Improvement of process control in a PHK based dissolving pulp production process

AVN uses a sophisticated Distributed Control System (DCS) to monitor and control the process. The mill is equipped with a data historian system which captures continuous and discrete process data from the DCS and manual tests. The effectiveness of process monitoring and control has evolved over the years. But at many stages of the process, operators’ and engineers’ interventions are still required to control the process. Now AVN is looking at the next level of process monitoring tools to take quicker corrective actions for both short term and long term process drifts. The scope of this project is to identify process drifts by automatic signals or flushing capabilities icons/color codes in the dashboards and SPC (statistical process control) charts for the operators, engineers and managers to take corrective and preventive actions right away to mitigate the loss. The scope would also involve incorporating new automatic controls into the DCS wherever possible.

Faculty Supervisor:

Yonghao Ni

Student:

Partner:

AV Nackawic Inc

Discipline:

Engineering

Sector:

Manufacturing

University:

University of New Brunswick

Program: