Advanced process control contributes to significant energy savings at Turkish cement plant

Seventy years old and going strong

Founded in 1950, Çimentaş is one of the largest cement producers in Turkey. Its original plant in İzmir began production in 1953 with a capacity of 150,000 tpa. Over the last seven decades, the plant has seen significant investment and expansion, and today the plant has a nameplate cement production capacity of 2.3 million tpa.

Bringing AI technologies to advanced process control

FLSmidth is a long-standing partner of the Çimentaş İzmir plant. Most recently, we have installed the ECS/ProcessExpert® v8.5  intelligent advanced process control solution on the plant’s two ball mill circuits for cement grinding and raw meal grinding. Following successful commissioning of this system, we are now working to install ECS/ProcessExpert for the plant’s kiln.

The ECS/ProcessExpert software has been specifically designed for the cement industry. Based on state-of-the-art process optimisation and artificial intelligence technologies, it is the ultimate assistant for cement plant operations – improving process efficiency, reducing costs and resulting in more sustainable cement production.

Going beyond expectations

ECS/ProcessExpert implementation on the two ball mill circuits received final acceptance from Çimentaş İzmir – with no exceptions! In fact, the system exceeded the expectations. Specific energy consumption is down 3.1% on the cement mill and 3.8% on the raw mill, compared to manual operations.

Feed rates are also higher than targeted for the new system. The cement mill feed rate improved by 2.9%, compared to manual operation, while on the raw mill it was 3.7% higher than manual operation. Crucially, these operational gains were achieved without compromising the quality of the end product.

“ECS/ProcessExpert has really exceeded our expectations! The performance testing proved the benefits of the advanced process control system, compared to previous manual operations. It’s a valuable support for our operators, who no longer need to worry about optimising mill operations and can concentrate on other tasks. Another benefit of the optimised system will be improved equipment reliability.” said Erman Aycan, Process Executive (İzmir and Trakya Factory) from Çimentaş.

Environmental progress

The project is not only a business success. By reducing energy consumption and improving process efficiency, it also offers tangible sustainability benefits, supporting both our MissionZero goals and the environmental goals of Çimentaş İzmir.

The energy savings achieved by ECS/ProcessExpert will translate into tons of lower CO2 emissions. It’s a powerful example of how process control and optimisation can lower emissions – a key pillar of our MissionZero strategy to enable zero-emission cement production.

“We aim to be a pioneer in all matters concerning society and the environment in order to leave a legacy of clean nature to our children.” said Erman Aycan, Process Executive (İzmir and Trakya Factory) from Çimentaş.