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RETROFEED VII GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Last 23rd and 24th November 2022, RETROFEED partners met again in person in Udine (Italy) to explain the last advances in the project and visit the installations of FERRIERE NORD, and, specially, the ones related with RETROFEED project. 

During the first day, partners explain the flame visualisation monitoring tool already finished by CIRCE or the quality monitoring system for clinker by AIMEN, both systems for SECIL in the coming weeks. Moreover, partners also described the monitoring infrastructure and the control strategies for retrofitting. 

Besides, the beta version of the DSS, the decision support system that will help operator plant to use the alternative feedstock using the Digital twins developed by CIRCE, IEN and CSM, was presented for the demo-sites and the first updated were explained. 

Moreover, workshops for each demo site were conducted, where involved partners explained the status of the developments and the planning for the following months: 

  • In TORRECID (ceramic sector, Spain), commissioning and installation of the control system, by-pass for combustion air pre-heating, visual camera, new sensors, etc. in the smelting furnace has already finished, and the real demonstration using the DSS is ongoing, with very good results. 
  • In SECIL (cement sector, Portugal), the flame monitoring too is working properly and the last steps before the installation of the new RDF burner and the new quality monitoring system for clinker has been performed. The digital twin developed by CIRCE is finished and the DSS has been presented. 
  • ASAS (aluminium sector, Turkey) has already installed the new O2 injector, delacquering drum and burner heads designed and constructed by STEK. And after resolving some problems with the digital twins, now the DSS has been tested. Finally, first results about the improvements of the developments have been obtained. 
  • At FERRIERE NORD (steel sector, Italy) and TENARIS SILCOTUB (steel sector, Romania), the flexible burner, coal injectors and dried residues injectors have already installed. Moreover, the DSS is already being tested in FENO and TENARIS SILCOTUB  using the digital twin developed by CSM. 
  • Finally, in FERTIBERIA the pilot plant is working to obtain data for implementing the process in the real plant, where the purchased tubular reactor is wating to be installed. Moreover, this data will also help to adjust the current digital twin developed by CIRCE. 

Finally, a visit to the whole plant of FERRIERE NORD was done, and partners saw the productions lines for all the elements that are produced in the plant and were able to see the Electric Arc Furnace used for melting the scrap, the new flexible burners created for RETROFEED project, the new silos for the alternative materials, etc. 

In the second day, the guidelines for the last months all partners related with business plans and communication activities were presented, and the e-learning platform that will be available for students, researcher and general public was presented. Finally, a workshop about regularisation that affect the RETROFEED was carried out in order to know the barriers and also the incentives for implemented the RETROFEED solutions. 

Next GA will be hold in Alcora (Spain) by TORRECID…stay tuned!