Kiln Control - Grain Germination

Kiln control system for germination kilns used for the production of malt.

The client requirement was for cost effective upgrade and replacement of an obsolete kiln control system for four grain germination kilns used for the production of malt.

Kilning is a complex process, using variable combinations of heat and air flow under tight control, dependent upon the malt being made and its end use.

The replacement system uses a single industrial PC to monitor and control the kiln operation.

Each kiln cycle has thirteen phases with recipe handling used to define kiln programs. Any number of recipes can be easily created and stored using screen based forms. The kiln control system can automatically run any of the stored programs with operators having manual over-ride control of fans, motors etc. as required.

As kilns are energy intensive the most efficient use of energy is vital. Energy reports are generated for each kiln cycle detailing the steam and electricity consumed.

Kiln dampers which play an important part in energy conservation are also under system control. Continuous recording of all process variables allows detailed analysis of kiln cycles and fine tuning to improve operational efficiency.

An interactive operator screen provides custom displays of each kiln and relevant information for each kiln phase as well as realtime and historic trend graphs of the process.

Concise single page proof of process reports are automatically printed at the end of each run that show start and end times of the kiln cycle, the program used, process trend graphs and list of any alarms.

The Prodigy On-line maintenance facility is used to store standard operating procedures and maintenance information so that it can be easily accessed via on screen icons when needed.

If you have a kiln control application and would like more information please contact us.