We are moving together!
As of November 29, 2021, we, VOIGT+WIPP Engineers, CHORUS DIGITAL and FACT Consulting will be available for you at our new, joint headquarters at Auhofstraße 1/10, 1130 Vienna.
Finally all under one roof
As CONENGA Group, we have been successfully combining the competencies and service offerings of our companies for the benefit of our customers for almost 2 years now.
Due to the unification not only the product range has expanded, but also a larger location has become necessary in order to guarantee progress and future-proof work.
After a long search, we have now found what we were looking for and are looking forward to writing the next chapters of our company’s history under one roof. Your personal contact persons of the companies are still at your disposal with the usual telephone and e-mail contact data.
Your team of the CONENGA Group
Precisely fitting. Innovative. Sustainable.
The Biomass Control Solution (BCS® Suite) by VOIGT+WIPP Engineers is the innovative, precisely fitting control product for modern biomass heating (power) plants. More than 10 years ago, the first BCS-FLR was used in a wood-fired power plant. The development was derived from our innovative control concepts for large-scale power plants. Through this technological application we were and are able to achieve results above the industry standard. The development has continued steadily since then. In addition to the first module of fire power control, further modules were added such as buffer storage management, load hierarchy management, bad point control or de-swathing control. The peak load boiler control module was also included from the very beginning.
The result is a control concept that has been tested many times and proven in practical use, which is supported by various toolboxes. The toolboxes can be online calculations of the calorific value or the fuel moisture, but also other soft sensors such as support values for temperatures in hard-to-reach places are used. This means that the BCS Suite can be adapted and used very quickly and individually to existing conditions.
VOIGT+WIPP Engineers: Magnesite! A pioneer in Europe with the latest technology
Demonstration plant calcining process magnesite
STYROMAG Steirische Magnesitindustrie GmbH, located in Tragöß-St Katharein, Styria, Austria, has been producing magnesium oxide (MgO) since 1870. In 1985, the first and still only fluidized bed furnace for the production of caustic burned magnesite was built.
19,000 tons are produced annually in the fluidized bed. The calcination process from magnesite to magnesium oxide takes place in the fluidized bed furnace, producing CO2 due to the production process (see Fig. 1 process diagram).
Figure 1: Process scheme
The fluidized bed process is characterized by the fact that impurities remain in the reactor as residues. In this way, a high degree of product purity can be achieved. This process takes place in the fluidized bed at around 790 ° C. The energy required for increasing the temperature and calcining is brought in by natural gas.
In 2018/2019 the idea arose to modernize this manufacturing process. In cooperation with VOIGT + WIPP Engineers, this modernization was also used for energetic optimization. Another project goal was to set a new, outstanding benchmark in terms of energy efficiency and CO2 emissions in the entire industry (see Figure 2) and to implement this as part of a demonstration project.
Figure 2: Specific CO2 emissions from process heat generation during Mg calcination
With optimization measures to more sustainability
In the existing process, heat recovery is partially implemented in a multi-stage process (raw stone preheater, exhaust gas cooler for preheating the combustion air).
The innovative energy integration optimized by VOIGT + WIPP Engineers now ensures maximum heat recovery over the entire process. Both the use of primary energy from natural gas and the consumption of own electricity can thus be reduced by approx. 20% each. Our specified advanced process control optimization measures for optimized process management should also significantly reduce CO2 emissions of 1165 tons per year.
As part of this project, in cooperation with the manufacturer, we are also developing a new type of heat exchanger that, thanks to innovative technology and robust design, can withstand the very high temperatures and extreme dust exposure. The demonstration project thus integrates solution approaches and innovations for numerous aspects of the MgCO3 calcination process.
A technology project by VOIGT + WIPP engineers
Located in the “Energy and Process Technology” division of VOIGT + WIPP Engineers, the technical concept was developed under the leadership of DI Dr.techn. Bernhard Kronberger and made ready for implementation. We were able to play a decisive role in the projects co-financing through subsidies and the project implementation through the design of the project team carries the signature of VOIGT + WIPP Engineers.
Currently (August 2020) the planning phase of the numerous conversions of the devices, units and automation is coming to an end. The next phase, the work on the construction site, is just starting and the entire conversion is being carried out in an extremely short time window of the 3-week production shutdown.
And then it gets exciting …
We will lead the commissioning of the renewed and process-technically optimized plant from the beginning of September. As VOIGT + WIPP Engineers, we not only ensure stable, safe and high-quality plant operation but also the clear goal of helping STYROMAG to play a pioneering role in MgO production in Europe.
Related Links
STYROMAG – specialist for caustic burned magnesite
Sources
Text: Excerpts from KPC’s 2019 annual report
Image sources:
- Cover picture: STYROMAG
- Figure 1: VOIGT+WIPP Engineers
- Figure 2: VOIGT+WIPP Engineers
VOIGT+WIPP Engineers: Einsatz in Korea – Remote in die Zukunft
We are familiar with combustion plants, i.e. the generation of electricity and heat through combustion processes. Große, kleine, alte, neue – diese zu optimieren ist nicht nur unser Kerngeschäft sondern unsere Leidenschaft. But a complete remote commissioning of our EPOC© Boiler fire performance control system including hardware over many thousands of kilometers – that was a completely new challenge for us, too.
CHORUS DIGITAL: “data mining” for key information
Bring knowledge and key information to light
Using data mining, the really important information is extracted from process data and the operation of your industrial plant is raised to a new level of detailed data transparency. Recording the data in archive servers is only the first step in obtaining information and knowledge from this data. Make the information contained in the data tangible and usable with us!
Key benefits of data mining
- The important, economically and technologically usable information from the recorded process data is displayed.
- Systematic elaboration of complex relationships, that e.g. with spreadsheet programs can hardly be found and displayed
- The results of data mining processes are traceable and repeatable
- Comprehensive analyzes with up to several hundred channels can be carried out quickly and systematically
- Locations can be made comparable (benchmarking)
- Optimization potentials are made visible and quantified
- Complex relationships can be shown graphically and provide a basis for decision-making for the economic optimization of your industrial plant
CHORUS DIGITAL is your partner if you want to use this advanced but proven technology in your company.
Project steps in data mining projects
We work according to the CRISP standard procedure for acquiring knowledge from databases (e.g. from process data):
This process was developed by well-known participants from a funding project of the European Union and consists of six phases with respective sub-phases, some of which are repeated.
CRISP – Cross-Industry Standard Process for Data-Mining
The six phases in the life cycle are:
- Business Understanding
In this first phase, the goals and requirements are defined from the perspective of the client. From this, the specific task and the basic procedure are defined. - Data Understanding
On the basis of initial data and training, the examination of qualitative relationships, analysis of data quality, initial relationships and interesting plant areas as well as technological aspects are developed. - Data Preparation
A valid (adjusted) data set for performing the modeling is obtained from the first data. For this purpose, suitable instances and attributes are selected and values are converted, supplemented or deleted if necessary. If necessary this stage can be run through several times. At this stage, if necessary outliers are identified and detected closed-loop effects and considered. - Modeling
The appropriate data mining methods are applied to the data and their parameters are optimized. As a rule, there are several suitable procedures (with several possible parameter combinations) for the specific task, often with different prerequisites, which is why the third phase and this may have to be run through several times. At the end there should be a ranking of the models used. - Evaluation
The model that best fulfills the task is formed from the findings of the fourth phase. The individual steps for generating the model are checked again in detail for their correctness in terms of the task and the final model is tested very carefully. Every aspect of the task must be considered. At the end of this phase, agreement should be reached on the usability of the results. - Deployment
The knowledge gained is processed graphically, in tabular form and numerically so that the client’s goals are met. This can range from the simple creation of a report to the integration of a model into a decision-making process or a process control system of the client or even into a permanently installed, repetitive data mining process on the part of the client.
In terms of cost-effective data mining projects for our customers, we mainly use open source software.
We have experience in data export from Osi-Soft PI systems and use of the process book to visualize identified models for use in regulating and / or monitoring your industrial systems.