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Metris addIQ ARGOS: The eye that never sleeps
Metris addIQ ARGOS is the optical measurement system capable of detecting the actual centrate condition during thickening and dewatering process. ARGOS adjusts the optimum polymer dose and machine setpoint to match changing conditions in the operating process like an additional electronic operator eye. “Argos is a many-eyed giant in Greek mythology, where sleep never fell upon its eyes,” said Rohit Kachroo, automation and digitalisation manager, Separation division, ANDRITZ. “Metris addIQ ARGOS is a giant in the field of today’s separation challenges.” Metris is the umbrella brand for all digitalisation products within ANDRITZ, and the name addIQ is derived from ‘adding intelligence quotient’. “The Metris brand utilises the latest technology which helps our customers increase the efficiency and profitability of plants, optimises the use of resources, enhances machine availability, and achieves the highest product quality,” said Kachroo. Keeping centrifuge operation at its optimum would be a 24/7 task for any operator. As the centrifuge is not the only equipment to be taken care of, this amount of attention is not realistic in standard operation. Furthermore, process conditions can be volatile throughout a machine’s lifetime. This may lead to a drop in cake dryness, worsening centrate quality, or overdosing of polymer during operation, increasing the costs for polymer use, trucking and disposal fees, drying, and labour. According to Kachroo, the scan box is an important component of Metris addIQ ARGOS, which consists a network camera and LED lights. The scan box is continuously taking pictures in the centrate stream, the images are then transferred to digital artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm
Metris addIQ ARGOS (Image: ANDRITZ)
for classification of operating conditions. “From this classification result, control actions are derived which the polymer dosage and machine parameters could be adjusted. With this approach, we have an electronic operator doing the fine adjustment in real time 24/7.” Metris addIQ ARGOS monitors in the centrifuge the output result of the separation process. “It was learned from customer experience that in most cases, the polymer is rarely adjusted throughout the operation — even when sludge or production needs adaptations — which either leads to overdose or underdose of polymer,” Kachroo added. “With the help of AI generated polymer setpoint, it works 24/7. Whenever there is a need to adjust polymer setpoint, ARGOS does it automatically without any need of operator interface.”
The initial installation of Metris addIQ ARGOS took place on a test site in France. The plant already featured a system to optimise polymer dosage based on solid concentration measurement in the feed line. “The task to provide savings appeared to be a challenging one,” Kachroo said. “Still, the final results had been impressive. On top of the existing polymer dosing system, we could achieve another 10% of savings, compared to pure operator-based dosing in which we reached 25% of savings on average.” Kachroo also added that another strength of Metris addIQ ARGOS is its versatility. “The AI of each individual installation is trained on the actual picture impressions for good and bad centrate quality,” he said. “By doing that, the system can deal with the fact that sludge is different on each site.”
Water & Wastewater Asia | September-October 2024 59
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