Aluminium Melting Process Optimization with SmartMelt, a Digital Tool for Real-Time Operational Guidance

Every year, about 70 million tonnes of Aluminium (Al) scrap is remelted worldwide in gas fired reverberatory furnaces. The efficiency of the melting process in such furnaces is strongly influenced by human-driven decisions and some furnace issues. SmartMelt is a novel IoT-based platform that combines real-time collection of sensor data, load data, and operator input in a dedicated interface, and a very efficient physical model of the melting process to provide on-line guidance to execute operations at optimal timings while detecting furnace issues and improving operator safety. Integrated into the daily operations of two furnaces of 30 and 70 tonnes capacity for periods of 16 and 6 months, respectively, the system has yielded an increase of productivity of up to 12% and a reduction of gas consumption of about 11%. SmartMelt successfully detects in real-time deviations of burners performance while also monitoring and recording delays influenced by external factors.