability.

The first of its kind in Vietnam, the generator has two 36MW steam turbines and auxiliaries. The maximum power generated is 6x10⁸kWh a year. It creates an annual profit of around $42 million. 

The CDQ power generator at FHS

Aarti Steels’ energy-saving reheating furnace dried off

CISDI package-supplied the IPR-based walking-beam reheating furnace for India’s Aarti Steels’ alloy bar rolling line. The line will produce 200,000 tonnes a year and the reheating furnace’s hourly capacity is 40 tonnes.

The diesel-heavy oil dual combustion system has been developed by CISDI to meet the demands of the Indian marketplace.

Aarti’s reheating furnace discharges a billet for the rolling line supplied by CISDI

BOF wet electrostatic precipitator ensuring low emissions

CISDI’s wet electrostatic precipitator went operational at two Chinese steel giants, Shandong Longsheng Steel and Shanxi TISCO.

The precipitator is used to collect primary dusts from the BOF and is crucial for achieving ultra-low emissions. Longsheng and TISCO BOFs have been tested by a third-party agency and found to be discharging emission concentrations far lower than the national ULE standard.

TISCO’s BOF dedusting rebuild, featuring CISDI’s wet electrostatic precipitator