Battery-Less Industrial Wireless Monitoring and Control System for Improved Operational Efficiency

Abstract

An industrial wireless monitoring and control system, capable of supporting energyharvesting devices through smart sensing and network management, designed for improving electrorefinery performance by applying predictive maintenance, is presented. The system is self-powered from bus bars, and features wireless communication and easy-to-access information and alarms. With cell voltage and electrolyte temperature measurements, the system enables real-time cell performance discovery and early reaction to critical production or quality disturbances such as short-circuiting, flow blockages, or electrolyte temperature excursions. Field validation shows an increase in operational performance of 30% (reaching 97%) in the detection of short circuits, which, thanks to a neural network deployed, are detected, on average, 10.5 h earlier compared to the traditional methodology. The developed system is a sustainable IoT solution, being easy to maintain after its deployment, and providing benefits of improved control and operation, increased current efficiency, and decreased maintenance costs.