Nippon Steel says ABB’s AI-based Expert Optimiser cut specific heat consumption by 2% and free lime by about 10% at its 1.6Mt/yr Muroran cement plant, with automatic operation above 90%.
Nippon Steel has reported that ABB’s Ability Expert Optimiser lowered energy use and improved product quality at its 1.6Mt/yr Muroran cement plant in Hokkaido, Japan. The system cut specific heat consumption by 2% and reduced free lime, a quality marker, by about 10%.
ABB ran a performance evaluation of the plant with and without the software to confirm the results. Expert Optimiser uses model predictive control and AI to read variables such as temperature, pressure and exhaust gas concentration, then adjust the process automatically. Tighter control cuts variability, which is what drives fuel use and off-spec output in a cement kiln.
After the first commissioning phase, automatic operation exceeded 90% and manual operator interventions fell by around 80%. The system held control during preheater cleaning and other abnormal conditions, when plants often drop back to manual running.
The Muroran plant makes blast furnace slag cement, a by-product of Nippon Steel’s steelmaking. The company classes it as low-carbon because total CO2 is around 40% lower than ordinary Portland cement when clinker is replaced by slag. Nippon Steel is moving towards highly automated, and eventually autonomous, operations.
“Reducing manual operator intervention and cutting fossil fuel consumption are key priorities as we work toward carbon neutrality,” said Hiroyuki Abe, plant manager. “We selected ABB Ability Expert Optimiser because it offered the best path to achieving those goals. We have seen significant improvements in process stability, clinker quality and overall operational consistency.”
Quantified, independently validated savings from AI process control are still rare in cement, where many claims rest on vendor modelling. A measured 2% cut in heat demand across a 1.6Mt/yr plant is modest per tonne but adds up over a year, and gives other operators a concrete benchmark for advanced process control as a low-capital route to lower emissions.
