Valmet presents computer simulation technology at international symposium in Italy
Finnish global company was selected to exhibit its computer simulation tool for operations training at the International Symposium on Wood, Fiber, and Pulping Chemistry, in Italy. This technology aims to accelerate pulp mill startups.
Paper, pulp, and machine manufacturers often face design and process challenges. Computer simulation is a valuable and essential tool for production adjustments and operational experiments, facilitating communication between systems and offering a more automated and efficient solution. World leader in the development and supply of technologies, automation and services for the pulp, paper and energy industries, Valmet was invited - among few Brazilian companies - to participate in the International Symposium on Wood, Fiber, and Pulping Chemistry, held in Venice, Italy, this July.
Ronnie Marcelo Biasotto, Process Specialist in Valmet South America, was invited to hold a presentation about his paper during the 21st International Symposium on Wood, Fiber, and Pulping Chemistry, in Venice, Italy, to an audience of academic and business sectors from all over the world. The paper presented, developed in co-authorship with Rafael Ferreira, Valmet OTS specialist in South America, approaches the topic Use of an Online Training Simulator (OTS) as an Accelerator Tool for a Pulp Mill Startup. “It was an honor to present this unprecedented and cutting-edge technology at a global event of high technical level, such as this symposium. The discussions were focused on scientific works by companies and renowned universities and research institutes,” explained the speaker.
Valmet Training Simulator (OTS) technology
Computational simulation of production processes, considered one of the pillars of Industry 4.0, aims to ensure productivity efficiency, reduce financial and technical resources, and improve market performance. The digital models aim to replicate real stages of the factory processes to enable managers and operators to predict the effects caused by potential problems in the industrial plant, as well as to highlight potential opportunities for improvement in the process.
Valmet simulators help in the efficient and safe management of factories, from the moment of start-up to continuous operations. With them, we obtain results that increase the competitiveness of our customer's businesses, helping in decision-making and providing technical, logistical, and financial benefits,”
The technology presented at the symposium is a virtual environment that brings together advanced technologies, such as artificial intelligence, automation, and Industry 4.0, among others.
“Among the main benefits, we can cite the reduction of the technical team's learning curve time, as well as the increase in operator confidence, provided by simulated exercises, which get to know the industrial plant before they even start operation, making it possible to clarify doubts and propose improvements. In Phase 1 of the project, the start-up time was reduced from the expected 20 days to 10 days, and in Phase 2, the factory started up in just 10 hours,” he explains.
OTS allows the dynamic equipment behavior to reproduce with high precision, covering all situations and online operation scenarios, and virtualizing all machines and systems involved in the factory operation. This tool makes it possible to train the operator team before and after the start of operations, make production adjustments and operational experiments, and train new professionals who may join the team in the future, ensuring greater efficiency and agility in production in the long term.