Operational and environmental benefits of the new baking furnace at boyne smelters by use of an advanced firing technology

Abstract

In February 2012, a new baking furnace was commissioned at Boyne Smelters Limited (BSL) on Boyne Island, Australia. This new furnace replaced the production of two existing closed type furnaces and set new benchmarks in production performance. The advanced firing technology is based on latest safety requirements of the Australian Gas Authority (AGA) gas standards. In parallel, new self-recovery network structures behind the wireless network have been developed to maximize the redundancy and availability of the system. Finally, intelligent control modules have been implemented for on-line optimization of the baking process. This paper will outline the special technologies used and demonstrate the results that can be achieved to allow for smarter and cleaner baking cycles in combination with relevant safety standards and system availability.