Baosteeldevelopedadigitalautomaticanalysistechniqueformaceralspecificationin2002.Thisanalysissystemcombinesdigitalimageprocessing,graphics,databases,expertsystems,artificialintelligenceandotheradvancedtechnologies.After6yearsofapplicationincokeproduction,thesystemproveditselfsuccessfulincoalqualitytestingandcoalblendingguidanceonmaceral.However,duringthislongprocess,someinadequacieswerefoundthatimpactedtheprecisionandaccuracyoftheanalysis.So,in2008Baosteelbegantoworkonimprovingthecoalmaceralanalysissystem.Theimprovementsincludedthefollowing:furtherupgradingandenhancingtheanalysisperformanceofmicroscopicimages;extendingthegraylevelstoincreasethereflectancemeasurementaccuracy64times;changingthefocusmethodandeffectivelyeliminatingtheinterferenceofhalo.Inaddition,animprovedimagerecognitionmethodwasadoptedtomaketheextractionofvitrinitemoreaccurateandanewmodelofcoalconstituentalgorithmwasaddedwhichcanaccuratelydeterminethecompositionofmaceral(exinite,vitrinite,inertinite).Sincetheseimprovementswerecompleted,thesystemhasachievedhigherautomation,speedandaccuracy,collectedmoreinformationandperformedmoreaccuratemaceralanalysisforcokeproduction.Meanwhile,theimprovedsystemhasprovidedareliableanalyticalbasisforthefurtherstudyontherelationshipbetweencokequalityandcoalblending.
