Smart Monitoring System for Taiwan's First Micro-Biomass Power Plant

Abstract

Surface treatments are a form of a protective coating that extends the lifespan of equipment by protecting parts from wear and abrasion. These treatments play a key role across several industries, including the automotive, aerospace, construction, container, electrical, medical, and industrial equipment industries.

Partner: SunForce Technology Co., Ltd | Region: Taiwan

Introduction 

Biomass energy is a renewable fuel resource produced from agricultural/residential waste and other organic matter. This resource generates electricity through burning, gasification, and/or fermentation. Converting organic waste into energy necessitates a variety of processes in hazardous high-temperature environments. In such environments, human errors can lead to equipment damage and industrial accidents. Intelligent monitoring systems help address these issues by managing biomass power plant operation.

System Requirements

Sunforce was asked to develop a monitoring system for micro biomass power plants to reduce labor expenses and equipment failure rates while increasing power generation. They also wanted to perform scheduling and cascade control to create standard operating procedures aiming at achieving remote monitoring and real-time management. In the future, they will combine artificial intelligence with gradually accumulated operational data to perform intelligent monitoring.

System Description

This monitoring system uses several Advantech solutions - ADAM-5560KW (a PAC),IPC-610 (an industrial computer), WebAccess/SCADA (a remote monitoring program),and Advantech cloud-based industrial IoT platform. This solution leverages WebAccess/SCADA to support a number of drivers. This support enables this solution to collect data from Advantech's I/O devices and PAC, as well as any third party PLC, I/O module, or controller. The operator currently uses Advantech's cloud platform to monitor micro biomass power plants.

The platform's high adaptability enables the simultaneous monitoring of multiple powerplants. In addition, it adapts to third-party software and can interface with environmental protection authorities, as well as export biomass electricity for sale to Taipower. The second phase of the monitoring system will focus on the application of intelligent features aimed at leveraging this solution's strengths. The WebAccess/SCADA Dashboard enables the selection and comparison of critical data points. This in turn enables monitoring system optimization.

Project Implementation

• IPC-610H: 4U Rackmount Chassis with Visual Alarm Notification
• ADAM-5560KW: Programmable Automation Controller
• ECU-1051: Industrial Communication Gateway

Conclusion

Advantech's modular solutions hastened the project by helping Sunforce reduce the time and labor needed for implementation. The monitoring system co-created by Advantech and Sunforce won the support of the system beneficiary. With the help of Advantech and Sunforce, the company is planning to build a second micro biomass.