Intelligent control system of an industrial lime kiln process

In the face of strong competition, the pulp and paper industry is aiming at higher profitability through increased productivity and the reduction of costs. In addition, on the global scale the industry is facing increasing market demands for higher product quality, more specialty products and improved production flexibility and environmental protection. Consequently, extensive research is being conducted to improve existing precesses. One alternative, which is gaining increasing attention within the industry, is the improved control of existing processes by means of intelligent systems. In this paper, an intelligent kiln control system is presented. In the system, neural network models are used in conjunction with advanced high-level controllers based on fuzzy logic principles and a novel linguistic equation approach. Finally, the testing results of the system are presented and discussed. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.