Sinopec Tianjin Company × SUPCON: "AI + Data" Drives Smart Laboratory, Saving Over 9 Million Yuan Annually

Currently, the chemical industry is undergoing a crucial period of transformation and upgrading. As an industry leader, Sinopec Tianjin Company (TPCC) has taken the lead in exploring and practicing the construction of smart laboratories.

01 A Massive Transformation of Industrial Laboratories

With the continuous growth of business volume and the increasing demands for quality control, traditional industrial laboratories face many challenges, including high labor costs and difficulties in data sharing. To address these challenges, TPCC initiated a laboratory transformation in collaboration with SUPCON. Based on SUPCON's quality monitoring data base platform (Q-Lab), the integration of big data and AI technology has significantly enhanced the laboratory's automated detection capabilities, optimized human resource allocation, and eliminated data silos. By leveraging high-efficiency sensing, lean management, predictive optimization, and smart collaboration, TPCC has elevated its quality control standards, ensuring stable and reliable product quality, and supporting sustainable corporate development.

02 Implementing Intelligent Systems, Achieving Unmanned Operations

In the project, SUPCON designed an intelligent, automated water quality analysis system, a fully automated chromatography liquid sample analysis system, and a plant-wide smart sample collection and delivery system for TPCC, enhancing the automation, efficiency, and standardization of water quality and chromatography testing. The systems can fully automate the detection process, including automatic sorting, sampling, loading, analyzing, data uploading, bottle washing, and sample bottle dispensing, ensuring precise and efficient testing processes.

• The smart water quality analysis system can monitor various key indicators in samples as needed, such as pH, conductivity, turbidity, suspended solids, COD, ammonia nitrogen, total nitrogen, and sulfate, transmitting data in real time to the central control system. This provides managers with timely and comprehensive water quality information, enabling quick responses and decisions. The smart chromatography liquid sample analysis system, equipped with a "mechanical arm," can precisely and accurately perform automated sample preparation, standard addition, loading, injection, and analysis, significantly reducing the labor intensity of lab personnel and eliminating potential human errors. The plant-wide smart sample collection and delivery system, connected by 18 automated sample cabinets and four unmanned vehicles, ensures the unmanned transfer of samples from the plant to the central laboratory.

• The smart laboratory, through an advanced LIMS system, enables efficient task allocation. Lab personnel only need to place sealed samples on the conveyor belt, and the system automatically completes scheduling, sample allocation, analysis, and uploads the results to the management system. This intelligent management mode achieves zero contact between people and hazardous chemicals, ensuring intrinsic safety and significantly improving the precision and reliability of lab data, ensuring objective and scientific conclusions.

• The smart laboratory also uses 3D modeling technology to accurately replicate both static and dynamic scenes in the lab. This technology supports the interaction between models and real-time data and visualizes the lab processes. Lab personnel can monitor equipment status in real-time through large screens, ensuring safe and stable operation.

03 "Industrial AI + Big Data" Bringing Value Leap

Through the quality monitoring data base platform (Q-Lab), TPCC has built a smart laboratory management and control system based on multi-system interconnection. This system aggregates and integrates full-process quality data and features functions like statistical analysis, real-time monitoring, data query, and alarm management. By deeply mining and intelligently analyzing lab data, lab personnel can more accurately predict product quality trends.

In terms of safety, the smart laboratory of TPCC achieves real-time monitoring and early warning of laboratory processes, effectively reducing accident risks. From the efficiency side, by integrating AI and big data analysis technologies, it deeply explores lab data, accurately identifies process bottlenecks, and implements targeted improvements, greatly enhancing work efficiency and accuracy of lab results. In terms of cost control, it optimizes resource allocation and effectively reduces resource waste. Additionally, the smart laboratory enables one-click traceability, intelligent diagnosis, and prediction of quality information, providing solid support for scientific decision-making. Management can accurately grasp production dynamics and enhance the overall operational efficiency of the enterprise.

The Head of the Nankang Division Central Laboratory at TPCC's Laboratory and Measurement Department stated "The smart laboratory has achieved the transformation from a labor-intensive traditional laboratory to an intelligent, digital, and automated one. The smart water quality and chromatography laboratories and the plant-wide smart sample collection and delivery system we have built, under the command of the Q-Lab control platform, truly realize full-process machine operation, saving over 9 million yuan in annual labor costs."