Executive Summary
Koidra partnered with Vietnam-based Ayo Biomass to boost its drying and production capacities. Facing diverse feedstock moisture levels and particle sizes, Koidra offered plug-and-play, low-code solutions to dissect data and automize Ayo Biomass’s new drying line.
Customer Overview
Ayo Biomass is a wood pellet producer based in Vietnam. In 2017, Ayo Biomass’s Plant 1 was established with a mission to provide high-quality, clean, and sustainably sourced wood pellets to the growing Asian green energy market.
Ayo Biomass’s Plant 1 has already had a Drying line. Working with Koidra, Ayo Biomass has 2 requests:
- Improve the performance of their existing Drying line
- Provide a complete automation solution for their new Drying line
Challenges and Solutions
To address these challenges, Koidra partnered with Ayo Biomass and implemented a two-phase approach:
Phase 1: Enhance the automation and improve the performance of the existing dryer
Challenge
Regulating the biomass drying process can be challenging due to the significant variations in feedstock moisture levels and particle sizes across different batches, material types, and seasons.
Dryers are one of the most important aspects of Ayo’s operations. Before Koidra, the factory is controlled solely by a traditional system based upon an antiquated programming model of traditional PLC, HMI, and SCADA technology. The company was up against major limitations from its antiquated control systems, which hinder the operators’ ability to translate the language shared among engineers.
Solution
We have the choice to reuse the solid PLC (as in the existing drying line) but we opt to move with our soft PLC (RevPi-based). It’s a challenge for the Koidra team since it was our first time implementing a soft PLC. The soft PLC, combined with our Opera, has helped to simplify the PLC programming. Rather than using a complicated programming language, with Koidra’s solution, customers can program and change configurations from the cloud in a low-code way. We’ve developed our IoTHub to support the PLC.
By automating their drying process with Koidra, they were able to move beyond traditional PLCs: harnessing advanced logic expression while simplifying their complex and expensive engineering cycles. The plug-and-play solution provides end-to-end dryer automation from a single screen when preparing their wood pellets for production.
Phase 2: Provide a comprehensive automation solution for Ayo’s new drying line
Challenge
Previously, operational data flowed from RevPi controller and legacy systems directly to computers on site. In order to access the whole view of the system’s health, operators at Ayo had to manage reports and relevant applications offline or with external hard drives.
Solution
With Koidra’s digital decision platform, data is easily streamlined as a suite. The Koidra KoPilot comprises IoT Hub and Cloud-based software. IoT Hub stores analytics harvested from the legacy system and RevPi, with special sensors planted on-site. Once the Opera Engine implanted inside IoT Hub authors the use of cloud-processing data, analytics are transformed into recommendations. These recommendations are presented without the cluttered presentation of fragmented data selected from the previous cloud-less system. KoPilot cans store processed data on the cloud, ranging from machine performances to possible discrepancies.
Results & Benefits
The overall production throughput has increased steadily at Ayo Biomass, after each phase of implementation.
- On-demand hindsight on operational status, for all levels across the organization
- Dryers’ operational efficiency increased by 20%
- Relevant control system to be upgraded and optimized substantially
- With the new Drying line, their drying capability is doubled (from 300 tons to 600 tons per day) and their production capacity increased from 270 tons to 400 tons per day.
- After phase 1, the production yield is much more steady and higher than before. The new drying line in phase 2 further boosts the production output.
Customer Testimonials
“Koidra’s dashboard visualizes the plant’s condition and real-time performance, enabling me to monitor it remotely. Thanks to up-to-date insights, I can lead cross-function teams, improve processes in a timely manner, and make data-driven business decisions.”
— Trang Do, Continuous Improvement Manager
About Koidra Inc.
Koidra is at the forefront of climate tech innovation, offering intelligent automation solutions that enable high-tech greenhouses, biomass energy facilities, and food processing plants to excel in both sustainability and production efficiency. We are dedicated to helping these industries reduce their environmental impact while maximizing operational effectiveness.
By integrating advanced machine learning, IoT technologies, and principles from Math and Physics, our systems extend the precision and efficiency of operations beyond what’s possible through human efforts alone. Koidra’s smart automation empowers facilities to broaden their control, minimize reliance on manual expertise, and embrace a scalable approach to environmental responsibility in industrial automation.
