JSL completes digitisation level for AOD converter

Jindal Stainless Limited (JSL), India’s largest stainless steel manufacturing company, has successfully completed level-two process automation for its Argon Oxygen Decarburisation (AOD) converter at its Jajpur (Odisha) plant. The automation process has helped the company achieve an approximately ten per cent of improvement in productivity with the help of real-time carbon and temperature analysis during production. This process was completed in two weeks with Primetals Technologies Limited as an implementation partner. This is the second digital transformation adopted by the company.

The upgraded AOD converter will improve the overall refining operations at the facility. Level-two process automation is a dynamic process model which will allow both, advance calculations and online simulation of processes. Advance calculations shall result in significantly trimming errors as the input materials will be prepared in advance. This dynamic process model is based on dozens of metallurgical equations which use cyclic online calculations to analyse the chemical reaction in AOD converter both, in real time and at a point in future. This improves the process accuracy and the quality of stainless steel produced. The upgrade will also help in collating a valuable knowledge database for further use in future optimisations and new developments.