Process Monitoring Platform based on Industry 4.0 tools: a waste-to-energy plant case study

Abstract

This work presents a process data analytics platform built around the concept of industry 4.0. The platform utilizes the state-of-the-art industry internet of things (IIoT) platforms, machine learning (ML) algorithms and big-data software tools. The industrial applicability of the platform was demonstrated by the development of soft sensors for use in a waste-to-energy (WTE) plant. In the case study, the work studied data-driven soft sensors to predict syngas heating value and hot flue gas temperature. From data-driven models, the neural network based nonlinear autoregressive with external input (NARX) model demonstrated better performance in prediction of both syngas heating value and flue gas temperature in a WTE process.