Improving Availability of the Pelletization Process

Sammanfattning: The Grate-Kiln-Cooler process is a commonly used method of sintering during iron ore pelletization, where the pellets are formed, dried, and hardened. The pellets are oxidized in the rotating Kiln, turning magnetite (Fe3O4) to hematite (Fe2O3), making the pellets attain suitable metallurgical attributes for further processing. The process is constantly exposed to thermal and mechanical stress, causing equipment degradation and thus unwanted production stops due to internal process disturbances. A suitable maintenance policy is required to cope with the risk of equipment degradation causing these production stops. Predictive maintenance (PdM) is the most current maintenance policy, utilizing a substantial amount of production data to foresee breakdowns and thus indicating the need for maintenance efforts to prevent them from occurring.           The global supplier of iron ore products, Loussavaara-Kiirunavaara Aktiebolag (LKAB), operates three pelletization plants in Kiruna. One of these pelletization plants experiences availability below desired levels. This hampers the plant from fulfilling its yearly production goals, resulting in lost revenue. This master's thesis aimed to increase the understanding of which causes influence the Grate-Kiln-Cooler process' availability. When these causes were identified, the aim was to develop a method of monitoring these to predict the need for maintenance (i.e., incorporating a PdM policy) to mitigate the risk of production stops. The work has been conducted by utilizing the systematic problem-solving DMAIC methodology.    The refractory material was identified as the primary contributor to the low availability in the investigated plant. Using principal component analysis (PCA) and statistical process control (SPC), a Hotelling T2 chart based on principal components was established to monitor the refractory material's condition. In this context, the combined usage of PCA and SPC highlighted three possible tendencies in the Kiln that potentially damaged the refractory material, causing production stops. The observed tendencies with the possibility of damaging the refractory material were; abnormally high refractory material temperatures, periods where the pellets' temperature exceeded the refractory material's temperature, and sporadic heat fluctuations in the refractory material.  The utilized Hotelling T2 chart provided a current state evaluation of the refractory material's condition and thus indicated the need for maintenance efforts. However, it was impossible to predict breakdowns by identifying patterns in either the T2-statistics or the individual charts. The inability to predict stops was derived from obstacles related to lacking documentation, deficient data, and that the time for breakdown is difficult to determine accurately. These obstacles hinder the prediction of breakdowns and, therefore, need to be dealt with to facilitate the implementation of a successful PdM strategy.