AI based state observer for optimal process control: application to digital twins of manufacturing plants

Les plantes de fabricació estan subjectes a restriccions dinàmiques que requereixen una optimització robusta per millorar el rendiment i l' eficiència del sistema. En aquest projecte es presenta un nou sistema de control òptim basat en IA per a un bessó digital d' una planta de fabricació. El sistema proposat implementa un observador d' estat basat en IA per predir l' estat intern d' un model de procés altament incert i no lineal, tal com seria un sistema de producció real. Una funció d' optimització multi-objectiu es utilitzada per controlar els paràmetres de producció i mantenir el procés funcionant en condicions òptimes. El mètode d'Optimització del Control basat en AI es va implementar en un cas d'estudi d'una planta de fabricació d'acer. El rendiment del sistema es va avaluar utilitzant els KPIs de fabricació rellevants, com ara les taxes d'utilització i productivitat de l'equip del procés. L'ús de sistema de control optimitzat via AI millora amb èxit els KPIs de procés i potencialment podria reduir els costos de producció.Las plantas de fabricación están sujetas a restricciones dinámicas que requieren una optimización robusta para mejorar el rendimiento y la eficiencia. En este informe se presenta un nuevo sistema de control óptimo basado en IA para un gemelo digital de una planta de fabricación. El sistema propuesto implementa un observador de estado basado en IA para predecir el estado interno de un modelo de proceso altamente incierto y no lineal, tal y como sería un sistema de producción real. Una función de optimización multiobjetivo es utilizada para controlar los parámetros de producción y mantener el proceso funcionando en condiciones óptimas. El método de Optimización del Control basado en AI se implementó en un caso de estudio de una planta de fabricación de acero. El rendimiento del sistema se evaluó utilizando los KPIs de fabricación relevantes, como la utilización del equipo y las tasas de productividad del proceso. El uso del sistema de control óptimo de IA mejora los KPIs del proceso y podría reducir potencialmente los costos de producción.Manufacturing plants are subject to dynamic constrains requiring robust optimization methods for improved performance and efficiency. A novel AI based optimal control system for a Digital Twin of a manufacturing plant is presented in this report. The proposed system implements an AI based state observer to predict the internal state of a highly uncertain and non-linear process model, such as a real production system. A multi-objective optimization function is used to control production parameters and keeps the process running at an optimal condition. The AI Optimization Control method was implemented on a study case on a steel manufacturing plant. The performance of the system was evaluated using the relevant manufacturing KPIs such as the equipment utilization and productivity rates of the process. The use of the AI optimal control system successfully improves the process KPIs and could potentially reduce production costs

Vertical and Horizontal Modes of Injustice in Air Pollution: a Comparison of Law and Society in China and the US

This article will compare legal remedies to both pollution and environmental injustice available in the United States and China. In 2015, China adopted a law that shares many features with the U.S. Clean Air Act that have proven successful in the United States. The law is still new, but China’s regional cultural differences, less experience with civil lawsuits, and uncertainty about the rule of law may risk its effectiveness. Furthermore, the evolving political situation in both China and the United States may change availability of remedies for class discrimination due to anti-pollution policies. Finally, this article will use the case study of the U.S. exporting waste and recyclables to China, where processing causes air pollution, to discuss pollution “outsourcing” across international boundaries. China has shown increasing willingness both to create regulations prohibiting accepting waste and to enforce those regulations

The Belgian Iron and Steel Industry in the International Context

This paper provides a survey of the main developments in the iron and steel industry over the last few decades. The first chapter covers the changing conditions on international markets and identifies the main challenges facing the companies in this sector. These include the boom in China, the increasing prices of steel and raw materials, the wave of mergers and acquisitions as well as the implementation of environmental regulations, in particular the Kyoto Protocol. Against the backdrop of the worsening global economic crisis, market conditions for steel are also set to change markedly, at least in the medium term. The second chapter provides an assessment of the Belgian iron and steel sector's economic impact, in terms of direct value added, employment and investment. The chapter also includes an evaluation of the indirect effects of the sector, both upstream and downstreambranch survey, iron and steel industry, market structure, indirect effects

Controlling PM2.5 in Chengdu: Analysis and Recommendations from the China, U.S. and California Experience

Chengdu, China, is experiencing rapid economic growth and urbanization at a cost of serious air pollution problems. China has developed a series of policies to reduce PM2.5 emissions and to reform energy structure. However, problems exist which may prevent effectively implementation of the PM2.5 policies, include poor PM2.5 monitoring, isolated environmental management, lack of health improvement target, unclear consequence of non-compliance, and unequally distributed PM2.5 management. This research reviews U.S. PM2.5 emission control technologies related to coal-fired boilers and iron and steel manufacturing industries, which represent major emission sources of Chengdu. Chengdu’s choice of PM2.5 control technology should always consider its local characteristics. By learning the U.S. and California PM2.5 control experiences, their effective policy features are identified, include clear consequence of failure to compliance, strong states and local authorities, comprehensive monitoring and reporting system, health-based standards, and regional air quality management district. U.S. practice also shows innovative policy tools, such as technology standards, use of economic incentives, and cap and trade programs. These U.S. and California policy mechanisms can help to address problems and challenges existing in Chengdu and China’s PM2.5 management. Based on the analysis of the China, U.S. and California policies related to PM2.5, I make the following recommendation: develop integrated policy framework and giving stronger authority to environmental protection agencies; consider health effects as a qualification of the PM2.5 standards; establish comprehensive and accurate PM2.5 monitoring and reporting system; specify clear consequences for non-compliance and strengthening enforcement; divide provinces and big areas into regional air quality management districts by considering local characteristics; use technology-based emission standards to reflect emission limitation and performance; use economic incentives to drive emission reduction; and enhance public disclosure of information

Reducing industrial energy demand in the UK: A review of energy efficiency technologies and energy saving potential in selected sectors

Currently UK industrial and manufacturing sectors are facing dual challenges of contributing to national 80% reduction targets in CO2 emissions by 2050 (compared to 1990 levels) and improving economic competitiveness in the face of low cost imports. Since energy consumption is the main source of CO2 emissions and directly related to products being manufactured, improving energy efficiency in energy intensive sectors is key to achieve CO2 targets. Energy consumption is unlikely to meet the targets unless energy efficiency opportunities and technologies are fully explored and timely changes are made to business models and policies This study explores potential energy efficiency improvements from three perspectives: system efficiency of steam networks, waste heat recovery technologies and bioenergy/waste utilisation. Two UK energy-intensive sectors, iron and steel, and food and drink, are selected for analysis and discussion. Potential business models for energy efficiency are also reviewed as there are now a variety of energy service companies who can support adoption of appropriate technologies. Furthermore, drivers and barriers to the adoption of energy efficiency technologies are considered in this paper revealing the factors affecting the diffusion of energy efficient and waste heat recovery technologies and their interactions and interdependencies to energy consumptions. Findings show that it is possible to achieve energy consumption reduction in excess of 15% from a technical point of view, however improving energy efficiency in UK industry has been hindered due to some inter-related technical, economic, regulatory and social barriers. The findings help to demonstrate the significant potential for energy efficiency improvement in two industrial sectors, as well as showing the specific types of technologies relevant for different sectoral processes. The range of business models show opportunities for implementation and for developing innovative business models, addressing barriers, and using enablers to accelerate the diffusion of energy efficiency technologies in UK industry

China Emissions Accounts and Low-Carbon Development in Cities

China, the world’s second-largest economy, has witnessed a miracle in its economic growth. With lifestyle changes and rapid economic growth in China, China’s CO2 emissions have tripled during the past decades. China is now the world leading energy consumer and CO2 emitter. China is playing an increasingly important role in global emissions reduction and climate change mitigation. The accurate account of CO2 emissions is the foundation of any emission analysis and further reduction actions. However, there are no official published emission inventories in China. All the previous studies calculated China’s emissions by themselves, making the emissions inconsistent and incomparable with each other. The first part of this PhD thesis compiles the time-series Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) territorial CO2 emission inventories for China and its provinces from 1997 to 2015. The multi-scale emissions inventories are constructed in a uniform format (by 46 socioeconomic sectors and 17 fossil fuels). An open-access database “ceads.net” is built based on this PhD study. CEADs is the first open-access emission database providing self-consistent and transparent data for China. Chapter 4 finds that the total CO2 emissions of China increased rapidly during the past 16 years with an average increase of 7.8% per year. The emissions peaked in 2013, at 9,534 million tonnes (Mt). The detailed analysis of the CO2 emissions by sectors and fossil fuel sources finds that coal-related fuels and the manufacturing sectors, especially the “power and heat”, are the primary contributor to the national emissions. Chapter 4 also examines the per capita CO2 emissions and the emission intensity of China. The results show that the per capita emissions increased quickly from 2.4 (2000) to 6.7 (2015) tonnes, while the emission intensity keeps decreasing during the period. Both comparison and Monte Carlo uncertainty analyses are conducted to China’s emissions. The result shows that the uncertainties of the national CO2 emissions are roughly (-15%, 25%) at a 97.5% confidential level. Similar analyses are conducted at the provincial level in Chapter 4 as well. The results show that Shandong emitted the most CO2 cumulatively among the 30 provinces, followed by Hebei, Jiangsu, Guangdong, and Henan. The fossil fuel and sector-specific analysis of the provincial CO2 emissions describe detailed emissions of each province. The per capita emissions and emission intensities of each province are also presented in this study. In order to have a better understanding of China’s CO2 emissions, Chapter 5 provides further analysis of emission characteristics of the lime industry and petroleum coke for the first time. The lime industry is the second largest process-related emission contributor followed by the cement. The results show that, in 2012, the process-related CO2 emissions in China’s lime production accounted for 141.72 Mt, while the electricity and fossil fuel-related emissions accounted for 55.95 and 4.42 (Mt) respectively. Further discussions of the reduction policy recommendations of China’s lime industry are presented in this study based on the economic and environmental assessment of different lime kilns. As for the petroleum coke consumption, its combustion produced 26.2 Mt CO2, 807 tonnes CH4, and 137 tonnes N2O in 2014. The petroleum coke-related emissions are increasing fast. During the past five years, its emissions increased by 87%, which is remarkably high compared to the 19.4% growth rate of total CO2 emissions in China. Considering the petroleum coke is a dirty and un-environmental friendly fossil fuel type, the quick growth of petroleum coke consumption should be of serious concern to the government. Further to the national and provincial emission inventories, Chapter 7 examines the CO2 emissions from Tibet and its cities. This is the first study to quantify Tibet’s emissions. The results show that Tibet emitted a total of 5.52 Mt of CO2 related to fossil fuel combustion and cement production in 2014. The per capita and emission intensity of Tibet are much lower than the national average level. The city-level analysis shows that over half of Tibet’s CO2 emissions are induced in Lhasa city. The second part of this PhD thesis examines the CO2 emissions from Chinese cities and discusses the possible low-carbon development pathways of cities at different industrialisation and development stages. Being the basic units for human activities and major contributors to emissions, cities are major components in the implementation of climate change mitigation and CO2 emission reduction policies. Increasing attention is now being paid to city-level emission reduction and climate change mitigation in China. Chapter 3 firstly develops a series of methods to compile CO2 emission inventories for Chinese cities with different data availabilities. The emission inventories of cities are constructed with the consistent scope and uniform with the national and provincial emission inventories calculated above. Chapter 6 then applies the methods to examine emissions characteristics in 182 cities. The results show that the top-emitting cities represent a disproportionately large fraction of the total emissions from the 182 cities. The top five emitting cities (Tangshan, Shanghai, Suzhou, Nanyang, and Chongqing) accounts for 11% of the total emissions. More high-emitting cities can be found in northern and eastern China compared with other regions. Chapter 6 further applies the cluster analysis to cluster the 182 case cities into five groups with distinct pillar industries describing their different industrialisation stages and development pathways. The results find that there is labour division among Chinese cities, the most developed cities (service-based and high-tech industry cities) are supported by nearby manufacturing cities. In turn, the manufacturing cities are supported by nearby energy production centres. In this way, different cities should have different low-carbon roadmaps designed based on their current industrialisation stages and development pathways. Chapter 6 also finds that efficiency gains could be a practical and effective way to reduce CO2 emissions. The sectoral-based calculation of the cities’ emission reduction capacities via technical improvements show that up 31% of the 182 cities’ emissions can be reduced if the strongest reduction strategies been applied. The results suggest that China’s near-term goals of reducing its emissions intensity may be feasibly accomplished by targeted technological improvements, buying time for the longer-term strategies of shifting to non-fossil energy and a more service-based economy. Moreover, improving and optimizing the energy and carbon efficiency of industrial production processes and operations could help lower the costs of advanced technologies and thus facilitate their deployment in less-developed cities and countries beyond China. This PhD study has great real-world significance and has filled in several research gaps in China’s emission accounts and cities’ low-carbon development. The research also provides solid and robust data support for future academic research on China’s emission topics and emission reductions policy-making in China. First of all, this PhD study provides the first open-access China emission database providing the multi-scale CO2 emission inventories. Secondly, this PhD study analyses the detailed emission characteristics of China, its provinces, and cities, as well selected key industries. Specific and efficient emission control policies targeting the major emission sources are discussed based on the analysis. Also, based on the city-level emission accounts, this PhD study analyses the low-carbon roadmaps for cities at different industrialisation stages and development pathways. Furthermore, considering the wide ranges of Chinese cities’ industrialisation maturity, the cross-section analysis of China’s cities may disclose the emissions characteristics of the whole industrialisation process. The emission reduction roadmaps designed in this study for cities at different industrialisation stages also provide references for other developing countries at similar stages of industrialisation

Economic Geography of the Australian Mining Industry

This paper is a discussion of the economic geography of Australia. It provides a history of foreign investment in mining, and discusses several resources booms that shaped the landscape of the continent and the role of governments (state, federal and territory governments) in this process. The paper presents a chronological account of the development of the Australian mining industry, the primary activities of which are the extraction, and export of unprocessed coal, iron, minerals and increasingly natural gas. The paper analyzes the industry’s interaction with foreign investment and government assistance (that is government spending in relation to the industry such as subsidies, loans and infrastructure construction etc). Australia’s trade and foreign investment environment have long been deregulated. The Australian mining industry has benefited from this deregulation. But its most spectacular period has been the “commodities super-cycle” of the 2000s-2010s. Overall, its contribution to exports has long typified the mining industry. The discussion herein draws attention to the applicability of the ‘eclectic theory’ in reference to foreign investment in mining. That is, investing mining MNEs (multinational enterprises) have three main types of ‘locational advantages’ in Australia, 1) volume of the availability of resources, 2) foreign investment regulatory environment and 3) government assistance that benefits the mining industry’s expansion