Unleash the power of automation with CNA Pentos and Smart Blend
In the world of cement production, maintaining high quality while managing variations in raw materials and reducing carbon footprint can all feel like a balancing act. How do you achieve all three at once? The answer is by using technology wisely – and here, we’ll explore one example of how cement industry professionals can combine two solutions, the CNA Pentos and the Smart Blend software, in a truly smart way to achieve the perfect mix of efficiency and quality.
Real-time insights at your fingertips
The CNA Pentos is a rugged cross-belt analyser that provides real-time monitoring of elements to help maintain the consistency and quality of raw materials. Working through pulsed fast thermal neutron activation technology, it’s fast, accurate, and safe – and already supports the workflows of many producers by giving them real-time insights into their material composition right from the belt. Its flexibility in calibration accommodates a wide range of materials, promising reliable results even with new or non-standard material measurements, and it’s user-friendly too – so maintenance is always quick and easy.
But it’s now possible to optimize its performance even further by using the CNA data to better control your processes directly and automatically!
Smart Blend: your automated stockpile manager and raw mix blend optimizer
Smart Blend is a digital solution designed to automate blending control for stockpiles and raw mix in the cement industry. It can seamlessly loop your analytical results to adjust the ratio of components in the stockpile or raw mix and visualizes the quality of stacked and reclaimed stockpile – offering insights to assist in managing the quantities of each raw material source delivered by the feeders. It also predicts the quality of reclaimed materials, adding a layer of valuable foresight to your operations.
Smart Blend is not just a monitoring tool – it’s a facilitator of quality control in raw mix and raw meal production. By fine-tuning the feeder proportions, it offers a stable and robust solution that functions autonomously, reducing the need for expert intervention or software maintenance contracts.
More than the sum of their parts
But the real clever part is combining these two powerful tools. When they work in harmony, their integration provides much closer control of the raw mix steps in cement manufacturing – helping producers to meet high quality standards in a more environment friendly manner.
Real-time monitoring with the CNA Pentos, or other high-throughput on-line instruments, already enables much more efficient processes. If any inconsistencies or problems arise, the operator can react immediately and precisely – avoiding off-specification product, time, and waste of both materials and energy. Of course, automating these adjustments is the next step to achieve even greater efficiency (and prevent issues from arising at all), and it’s this powerful benefit that Smart Blend unlocks.
Let’s focus on the tangible benefits this combination can offer. A stable raw mix with precise compositions can be a tough goal to achieve, given the variability in different components such as limestone, clay, marl, and other additives. Through close monitoring and control of blending ratios, mineral phases, and potentially problematic elements, the combination of CNA Pentos and Smart Blend allows you to narrow down the optimal targets, enhancing the process significantly.
One good example is adjusting the lime saturation factor (LSF) with an improved standard deviation RSD from 5% to 2%, enabled by the real-time monitoring capabilities of CNA Pentos. This adjustment not only results in cost savings in terms of fuels and electricity, but also aligns well with the production of green cements by contributing to a reduction in CO2 emissions across the whole process.
A strategic move to prepare for the future
As the cement industry continues to move toward greater sustainability, integrated solutions that build automation and on-line monitoring into workflows will become increasingly important. The combination of CNA Pentos with Smart Blend is a great example – as a strategic move toward smarter, more efficient, and sustainable cement production, it’s a solution that can be put in place today that will prepare your processes for the future. This winning combination will set a new standard as we work together to make green cement a reality!
To learn more about Smart Blend, check out the full brochure here.
Explore all the specifications of the CNA Pentos here.
Alternatively, reach out to our experts for a chat about how to optimize your processes today.