The issue of energy performance in the metallurgical, steelmaking and foundry industries is crucial if the sector is to make a success of its energy transition. A number of appropriate measurement and analysis tools(gas analysis, pressure measurement, flow measurement, temperature measurement, level measurement) can be used to save energy, reduce bills and reduce carbon footprints. Every industrial operator can save and optimize energy consumption in every process.
Fuji Electric measuring instruments support metalworking companies during every phase of their manufacturing process in order to :
Metal quality control
Compliance with current standards
Energy efficiency
Personnel and plant safety
In the sintering furnace, powders of raw materials (ores, limestone and water) are subjected to heat to obtain a compact part.
The parts pass through the furnace at different temperatures, then are cooled and finally calibrated to obtain the desired shape.
In this process, it is necessary to control the temperature inside the furnace, the air-fuel ratio and harmful emissions.
The coke oven converts coal into coke using a dry distillation process.
Coke is a fuel obtained by pyrolyzing hard coal (at 1100°C) in a coke oven, sheltered from the air, for several hours.
To optimize this process, combustion control and exhaust gas monitoring are essential.
The quench tower, or dry coke cooling system (CDQ), cools incandescent coke to a temperature suitable for transport. It is an energy recovery system. During the water sprinkling process, the heat emitted by the glowing coke is recovered and used to generate electricity or steam.
It is necessary to monitor the gases, CO andH2, to prevent explosion during quenching.
The blast furnace transforms agglomerated iron ore into liquid cast iron. The iron ore and coke are fed in from above. Hot air (1250°C), blown into the base of the blast furnace, reacts with the coke and pulverized coal to form a reducing gas that absorbs the oxygen from the iron ore. At the same time, heat is generated which is necessary for the smelting of the reduced ores. During this process, large quantities of gases are generated (CO andCO2).
To get the best out of the blast furnace, it is necessary to control the quality of the cast iron, the combustion of the furnace and the monitoring of gas emissions.
The cast iron is poured into the converter, which contains scrap metal. Pure oxygen is blown onto the metal bath to burn off excess carbon and impurities. The result is "wild" liquid steel. No additional heat is required, as the heat generated during oxidation is blown into the converter. The combustion gases produced in the converter are reused to generate electricity or for heating in the rolling process.
To achieve optimum transformation of cast iron into liquid steel, it is necessary to monitor the decarburization process and the amount of oxygen blown in.
Vacuum degassers are installed in many blast furnaces and steel mills to improve steel purity. Degassing is a metallurgical process in which a quantity of aluminum is added before the steel, then argon is injected onto the molten steel to reduce theH2,02 and N2 content, and eliminate certain non-metallic inclusions.
Molten steel decarburized in the converter is injected into a ladle and transported to continuous casting equipment for casting (slab, billet or bloom).
Argon gas is poured into the ladle to prevent oxidation of the molten steel.
Oxygen monitoring is necessary to ensure that there is no oxygen inside the ladle.
The steel slabs are heated in the reheating furnace (800°C to 1000°C) so that they become soft enough for rolling.
Combustion control is necessary to bring the metal to a temperature that enables it to be transformed under optimum conditions of quality, productivity and energy efficiency, while reducing pollutant emissions.
The slab is heated in a furnace to 1200°C to make the metal more malleable. It is then thinned and stretched by progressive crushing between the rolling mill's cylinders. The steel strip is transformed into coils or plates from 1.2 to 20 millimeters thick. The coils then undergo a second cold reduction to obtain a product as thin as a sheet of paper (down to 0.1 millimeters thick).
During these processes, the gaseous components linked to carbon potential (CO2, CO, CH4, NH3,H2 or O2) must be monitored and controlled.
Find out how gas analysers help reduce pollutants and promote the development of clean energies for a sustainable environment.
June 09, 2024
