UK glass container manufacturer and filler, Encirc , is set to reduce its carbon output by installing an intelligent end-to-end process control system.
The glass manufacturer and packager said the new system would cut its carbon output by more than 15.6 thousand tonnes a year at its Elton, UK facility.
The company, with bid writing support from Glass Futures, has been awarded Government funding from the Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) to begin its ‘DEEP Control Project’, (‘Deployment of End-to-End Process control).
The technology will allow the container producer to optimise its furnaces to run at minimum viable energy, delivering carbon reduction levels every year, while also improving productivity and product quality.
The DEEP Control project, which will digitally link the furnaces to Encirc’s 14 production lines, is being carried out in partnership with Glass Futures, together with the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) Hartree Centre, and Siemens.
The new system will also further increase the value of Encirc’s Industry 4.0-Ready glass production line, built at the end of 2020, which uses technology to ensure that glassmaking is safer, easier and more efficient than ever before.
Paddy O’Doherty, Encirc’s Deputy Operations Director and Project Lead, said “Projects such as this help us boost production, upskill our workforce and reduce our carbon footprint in line with consumer demands for more sustainable products.”
Senior R&D Projects Manager at Glass Futures, Dr Ajith Appukuttan said: “Glass manufacturing consumes a lot of energy, significantly in the melting of glass in the furnace. This project brings together expertise on digitalisation from the STFC Hartree Centre, glass manufacturing knowledge from Glass Futures, and data integration technology from Siemens to deploy end-to-end digitalisation in Encirc’s manufacturing operations, thereby considerably improving operational efficiency and reducing CO2 emissions from the plant.”
