Kirovo-Chepetsk Chemical Plant introduces AI at the production

Kirovo-Chepetsk Chemical Plant (KCKK, part of Uralchem) has introduced an artificial control system (online advisor) on a drum granulator dryers. During the project, the company has achieved greater stability of the operation, managed to reduce the influence of human factors and increased production by 2-6%. The project started in 2018.

The online advisor is a digital service based on big data analytics and artificial intelligence, and it aims to assist the operator. The system operates in real-time, collecting and analyzing all parameters of the technological process. The advisor works out possible consequences of the changing of control parameters, and the recommendation is issued to the operator. The more closely the operator follows the recommendations, the more stable the equipment works. As data accumulates, the system is continuously trained and improved.

The workshop where the online advisor was launched produces NS 30:7 fertilizer, calcium-ammonium nitrate and calcium-ammonium nitrate with sulfur. Due to the high inertia of the process, operators can’t control how their actions affect the technological process and, accordingly, the finished product. As a result, the productivity of the unit becomes unstable and depends on the operator’s experience. This was the reason to create an online advisor system, which could help the operators to control the process at the level of the most experienced representatives of the profession.