With the main objective of prototyping a digital twin of a production process to analyze and predict its energy behavior according to the influence of different variables, the Energy Technology Institute (ITE) has successfully developed the PROENER project, financed by the IVACE.
PROENER started in 2019 and year after year, its progress has been very positive. In general terms, the project's mission is to model and simulate the physical functioning of a production process from the point of view of impact and energy optimization , allowing us to know in advance how the process will respond and behave in the face of different changes and disturbances.
Specifically, during 2021 we have worked on the development of a prototype of an energy digital twin of the biomass transformation process as a raw material . The simulation seeks to model the real behavior of this type of systems to understand the productive behavior of the industrial process, linked to the energy it consumes.
The research team of ITE - a reference technological center that has the support of the Valencian Institute of Business Competitiveness (IVACE) of the Generalitat Valenciana - details that in the last year the project has culminated with the development of key functionalities of the digital twin , such as They are the actual behavior adjustment of the model, graphical improvements, component integration and performance improvement.
Applications of PROENER results
The use of digital twin technology applied to improving the energy efficiency of any type of process is one of the most current strategic trends. In the case of PROENER, the aim is to digitally reproduce the behavior of a biomass thermochemical transformation process through multiphysics modeling designed and configured to act as a digital twin .
The functionalities targeted, such as the representation of alternative scenarios or the variation of process parameters to see the energy impact, have been proposed and developed to be representative for companies, both in the sector and related sectors.
Some of these functionalities are the generation of alternative production scenarios, the evaluation of the impact of variables on the energy consumption and operational performance of the process or the possibilities of renewable integration analysis, the latter being adapted to the specific case study.
ITE researchers highlight that modeling the transformation process sets a precedent in terms of possibilities for reprogramming and operating these processes . This is the case, for example, of measuring the energetic and economic impact of variables such as residence time or treatment temperature. The processing of all the information provided by the digital twin is key to adapting production conditions to the optimal scenario in terms of environmental, productive and economic impact.
In general, in a production process of biomass transformation - whether into energy or value-added materials such as activated carbon - this tool will allow reliable indicators and predictive simulations of the response of the production plant in terms of critical parameters of its behavior, such as the thermal, as well as its relationship with the energy behavior in the production environment itself.
The PROENER project with file number IMAMCL/2021/1, has been financed through an R&D agreement with the Generalitat Valenciana.
