The copper industry is a vital part of Europe's economy. Due to, for example, new infrastructure projects and industrial innovations, demand for copper is growing globally. However, the deteriorating quality of copper ores makes it difficult for industry to increase its production. These lower quality ores cause more emissions as well as increase energy consumption and production losses. Thus, the copper industry needs high quality and sustainable methods that can also exploit lower quality ores, support environmental objectives and ensure the long-term viability and profitability of the industry.
Production losses in the copper smelting process occur not only due to faulty actions of physical units but also due to poor scheduling of processing units. While designing new physical units seems promising, it is often costly and time-consuming. A low-cost alternative is to improve the scheduling, which leads to reduced production losses. In his research, Hussain Ahmed introduces novel scheduling solutions to improve the planning and scheduling of the copper smelting process, thereby enhancing operational performance and minimizing copper losses.
The scheduling solutions proposed by Ahmed offer versatile applications across the chemical and process industries.
“By reducing production losses in the copper smelting process, my research contributes to lower production costs and long-term benefits. Additionally, the novel scheduling solutions will facilitate better decision-making in both operational and management contexts, with potential applications in evaluating social and environmental impacts,” says Ahmed.
According to him, improved scheduling also enhances safety by enabling process personnel to better predict the outcomes of their operational decisions, thus ensuring a safer working environment.
Hussain Ahmed, a doctoral researcher from Pakistan at Tampere University, specializes in developing advanced scheduling, control, and monitoring solutions for complex systems. During his research work, Hussain has shared his findings at numerous international conferences and spent his research time at the University of Waterloo in Canada. In addition to his doctoral studies, Hussain has contributed to other R&D projects related to steel production, wastewater treatment, and energy management, where he focuses on process control, data-driven modelling, control, and optimization.
Public defence on Friday 23 August 2024
The doctoral dissertation of MSc. Hussain Ahmed in the field of process automation engineering Decomposition-Coordination Optimization for Copper Smelting Process will be publicly examined at the Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences at Tampere University at time on Friday 23.08.2024 at Hervanta campus, Auditorium K1702 of the Konetalo building (Korkeakoulunkatu 8, Tampere).
The Opponent will be Adjunct Professor Iiro Harjunkoski from Aalto University, Finland, and Professor Henrik Saxén from Åbo Akademi, Finland. The Custos will be Professor Matti Vilkko from Tampere University.