MPT International 6/2013 (Dec)

Page 1

Metallurgical Plant and Technology

G 25074

ISSN 0935-7254

6

December 2013

Modernization of the ladle furnace at Votorantim Barra Mansa works, Brazil

Boost productivity. Cut costs.

Modernizations for quality and reliability Excellent engineering services stand out from the crowd … especially when it comes to intelligent revamps. It’s about nothing less than upgrading existing plants to meet future market demands – one of today’s central challenges. That’s where our whole wealth of experience comes in. After all, our job is to help you increase your productivity while improving quality. Equally significant here is smart

planning, for instance taking advantage of scheduled maintenance stoppages and minimizing production losses. Your bottom line: You save time and money. Countless completed projects prove our quality and reliability as a global specialist in metallurgical plant and rolling mill technology.

SMS SIEMAG AG

Eduard-Schloemann-Strasse 4 40237 Düsseldorf, Germany

Phone: +49 211 881-0 Fax: +49 211 881-4902

E-mail: communications@sms-siemag.com Internet: www.sms-siemag.com

Editorial

No standstill in the development of metallurgical technology The use of state-of-the-art engineering tools, such as realistic physical and numerical simulation, in conjunction with unique, well-proven and sophisticated machine features, allows modern engineering concepts to push the boundaries and facilitate innovation – this is the bottom line of one article in this issue of MPT International and it is a theme that runs right through the entire magazine. There are several articles which focus on metallurgical processes – from steelmaking to continuous casting, including one which deals with tailored solutions for hot metal treatment. Nowadays various types of injection or mechanical stirring technologies can be used for sulphur removal. However, if the hot metal treatment plant is also able to remove silicon and phosphorus, this provides the steelmaker with an ideal solution for using even lower quality burden material at the blast furnace. Elsewhere, it is the ladle furnace which can be a decisive factor in both the quality and the efficiency of a steel plant. In its modernization project at the Barra Mansa works in Brazil, Votorantim decided to replace the entire electrical installation, including the control system and the operator interfaces. Such a comprehensive upgrade is a more complex task, as it is not simply a case of replacing a couple of electric cabinets. More than anything, the complex control technology involved is the critical component of the plant, so project planning and system testing had already started during monthly maintenance shutdowns, long before the official 15-day shutdown for modernization. An accompanying training programme was provided for engineers and operators. Finally, once it had passed the initial tests that followed implementation of the new electrical system, the revamped ladle furnace operated smoothly. When continuous casting concludes the liquid phase of steel metallurgy, the CCM is the plant in charge. Even though bending and bow-type casters have much improved over recent decades, vertical casters have remained the preferred solution for very special grades and extreme quality demands. Nevertheless, nowadays vertical casters are installed much less frequently than their bending and bow-type counterparts; but applications for the vertical technique have been extended in respect of steel grades, section sizes and productivity, for long and flat products alike. Some examples shown here illustrate recent projects.

Dipl.-Ing. Arnt Hannewald

MPT International 6/2013

3

Contents

Volume 36

No. 6 – December 2013

Metallurgical

Topical themes R. Fackert, C. Mittag

20 World Steel Association annual meeting held in São Paulo, Brazil In October 2013, the World Steel Association met in São Paulo, Brazil, for its 47th annual conference. Its theme was “A sustainable future with steel”. The conference included two panel discussions about the future of the steel industry as well as trends in key application markets.

Cover photo: Graphite electrodes in impregnation stage; by re-baking they reach their jL?J QRPCLERF ?LB BCLQGRW SGL Group – The Carbon Company, Wiesbaden, Germany Contact: www.sglgroup.com E-mail : info-ge@sglcarbon.de

Editorial 3 No standstill in the development of metallurgical technology

Columns 8 International industry news 54 Technical innovations 59 Cartoon 60 Literature service 62 In the next issue 62 Imprint

Ironmaking 30 Green power generation by exploiting the potential of blast furnace top gas German flat steel producer Salzgitter Flachstahl made a further contribution to energy-efficient ironmaking by installing a topgas expansion turbine at its blast furnace B. The turbine continuously recovers eight to nine MW of electric energy.

Continuous casting 44 Enhanced vertical continuous ECUVKPI VGEJPQNQI[ HQT ƃCV and long products The vertical caster concept allows the casting of those steels which definitely cannot be cast on a bowtype machine. However, a good deal of flexibility is required from the caster properties.

Steelmaking 34 Tailored solutions for hot metal pretreatment facilities Due to the use of lower quality raw materials or because of more stringent limitation of the phosphorus content in the final product, in recent years demand has increased for the capability to remove phosphorus from hot metal. For effective phosphorus removal, lower silicon levels in the hot metal are a prerequisite.

40 Upgrade of the ladle furnace at Votorantim Barra Mansa works, Brazil Russula has successfully replaced and commissioned the control system of a 50 t ladle furnace at the meltshop of the Votorantim Barra Mansa works in Brazil. Shortly after the revamp, the ladle furnace produced at its normal rate again.

Strip processing 50 Ecological and economical pickling process for stainless steel The new eco4 pickling process is considered to be the best available technology for annealing and pickling lines for stainless steel. The new process avoids any formation of hexavalent chromium and consequently the need for relevant conversion and neutralization treatment plants. Lower consumption of energy and of highly pollutant and costly substances also minimizes investment and operative costs.

Plant and Technology

Interview

26 Danieli’s passion to innovate and perform 28 Aluminium Technology Forum 2013

We are strong in know-how, ...150 years! engineering and service of long product rolling mills and guide systems.

49

AMEPA GmbH

15 O.B.C.

Association for Iron & Steel Technology

17

Badische Stahl-Engineering GmbH

37

Braun Maschinenfabrik Gesellschaft m.b.H.

57

!?QRCJJGLG -DjAGLC Meccaniche S.p.A.

43

Danieli S.p.A. Fives DMS JP Steel Plantech Co.

6, 7 33 I.B.C.

Maschinenfabrik Köppern GmbH & Co.KG

14

Messe Düsseldorf GmbH

19

Morgardshammar AB Pert srl Siemens VAI Metals Technologies GmbH Siempelkamp Maschinen -und Anlagenbau GmbH & Co. KG SMS Siemag AG

5 53 9 47 I.F.C.

Stein Industrie-Anlagen

32

Tenova spa

25

TML Technik GmbH

55

TMEIC - Toshiba Mitsubishi

16

Troostwijk

57

Verlag Stahleisen GmbH

32, 39

PAUL WURTH S.A.

11, 12

Z & J Technologies GmbH

21, 22

Branch Office: Morgårdshammar AB SE-777 82 SMEDJEBACKEN, Sweden Phone: +46 240 668500 Fax: +46 240 668501 E-mail: mh@morgardshammar.se www.morgardshammar.se

Morgårdshammar AB Sales office Krefeld P.O. Box 101552 D- 47715 KREFELD, Germany Phone: +49 2151 81290 Fax: +49 2151 611795 E-mail: office@mh-guides.de

www.mh-guides.com

www.gk-mas.de

Andritz AG

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International industry news

News in brief ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe, Germany, has produced the 200 millionth t of steel on its hot-strip mill 2 in Beeckerwerth-Duisburg.

Feng Hsin Iron & Steel, Taiwan, successfully commissioned the upgraded casting machine of its plant in Taichung City. SMS Concast supplied a new level 1 and level 2 automation package.

Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal and China Steel have started commercial operation at their sheet steel joint venture China Steel Sumikin Vietnam Joint Stock Company (CSVC).

Vanitec, ? RCAFLGA?J ?LB QAGCLRGjA committee comprised of representatives of companies and organizations involved in the mining, processing, manufacture, research and use of vanadium and vanadium-containing products, has opened the VanitecCISRI Vanadium Technology Centre in Beijing, China.

SeAH Steel, South Korea, has taken a new pipe forming press supplied by SMS Meer into operation.

Nippon Steel & Sumikin Galvanizing, Thailand (NSGT) has started commercial operation of hot-dip galvanized and galvannealed steel sheets.

Tenigal, Mexico, a joint venture between Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal and Ternium, started operation of the facility, which is capable of producing high-grade automotive hot-dip galvanized and galvannealed steel sheets, including outer panels and high-strength steels.

Amsteel Mills, Malaysia, has brought back on stream the wire rod mill modernized by SMS Meer.

Valinox Nucléaire, China, has commissioned new machines for its tube plant in Nansha, Guangdong. The new equipment was supplied by SMS Meer.

Africa Algeria

Strategic agreement between ArcelorMittal and Sider. ArcelorMittal and Sider, an Algerian stateowned company, have finalized a strategic agreement including an investment plan for the steel complex at Annaba and the mines in Ouenza and Boukhadra. The plan includes a project to more than double the plant’s production capacity from 1 million to 2.2 million tons per year by 2017. It will see ArcelorMittal reduce its shareholding in both ArcelorMittal Annaba and ArcelorMittal Tebessa to 49%, with the state of Algeria holding the remaining share of 51%. This plan will ensure a long term future for steelmaking in Annaba and mining in Tebessa, where the production unit will be modernized through the relining of the blast furnace, modernization of the sinter plant, the steel plant and the rolling mills. A new electric steel plant will be built, including an electric arc furnace and continuous casting line, and the downstream units will be reinforced with the construction of a new rolling mill for rebar and wire rod with a production capacity of 1 million tons.

MPT International 6/2013

USA

Benteler to build tube mill. In the course of implementing their growth strategy Benteler Stahl/Rohr (BSR) concluded a contract with Danieli on a new turnkey 4 ½” seamless tube mill to be built in Shreveport, Louisiana. The mill will be designed for an annual capacity of 320,000 t and produce high-quality seamless tubes with excellent tolerances and flawless material properties according to API and ASTM-standards. Within the framework of its cooperation with Danieli Centro Tube, Kocks will supply an extracting block and a stretch reducing block as essential components of the hot rolling mill. Operation of the new seamless tube mill is scheduled to start in the second half of 2015.

South Africa

ArcelorMittal South Africa secures iron ore supply. The com-

USA

pany has reached an agreement with Sishen Iron Ore Company Ltd (SIOC), a subsidiary of Kumba, relating to the long-term supply of iron ore to be deliverd from the Thabazimbi mine in the north of South Africa. The agreement, which will become effective from 1 January 2014, allows ArcelorMittal South Africa to purchase up to 6.25 million tonnes a year of iron ore from SIOC, complying with agreed specifications and lump-fine ratios.

Lane Steel to build roller leveller. Lane Steel has selected Butech Bliss to design, engineer, manufacture and install its new state-of-the-art SynergyTM hydraulic roller leveller for their existing cut-to-length line. With the new leveller installed, Lane will be able to offer a wider variety of superior quality materials from their McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania plant. Installation will take place in the first quarter of 2014.

The Americas

USA

Argentina

Cascadia Metals to install slitting line. Herr-Voss Stamco is manu-

ArcelorMittal Acindar to invest in new rolling mill. A new rolling mill with a capacity of 400,000 t/year

8

will be built to manufacture steel bars for civil construction. The new mill will enhance competitiveness and the company’s ability to supply both the domestic and export markets. The new rolling mill will also enable ArcelorMittal Acindar to optimize production at its special bar quality (SBQ) rolling mill in Villa Constitución, which in future will only manufacture products for the automotive and mining industries.

facturing a new Strand Extensioner® slitting line for Cascadia Metals. The line will process material with a thickness range of 0.3 mm up to 6.35 mm

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International industry news

News in brief Gerdau started up operations of the iron ore processing centre located in Miguel Burnier (Minas Gerais, Brazil) in September 2013, which increased the production capacity from 6.5 to 11.5 million t per year.

ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe’s blast furnace #9 in Duisburg-Hamborn, %CPK?LW F?Q @CCL jPCB SN ?E?GL in October after relining and revamp of the cooling system. TKSE plans to reline the blast furnace #2 next year.

ArcelorMittal Gent in Belgium successfully commissioned the converter in August this year. SMS Siemag supplied the converter vessel complete with the trunnion ring, the lamella-type vessel suspension system, the trunnion bearing, the bearing pedestals and the converter tilt drive.

Republic Steel re-started steel production on EAF #7 at its Canton, Ohio/USA, melt shop that experienced a transformer failure on 2 August 2013. The company is also on track with commissioning GRQ LCU # $ ?LB MRFCP QRCCJ PCjLing and casting operations at the Lorain, Ohio, plant.

ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe started to use Quintiq software planning system to optimize customer orders for increased delivery performance.

Kloeckner Metals started operations of the new light gauge strip processing centre in Calvert, Alabama/USA in October. The new D?AGJGRW @SGJR ML ? EPCCLjCJB QGRC offers slitting for mild steels and advanced high-strength steels for automotive applications. It is the second Kloeckner Metals location in Alabama.

10

MPT International 6/2013

and a width of 1,829 mm. The slitting line also includes Herr-Voss Stamco’s quick change injector slitter head system which allows operators to efficiently change slitter heads out of the line. The line will be installed in Cascadia’s Brandon, Manitoba facility.

USA

#- 5VGGN ƂNGU VTCFG ECUGU QP non-grain oriented electrical steel. The company has filed antidumping duty petitions charging that unfairly low-priced imports of nongrain oriented electrical steel from six countries are causing material injury to the company. AK Steel also filed countervailing duty petitions alleging that producers of non-grain oriented electrical steel in China, Korea and Taiwan have been heavily subsidized by their respective governments. The petitions were filed with the U. S. Department of Commerce and the U. S. International Trade Commission.

Asia China

3KPIFCQ 5VGGN QTFGTU ƃCV DCT rolling mill. Siemens Metals Technologies has won an order to supply Qingdao Special Iron & Steel with a flat bar rolling mill. The new mill will have a production capacity of 600,000 t/ year. It will manufacture flat bars with widths of between 60 and 160 mm and thicknesses from 6 to 60 mm for applications in the automotive and construction industries. Siemens will supply a four-stand pre-stressed finishing and sizing train in H-H-V-H arrangement, a multi-section thermo-processing equipment that is controlled with the help of the Promet metallurgical simulations tool, a cropping shear before the sizing train, a hot dividing shear, as well as a shear and two abrasive saws for cutting the finished rolled products to length. Spring steel, and carbon and alloyed steels will be processed. Siemens will also supply the dedicated mechatronics packages for the automation of the thermo-processing equipment, of the finishing and sizing train, and of the sawing systems.

Commissioning is scheduled for the start of 2015.

China

Wuhan Iron & Steel modernizes hot strip mill. Siemens Metals Technologies has been awarded an order to modernize the cooling section in the hot rolling mill No. 2. New power cooling headers will be installed, the laminar cooling headers will be partly replaced with turbo laminar cooling alternative headers, and the cooling model will be updated. The higher cooling rates will reduce consumption of certain alloying agents and enable to produce additional steel grades, in particular for automotive and linepipe application. The modernization is due to be completed in February 2015.

China

Baosteel orders cooling stacks for new converters. For their new steelworks in South China, Baosteel has ordered three converter cooling stacks from Oschatz. The converters are currently being built in Zhangjiang, in the Guangdong province. While the engineering of the new cooling plants is being handled at Oschatz headquarters in Essen, Germany, manufacturing of the equipment will take place at the Oschatz facility in Nanjing, China. Commissioning of the first two plants is scheduled for 2015, the third cooling stack will be put into operation in mid2016.

India

JSW Toranagallu to build hot transport conveyor. Aumund Fördertechnik is to supply a hot transport conveyor for charging hot DRI directly into the EAF to JSW Toranagallu. The hot transport conveyor will connect the Midrex DR shaft with the electric arc furnace. The primary link is a sealed gas atmosphere which enables hot DRI charging with very low loss of temperature and metallization. The conveyor will be designed for the transport of HDRI with a maximum temperature of 750°C at a conveying capacity of 165 t/h. Delivery to India will take place by the end of 2013.

„ Energy Audit & Consulting „ Energy Optimisation „ Energy Recovery

Paul Wurth S.A.ĂŠUĂŠĂŽĂ“]ÊÀÕiĂŠ`½ Â?Ăƒ>ViĂŠUĂŠ*°"°ĂŠ ÂœĂ?ĂŠĂ“Ă“ĂŽĂŽĂŠUĂŠ ‡£äĂ“Ă“ĂŠ Ă•Ă?i“LÂœĂ•Ă€} /iÂ?°\ĂŠ­³ĂŽxĂ“ÂŽĂŠ{™Ç䇣ÊUĂŠ >Ă?\ĂŠ­³ĂŽxĂ“ÂŽĂŠ{™Çä‡Óä™ÊUĂŠÂŤ>Ă•Â?ĂœĂ•Ă€ĂŒÂ…JÂŤ>Ă•Â?ĂœĂ•Ă€ĂŒÂ…°VÂœÂ“ĂŠUĂŠĂœĂœĂœ°>Ă•Â?ĂœĂ•Ă€ĂŒÂ…°VÂœÂ“ĂŠ -Ă•LĂƒÂˆ`ˆ>Ă€ÂˆiĂƒ\ĂŠ Ă€>âˆÂ?]ĂŠ …ˆÂ?i]ĂŠ âiVÂ…ĂŠ,iÂŤĂ•LÂ?ˆV]ĂŠ iÀ“>Â˜Ăž]ĂŠ ˜`ˆ>]ĂŠ ĂŒ>Â?Ăž]ĂŠ >ÂŤ>˜]ĂŠ ÂœĂ€i>]ĂŠ iĂ?ˆVÂœ]ĂŠ*°,°ĂŠ …ˆ˜>]ĂŠ ,Ă•ĂƒĂƒÂˆ>]ĂŠ-ÂœĂ•ĂŒÂ…ĂŠ vĂ€ÂˆV>]ĂŠ/>ÂˆĂœ>˜]ĂŠ1ÂŽĂ€>ˆ˜i]ĂŠ1°-° °]ĂŠ6ˆiĂŒÂ˜>“

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Today, the integration with all the other members of the SMS group allows us to provide global energy concepts along the entire iron and steel production chain aiming at highest energy efďŹ ciency, major energy savings/recuperation, and thus, increased proďŹ ts for the operator.

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VCA**

ISO 9001 ISO 14001

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INTEGRATED ENERGY EFFICIENCY SOLUTIONS

Blast Furnace Plants engineering & construction of complete blast furnace plants, modernisations, rebuilds and relines.

BF Technology & Equipment cooling & lining concepts and systems, automation, top charging technology, special equipment.

*>Ă•Â?ĂŠ7Ă•Ă€ĂŒÂ…]ĂŠĂŒÂ…iĂŠ*>Ă•Â?ĂŠ7Ă•Ă€ĂŒÂ…ĂŠ Âœ}Âœ]ĂŠ*, 1-]ĂŠ,i` Ă€ÂœÂ˜ĂŠ>˜`ĂŠ,i`-“iÂ?ĂŒĂŠ>Ă€iĂŠĂŒĂ€>`i“>Ă€ÂŽĂƒĂŠÂœvĂŠ*>Ă•Â?ĂŠ7Ă•Ă€ĂŒÂ…ĂŠ-° °ĂŠ>˜`ʓ>ÞÊLiĂŠĂ€i}ÂˆĂƒĂŒiĂ€i`ĂŠÂˆÂ˜ĂŠĂžÂœĂ•Ă€ĂŠÂ?Ă•Ă€ÂˆĂƒ`ˆVĂŒÂˆÂœÂ˜°

Auxiliary Plants sintering plants, hot blast stoves, stockhouse, pulverized coal injection, slag granulation and dewatering.

Coke Making Plants complete plants and batteries, coke oven gas by-products recovery systems and auxiliary plants, centralised supervision and process control.

Recycling Technologies multiple hearth based technology: PRIMUSŽ, rotary hearth based technology: RedIron™, RedSmelt™.

Environmental Protection BF top gas cleaning, aspiration systems, hot blast stove heat recovery, coke oven gas treatment, sinterplant off-gas cleaning.

PAUL WURTH – LEADING IN IRONMAKING TECHNOLOGY S AF E T Y S IED

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Paul Wurth S.A.ĂŠUĂŠĂŽĂ“]ÊÀÕiĂŠ`½ Â?Ăƒ>ViĂŠUĂŠ*°"°ĂŠ ÂœĂ?ĂŠĂ“Ă“ĂŽĂŽĂŠUĂŠ ‡£äĂ“Ă“ĂŠ Ă•Ă?i“LÂœĂ•Ă€} /iÂ?°\ĂŠ­³ĂŽxĂ“ÂŽĂŠ{™Ç䇣ÊUĂŠ >Ă?\ĂŠ­³ĂŽxĂ“ÂŽĂŠ{™Çä‡ÓÓä™ÊUĂŠÂŤ>Ă•Â?ĂœĂ•Ă€ĂŒÂ…JÂŤ>Ă•Â?ĂœĂ•Ă€ĂŒÂ…°VÂœÂ“ĂŠUĂŠĂœĂœĂœ°>Ă•Â?ĂœĂ•Ă€ĂŒÂ…°VÂœÂ“ĂŠ VCA**

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International industry news India

Vizag Steel to modernize blast furnace. Siemens Metals Technologies has received an order from stateowned Indian Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd. (RINL) to thoroughly modernize blast furnace No. 2 at the Visakhapatnam steel plant. The interior volume will be increased from 3,200 to 3,820 m3. The hearth and tuyere will be replaced and equipped with new tuyeres, a new bustle main and a new tuyere platform. The refractory lining and the stave cooling system will be completely renewed. Siemens will also be installing a new cooling circuit including a pump house and modernizing the water treatment system. The project also includes a new gas cleaning plant with a gas scrubber, and construction and equipment of the new cast house. Additionally, a total of five hot blast stoves will be upgraded on blast furnaces 1 and 2. The repair of blast furnace No. 2 is to be completed in the third quarter of 2015, while the modernization of the hot blast stoves will be concluded in 2016.

India

Jindal commissions electric steelmaking plant. SMS Siemag successfully commissioned an electric steelmaking plant at Jindal Steel & Power. The plant in Angul in the province of Orissa is designed for an annual production of around 2.5 million t of steel. SMS Siemag’s scope of supply comprised a 250 t Arccess® electric arc furnace with a 200 MVA transformer, the additive supply system and a 250 t ladle furnace. The plant comes with a gas cleaning system, ensuring compliance with high environmental standards. It processes hot-charged direct reduced iron (HDRI) and hot metal. HDRI exploits the thermal energy from the reduction process and is directly charged into the arc furnace via a special charging system.

the state of Maharashtra and produce about 250,000 t/year of rebar from low-carbon steels with diameters of between 6 and 40 mm and lengths of between 9 and 15 m. Siemens will supply the complete mechanical and electrical equipment as well as the automation systems for the rebar rolling mill which will produce reinforcing steels. The rolling mill will consist of 18 Red Ring stands, followed by a 54-m-long cooling bed and machines for bundling the rolled bars. An induction furnace will raise the billet temperature to 950°C. Siemens will also be handling the construction and commissioning of the mill. Commissioning is scheduled for late 2014.

Europe Austria

Thailand

Posco-Thainox to upgrade annealing and pickling line. PoscoThainox have set themselves the goal to increase production from 200,000 to 300,000 t over the next four years. To this end, Posco will need to upgrade their facilities with the smallest amount of interruption to their current production lines. GE’s Energy Management Services business was able to meet this demand and guarantee a fast turnaround of 12 days for upgrading the automation and drives on the final annealing and pickling line at the Posco-Thainox plant near Bangkok. GE is responsible for the upgrade project, including hiring and supervision of local subcontractors. Several drives and software packages will be installed to revamp the drive and automation part. The software also will be used for revamping the human machine interface. The new HPCi controllers being used in the upgrade are based on a common, standard hardware, making them virtually obsolescence-proof. Commissioning is scheduled for early 2014.

Australia

India Australia

Kalika to build rebar mill. Kalika Steel has placed an order with Siemens Metals Technologies for the supply of a rolling mill for reinforcing steels. The mill will be erected in the Jalna plant in

tralia, an iron ore project jointly operated by Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corporation and Rio Tinto, has been completed. As a result, the annual shipment capacity of Cape Lambert Port will increase from 86 million t to 139 million t. Additionally, the second phase of the expansion of Cape Lambert Port is currently in progress with a target of completion in 2015. This is due to expand annual shipment capacity to 209 million t.

Expansion of iron ore shipping port. The first phase of expansion of the iron ore shipping port at the Robe River joint venture in Western Aus-

Voestalpine Austria Draht orders furnace plant for wire mill. Andritz has received an order from Voestalpine Austria Draht for the supply, installation and commissioning of a new walking beam furnace for continuous cast billets at the Donawitz plant. Andritz Maerz will supply the furnace plant on a turnkey basis. Two buffer beds with separating systems and a feed conveyor with automatic billet identification and removal of faulty billets will be arranged upstream of the furnace. A complete cooling plant with an emergency cooling and a heat recovery system will be supplied to cool the transport system in the furnace to make best use of the residual heat from the waste gas.The plant will have an annual capacity of 550,000 t. Start-up is scheduled for the beginning of 2016.

Czech Republic

ArcelorMittal Ostrava to revamp steel shop. ArcelorMittal Ostrava is revamping the continuous casting machine in its steel shop. The aim of the project is to improve the quality of steel and produce new high value added products. The modernization will enable the company to cast round billets for the manufacturing of seamless pipes with diameters of up to 400 mm, compared with the current maximum diameter of 210 mm. A vacuum degasser will also be part of the new technology. The project will be completed by the end of 2013. MPT International 6/2013

13

International industry news Czech Republic

ArcelorMittal Ostrava gains EU funding for environmental investments. ArcelorMittal’s steel plant is co-funding its environmental projects through European Union funds. The funding will be used to install new, cleaner technologies. After approving the first two projects for environmental investments in Ostrava’s sinter plant and blast furnaces, the European Commission has now approved the site’s grant application for the biggest of the three environmental projects: the installation of fabric filters in Ostrava’s sinter plant south.The site aims to implement all three emissions reduction projects by 2016 at the latest.

Germany

Outokumpu VDM orders peeling line for forged products. Outokumpu VDM has placed an

We agglomerate your valuable dusts and fines

order with SMS Meer for the supply of a PMH 320 rotary peeling machine, including finishing equipment, for its plant in Unna. With this order, Outokumpu VDM is increasing its production capacities for highquality forged products, in particular for aerospace technology and for the oil and gas market. The peeling line is configured to allow peeling in a loop, i.e. the bars can be pre-peeled and conveyed directly back by the finishing line conveying equipment to enable finish-peeling. The SMS Meer scope of supply includes all machine components, tools, auxiliary equipment and conveying facilities, as well as erection, commissioning and training. Commissioning is scheduled for summer 2014.

France

ArcelorMittal to revamp blast furnace. Arce-

In the metallurgical industry we briquette e. g. steel mill residues, sponge iron (hot and cold), chrome ore, nickel powder, copper concentrate, and other ďŹ nes.

lorMittal will invest in a complete revamp of the blast furnace No. 2 at its Dunkirk plant. The revamping will take place during the second half of 2015 and will last for four months. With the production at Fos-sur-Mer and Dunkirk, the total production of liquid steel in France is 11 million t/year, or 40% of the production volume within ArcelorMittal Flat Carbon Europe.

Briquettes are used for feeding shaft furnaces, BOFs, RHFs, EAFs, and other reduction or melting units.

Spain

KÜppern – Quality made in Germany.

Euskal Forging orders ring rolling machine.

- & & ! & $& & ! ! * - $! %% & ! ! * !) !) - " & ( &* - ' $! $ $ " &

www.koeppern.de

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MPT International 6/2013

Euskal Forging, based in Sestao, has ordered a fifth ring rolling machine from SMS Meer. The new machine will be the second most powerful ring rolling machine that SMS Meer has ever built. With the new radial-axial ring rolling machine, the Spanish company is extending its production spectrum to rings of up to 50 t in weight with a maximum ring diameter of 10 m and a maximum ring height of 1,700 mm. Commissioning is scheduled for the first quarter of 2015.

Turkey

Asil Celik to build billet casting plant. Asil Celik, based in Orhangazi, has placed an order with SMS Concast for the supply of a new three-strand billet caster. The caster will produce round blooms in diameters from 300 to 600 mm at a production capacity of 600,000 t/ year. Production start is scheduled for the first quarter of 2015.

Turkey

Kardemir to install heat treatment plant. Andritz has received an order from the KarabĂźk Iron and Steel Industry and Trade (Kardemir) to supply a heat treatment plant for a wheel manufacturing line. The line will produce up to 200,000 high-grade railway wheels for high-speed trains. Press supplier Schuler, a member of the Andritz group, will be the system supplier for the entire line. Andritz Maerz will supply the hardening, low-temperature, and rotary hearth furnaces as well as the hardening machine with the necessary handling technology for fully automated heat treatment of railway wheels.

Ukraine

Interpipe Niko Tube orders groove dressing machine. Interpipe Niko Tube from Nikopol has ordered a three-axis groove dressing machine for its seamless tube plant in Nikopol from SMS Meer. The new machine will improve precision in production and shorten the dressing times. With the new CNC groove dressing machine, grooves in the rolls are fully automatically machined. Each operation takes less than 30 minutes. The machine will come on stream in early 2014.

United Kingdom

Tata Steel to expand VIM capacity. Tata Steel will work with SMS Mevac to build a vacuum induction melting (VIM) facility at its Stocksbridge site. While Tata Steel’s Specialty Steel business currently supplies small quantities of VIM-derived steel using ingots sourced from third parties, the new facility will greatly increase the scope for VIM steel products, e.g. for fail-safe, safetycritical applications such as aircraft engines. The furnace is expected to be commissioned early in 2015. The VIM production route involves melting high-purity steel and alloys in a crucible furnace, and then casting the purified liquid steel into ingot moulds all within a low pressure vacuum chamber. As the entire melting and casting operation is conducted in an oxygen-free atmosphere, the resulting steel is very clean and has very low gas content.

International industry news

Companies Alacero reviews growth expectations downwards. Alacero reviewed the Latin American steel industry economic situation downwards after the weak results observed during the first semester of 2013. The result is partially due to a drop of the projected regional GDP for 2013, which now is expected to grow just 2.6% (versus 3.6% projected last April). The outlook for 2014 remains stable (GDP growth projection revised from 3.2% to 2.9%), even though uncertainty levels are high because of the dependency of many Latin American countries on commodities and Chinese demand. The activity of steel demanding sectors was also revised downwards by 1%, because of a weaker than expected first semester and the high volatility. Forecasts for 2014 indicate that growth will be in line with that of the current year. The weak outlook of the regional economy and the demand sectors necessarily translated into a

16

MPT International 6/2013

negative revision of the Latin American steel industry. Currently, steel demand is expected to grow in 2013 just 1.5% (versus 4.3% projected last April). At a global level, some degree of recovery in consumption was observed during the second semester of 2013.

SMS Meer acquires interest in TBK Automatisierung und Messtechnik. SMS Meer has acquired shares in the Austrian measurement technology company TBK. TBK Automatisierung und Messtechnik develops measurement technology solutions for the steel industry, in particular laser measuring systems using the light section method. These instruments are ideally suited for monitor control in conjunction with hydraulically adjustable mill stands. The TBK product range includes measuring instruments for identifying and qualifying hot and cold-rolled products. Different scanner sizes cover applications from wirerod and bar production through to heavy beam mills.

ArcelorMittal sells shares in Erdemir. ArcelorMittal has sold 233,169,183 shares in Eregˇli Demir ve Çelik Fabrikaları T.A.S¸. (“Erdemir”) by way of a single accelerated bookbuilt offering to institutional investors. The sale has generated proceeds of approximately US$ 267 million. Prior to the sale, ArcelorMittal owned 655,969,154 shares in Erdemir, representing approximately 18.74% of Erdemir’s share capital. Following completion of the sale, ArcelorMittal will hold approximately 12.08% of Erdemir’s share capital.

Stainless steel production for ƂTUV JCNH QH Preliminary figures released by the International Stainless Steel Forum (ISSF) show that stainless steel crude steel production has been further growing in the first half of 2013 with an increase of 4.6% compared to the same period of 2012. Total production for the first six months of 2013 was 18.6 million t. The analyses by regions and even more by individual countries show very mixed results ranging from mi-

International industry news nus 15% to plus 15%. In Asia with China excluded, stainless steel production decreased by 3.7% to 4.3 million t. While India showed increased production volumes, the stainless crude steel production decreased in Japan, Korea and Taiwan, China. China increased the stainless steel production in the period of review by 15.1% to 8.8 million t. Thus entire Asia now counts for approximately 70% of the world stainless crude steel production. Western Europe/Africa experienced a shrinking development in stainless steel production. Total production was 4.1 million t (minus 4.0%) in this period. In The Americas region, stainless crude steel production decreased by 1.9% to 1.2 million t; production in the Eastern Europe region showed a plus of 12.4% – mainly due to the strong performance of Russia.

BlueScope to acquire OneSteel assets. BlueScope will acquire from Arrium Limited its OneSteel sheet and coil processing and distribution busi-

nesses in Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth. The acquisition is subject to Australian Competition and Consumer Commission approval. Completion is targeted for the end of December 2013.

SGL to close Lachute plant in Canada. SGL will close its Canadian graphite electrode facility located in Lachute, Quebec. This decision is a result of the company’s global realignment strategy and cost savings programme “SGL2015”, whereby the objective is to sustainably enhance SGL group’s competitive position and simultaneously improve its profitability. The operations in Lachute will begin to wind down at the end of the year with expected completion within the first quarter of 2014. With the cost savings programme “SGL2015”, SGL Group responds to the difficult market conditions, characterized especially by unsatisfactory price developments in graphite electrodes, a cyclical downturn in its graphite specialties business as well as ongoing losses in the business area Carbon Fibers & Composites

due to delays in the development and start-up phase.

1WVQVGE KPKVKCVGU GHƂEKGPE[ KOproving measures. Outotec is introducing a programme to improve its cost structure and operational efficiency to secure the future profitability in an uncertain market environment. The efficiency improvement programme is targeting up to EUR 50 million annualized savings in operational costs by the end of 2014 compared to the Q3/2013 situation. Outotec is analyzing the resourcing needs and restructuring opportunities in its locations worldwide. The company will start employee cooperation negotiations about possible reduction of workforce with the entire personnel. The effects of the considered restructuring on different personnel groups and locations will be determined on country basis by early 2014. The planned measures are estimated to lead to the reduction of maximum 500 employees globally through redundancies, retirements and discontinuing fixed-term agreements.

MPT International 6/2013

17

International industry news Refratechnik takes over Burton. The German Refratechnik group, a leading manufacturer of ceramic refractory products, has acquired the facilities of Burton in Melle, Germany, and will continue business operations under the name Refratechnik Ceramics GmbH with immediate effect. As a result of this strategic takeover, Refratechnik Ceramics will become global supplier of refractory products for industrial furnaces in the ceramics industry.

Negotiation results on personnel measures at ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe. To concretize the personnel measures under the “Best-in-Class Reloaded” optimization programme, the executive board and general works council of ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe AG have negotiated a reconciliation of interests. The employee and employer sides believe that the agreement now reached will contribute significantly to maintaining competitiveness and safeguarding jobs at ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe over the long term despite the extremely difficult situation in the steel industry. The negotiated key points include a reduction in the weekly working hours, an appropriate contribution to the cost savings to be made by the executive employees, and the possibility of using partial retirement contracts within the collectively agreed scope.

SKW Metallurgie launches efƂEKGPE[ RTQITCOOG An efficiency programme initiated at SKW StahlMetallurgie Holding AG is expected to realize earnings improvements of about 8 million euros/year (EBITDA) as of business year 2014. The measures, which have in part already been initiated, are expected to lead to sales increases as well as cost reductions. The programme encompasses various individual measures, covering all segments and locations.

Renewal of board at Schmolz + Bickenbach. The extraordinary general meeting of Schmolz+Bickenbach elected a new board of directors, which now has the following mem18

MPT International 6/2013

bers: Michael Büchter, Edwin Eichler, Vladimir V. Kuznetsov, Marco Musetti, Dr. Heinz Schumacher, Dr. Oliver Thum and Hans Ziegler. The general meeting also has followed the board of directors’ proposal and approved an ordinary capital increase.

nance, risk management, compliance and innovation to climate strategy, environmental management and human capital development.

Personalities Ortems and Bodet-Osys strengthen partnership. Provider of manufacturing execution systems (MES) Bodet-Osys has decided to strengthen its partnership with Ortems, vendor of advanced planning and scheduling software (APS). Through the optimization of the results of both information systems industrial performance is improved. Combining Ortems and Bodet-Osys, leverages an extra value of both ERP and MES through optimization and dynamic synchronization of the production flow.

Reorganization programme at Salzgitter AG. The group companies will be organized into five divisions: Flat Steel, Plate/Section Steel, Energy, Trading, and Technology. The service companies, which primarily operate within the group, will either be allocated to the business segments of their largest group customers or managed centrally in one of the areas of executive board responsibility. The executive board of Salzgitter AG will comprise three members in the future: the chief executive officer, the chief financial officer and the industrial relations director. The active management of the divisions will be carried out by the “Group Management Board”, a new executive body.

ArcelorMittal receives sustainability award. RobecoSAM included ArcelorMittal in their 2013 Sustainability Yearbook and awarded the company their highest sustainability rating possible naming the company “Sector Leader” – or best company in its industry – and recognized ArcelorMittal with a “Gold Class” award. RobecoSAM specializes in sustainability investing and provides the rating for the Dow Jones sustainability index. The rating system comprehensively covers all aspects of sustainability from corporate gover-

Management change at Saarstahl. Dr. Peter Schäfer resigned at his own request from his position as a member of the board of management of Saarstahl AG Völklingen, in order to pur- Dr. Klaus Richter sue new challenges outside the company. In the future, the tasks as chief sales officer will be carried out by Dr. Klaus Richter. Dr. Richter was appointed member of the board of management for five years.

New CEO of Metals Technologies business unit at Siemens. Albrecht Neumann is the new CEO of the Sector-led Metals Technologies business Albrecht Neumann unit. He will succeed Werner Auer in this position, who is leaving the company for personal reasons. Most recently, Neumann has been the CEO of Siemens Metals Technologies in the United States, with responsibility for the North American business of Metals Technologies.

Board of Cliffs Natural Resources elects new director. The board of directors of Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. has elected Stephen M. Johnson, chairman, president and chief executive officer of McDermott International, to Cliffs board. He will be a member of the board’s audit committee and the governance and nominating committee.

New President of USA Steel Manufacturers Association. Philip K. Bell, previously director at Gerdau Long Steel North America, was elected new SMA president. He succeeds Thomas Danjczek, who earlier this year announced his plans to retire after leading the organization for 15 years.

Cliffs Natural Resources appoints new president and COO. Gary B. Halverson, 55, formerly interim chief operating officer of Barrick Gold Corporation Inc., was appointed to the newly created position of president and chief operating officer of Cliffs Natural Resources. In addition, he will be serving as a director on Cliffs’ Board.

International Trade Fair for Metallurgy, Machinery, Plant Technology and Products

US Steel names Thomas J. O’Toole general manager. He has taken responsibility for process/consulting engineering for all US Steel facilities. He succeeds Ray Terzo, who retired end of September.

US Steel announces management changes. General manager raw materials Marc Stoken has announced his retirement after 37 years with US Steel. He will be succeeded by Scott Conley. Management changes within the procurement organization include the naming of Eric Schomer as general manager – global materials management and procurement support, succeeding Miroslav Kiralvarga, who will return to US Steel Kosice.

Events 7 – 8 April 2014 Paris, France Organizers: French Steel Federation (FFA) www.acier.org

ESTAD. FFA together with ASMET, Steel Institute VDEh and Jernkontoret have created the European Steel Technology & Application Days (ESTAD) which also includes steel products and their application. ESTAD succeds the JSI conference, previously known as the “ATS Steelmaking Days” or “Journées ATS”organized since 1980 in Paris by the French Steel Federation (FFA).

5 – 8 May 2014 Indianapolis, Indiana/USA Organizers: Association for Iron and Steel Technology www.AIST.org

#+56GEJ The Iron & Steel Technology Conference and Exposition is North America’s premier event for steel technology. It features technologies from the world over, allowing steel producers to compete in today’s global market.

The International Tube and Pipe Trade Fair in Russia

International Trade Fair for Aluminium and Non-Ferrous Metals, Materials, Technologies and Products

3 – 6 June 2014 Krasnaya Presnya Moscow, Russia

www.metallurgy-tube-russia.com In co-operation with Messe Düsseldorf GmbH Postfach 10 10 06 _ 40001 Düsseldorf _ Germany Tel. +49 (0) 2 11/45 60-77 93 _ Fax +49 (0) 2 11/45 60-77 40 RyfischD@messe-duesseldorf.de

www.messe-duesseldorf.de

International industry news

World Steel Association annual meeting held in São Paulo, Brazil In October 2013, the World Steel Association met in São Paulo, Brazil, for its 47th annual conference. Its theme was ‘A sustainable future with steel’. The conference included two panel discussions with prominent CEOs from the steel industry and highNPMjJC QNC?ICPQ DPMK PCJ?RCB industries who shared their insights on the future of the steel industry as well as trends GL ICW ?NNJGA?RGML K?PICRQ Global economic development was addressed and an afternoon was dedicated to RFC *?RGL KCPGA?L K?PICR The conference also featured panel sessions on new trends in technology and safety.

The World Steel Association (worldsteel) is one of the largest and most dynamic industry associations in the world. It represents approximately 170 steel producers (including 17 of the world’s 20 largest steel companies), national and regional steel industry associations, and steel research institutes. Members represent around 85% of world steel production. Every October, World Steel Association hosts the annual conference for its members, which usually begins with meetings of the executive committee and board. This is followed by a series of presentations and panel sessions. This year the 47th worldsteel annual conference was staged in São Paulo, Brazil.

Short range outlook for 2013 and 2014 World Steel Association forecasts that global apparent steel use will increase by 3.1% to 1,475 million t in 2013 following growth of 2.0% in 2012. In 2014, it is forecast that world steel demand will grow further by 3.3% and will reach 1,523 million t. Commenting Hans Jürgen Kerkhoff, chairman of the World Steel Association economics committee and president of the German Steel Federation, said: “The key risks in the global economy – the

eurozone crisis and a hard landing for the Chinese economy – which we identified in our last short range outlook issued in April, have continued to stabilize through the last six months. Our underlying assumption remains that the US will resolve its fiscal constraint soon. The correction in the eurozone has been more severe than we forecast, but the improvement seen recently is now expected to continue for the rest of 2013. Major emerging economies, particularly India and Brazil, have not performed as hoped, mainly due to key structural issues. These factors have led to a lower steel demand performance than predicted across the world, with China being the one exception. Steel demand in 2013 is now forecast to grow in China by 6.0%. Thus, despite steel demand growing by only 0.7% in the rest of the world, total global steel demand will grow by 3.1%. In 2014, we expect to see continued recovery in global steel demand with the developed economies overall returning to positive growth. At the same time we expect slower growth in China. With risks within the developed world receding there is some uncertainty emerging from developing countries due to unresolved structural issues, political instability and volatile financial markets. All in all, despite economic conditions for the global steel industry remaining uncer-

World Steel Association, Brussels, Belgium Contact: www.worldsteel.org E-mail: info@worldsteel.org

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MPT International 6/2013

Figure 1. worldsteel executive committee 2013 – 2014

International industry news tain and challenging, we are forecasting further growth for steel demand in 2014.” Following a 2.9% increase in 2012, apparent steel use in China is expected to grow by 6.0% in 2013 to 699.7 million t reflecting the impact of the government’s stimulus measures focused on infrastructure. However, steel demand in 2014 is expected to slow to 3.0% growth as the Chinese government’s efforts to rebalance the economy continue to restrain investment activities. In India, steel demand is expected to grow by 3.4% to 74.0 million t in 2013 following 2.6 % growth in 2012 as high inflation and structural problems are constraining steel using sectors’ activities. In 2014, steel demand is expected to grow by 5.6% helped by accelerated attempts to implement structural reforms. The economic situation in Japan has improved in 2013 due to government stimulus measures and steel demand is revised up to show 0.1% growth to 64.0 million t. However, the outlook for 2014 is less positive with fears surrounding the consequences of a new consumption tax, manufacturing production relocation from Japan and rapidly escalating energy prices. Steel demand is expected to contract by -1.6%. In the USA, after growth of 7.8% in 2012 due to generally strong steel using sector activity, apparent steel use in 2013 is forecast to grow by just 0.7% to 96.9 million t. In 2014, steel demand is expected to increase by 3.0%, aided by the improving global economy and activities in the automotive, energy and residential construction sectors. For NAFTA as a whole, apparent steel use will grow by 0.2% and 3.2% in 2013 and 2014, respectively. In Central and South America, apparent steel use is projected to slow to a 2.8% growth in 2013 to 48.5 million t from 3.1% in 2012. The region’s steel Regions

demand is forecast to grow by 5.0% to 51.0 million t in 2014. In Brazil, where the economic performance has been slower than expected to-date, modest re-stocking coupled by improving capital investment is expected to bring apparent steel use growth of 3.2% to 26.0 million t in 2013 and a further growth of 3.8% to 27.0 million t in 2014. In EU27, the contraction in steel using sectors continued in 2013 particularly during the first half of the year. Apparent steel use is expected to decline for the second straight year in 2013 by -3.8% to 134.9 million t after falling by -9.5% in 2012. Apparent steel use in Italy and Spain is expected to contract by -8.1% and -4.3%, respectively, and even in Germany, it is expected to fall by -1.6% in 2013. Signs of stabilization in real steel use in the second half of 2013 bode well for recovery prospects in 2014. However, the pickup in EU27 is expected to remain weak with steel demand increasing only by 2.1% in 2014 to 137.8 million t. Despite contracting steel demand in Ukraine, apparent steel use in the CIS region is projected to grow by 3.0% reaching 58.9 million t in 2013 due to the pickup in Russia. In Russia, public non-residential construction and the introduction of automotive stimulus measures will contribute to steel demand growth of 3.8% to 43.6 million t in 2013. Russia’s steel demand is expected to grow further by 4.6% to 45.6 million t in 2014 aided by the improving external environment, particularly in Europe. In the MENA region, steel demand is expected to grow by only 1.7% to 64.3 million t in 2013 after 2.2% growth in 2012. The slowdown is due to the continued political instability that has disrupted economic activities. In 2014, steel demand in the region is expected to grow by 7.3% to reach 69.0 million t

2013

2014

Change

135

138

+2.1%

Other Europe

37

38

+4.6%

CIS

59

61

+3.5%

132

136

+3.2%

European Union (27)

NAFTA Central and South America

49

51

+5.0%

Africa

28

30

+8.2%

Middle East Asia and Oceania

World Developed economies Emerging and developing economies World excluding China

49

53

+6.3%

986

1,016

+3.0%

1,475

1,523

+3.3%

384

390

+1.7%

1,091

1,133

+3.8%

775

803

+3.5%

Table 1. Short range outlook for apparent steel use (million t)

aided by resumption of investment projects and governments’ efforts to quell social unrest. New officers. On the occasion of the annual meeting the board of directors of worldsteel has elected Joon-Yang Chung, chairman and CEO of Posco, as chairman for 2013/2014. The board elected as vice chairmen: Alexey Mordashov, CEO, Severstal JSC, and Wolfgang Eder, chairman and CEO, Voestalpine; as treasurer: Eiji Hayashida, president and CEO, JFE Steel Corporation. The new officers are elected for one year, until October 2014. The board of directors of worldsteel also elected the 2013/14 executive committee (figure 1): Joon-Yang Chung, Posco; Wolfgang Eder, Voestalpine AG; John Ferriola, Nucor Corporation; Eiji Hayashida, JFE Steel Corporation; Heinrich Hiesinger, ThyssenKrupp AG; Sajjan Jindal, JSW Steel Ltd; André Gerdau Johannpeter, Gerdau SA; Mario Longhi, United States Steel Corporation; Lakshmi Mittal, ArcelorMittal; Alexey Mordashov, Severstal JSC; Shoji Muneoka, Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corporation; Paolo Rocca, Techint Group; Lejiang Xu, Baosteel Group Corporation; Xiaogang Zhang, Anshan Iron & Steel Group Corporation; Edwin Basson, World Steel Association.

A decade of collective commitment to sustainability World Steel Association has published its 2013 sustainability indicators, providing the steel industry sustainability performance trend for the last decade. Edwin Basson, director general of worldsteel, said: “We are one of the few industries that report at a global level and have done so since 2004. In 2005, 35 steel companies participated in the reporting. Now more than 90 companies have joined the programme.” The steel industry established a set of eight sustainability indicators to measure its environmental, social and economic performance. The recently published “Sustainability Indicators 2013” compiles data from 2003 to 2012 for most indicators and shows performance trends of each indicator. Overall, the steel industry has improved most of its indicators. For environmental performance, the average values of CO2 and energy consumption remained relatively stable MPT International 6/2013

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International industry news from 2005 to 2011. CO2 emission decreased from 1.8 in 2005 to 1.7 (tonne of CO2/tonne crude steel cast) in 2011 while energy intensity decreased from 22.9 to 19.6 (GJ/tonne crude steel cast) for the same period. The material efficiency indicator also remained relatively stable above 96 (% of material converted to products and by-products) between 2003 and 2012 except in 2011. The environmental management systems indicator shows overall an increasing trend between 2005 and 2012 from 84.0 to 89.3 (% of employees and contractors in EMSregistered production facilities), with a number of steel companies having achieved 100% steel plants certification. For social performance, the lost time injury frequency rate (LTIFR) shows a steady and notable decline since 2005 from 7.6 to 1.6 (injuries/million hours worked) in 2012. The employee training indicator shows fluctuation, which could be related to economic conditions. The average result for employee training in 2012 was 8.1 (training days/employee). For economic performance, investment in new processes and products shows a steady increase between 2003 and 2009. 2010 and 2011 saw a notable decrease in investment due to the effects of the global financial crisis. Steel companies reported an average value of 10% investments in new processes and products from annual revenue in 2012. The economic value distributed (EVD) indicator, which was launched in 2007, shows an increase from 2008 to 2012. The average result for EVD in 2012 was 97% of revenue.

Safety and health excellence World Steel Association has recognized three member companies, ArcelorMittal, Gerdau, and Tata Steel Europe for excellence in four distinct safety and health programmes. Alexey Mordashov, worldsteel’s chairman for 2012/2013, said: “The goal of an injury-free, illness-free and healthy work environment remains the highest priority for our industry. Recognition by peers is one of the best ways to encourage people to continue towards zero injuries, and most of the best ideas are simple and surprisingly easy to implement. I am very proud of the achievements this programme has made since the launch in 2009”. ArcelorMittal Unicon launched its ‘Journey to Zero’ safety management system in 2008, taking a systematic ap24

MPT International 6/2013

proach and starting with the leadership first. The programme identified three main barriers, ‘Technical barrier’, ‘Organisational barrier’ and ‘Behavioural barrier’, to achieve the goal of zero injuries. Under this programme, the company has reduced the lost time injury frequency rate (LTIFR) by 90% in five years. ArcelorMittal Lazaro Cárdenas implemented a safety management programme, specifically designed for contractors in 2009. The programme has been deployed across six main areas; mandatory safety training, access control, operational control risk, contractor’s safety supervisor, golden aces for maintenance major shutdowns, and safety evaluation performance. The programme helped the company to avoid all fatalities and to reduce the LTIFR by 80 % in three years. Gerdau launched in 2010 ‘Safety Behavioural Management’, a strategic project to consolidate the company’s best safety and health practices with proven results within several locations. They were structured in a ‘Behavioural Management for Occupational Safety Manual’. The use of this process resulted in a significant reduction of the company’s LTIFR from 3.0 to 1.0 (injuries per million hours worked). Tata Steel Europe, in 2010, introduced ‘Fit for Work, Fit for Life’ campaign, an integrated health approach provided by ‘Occupational Health Service’. The approach acknowledges the two-way relationship between the working environment and health state of the workers and is supported by three pillars of ‘Prevention, Promotion and Reintegration’. The company provides its employees with, firstly, a comprehensive occupational health service to prevent injury and work-related illness, secondly, a regular health check-up with promotional events and, lastly, support for reintegration of individuals back into workplace.

Inspiring a new generation The World Steel Association launched a series of short films showcasing variety and scope of careers in steel industry. The three short films (use the QR code), produced by worldsteel and its members, bring to life the world’s contemporary steel industry, which offers exciting and varied career opportunities to more than two million people across

the world. The association launched this film campaign on YouTube, on its Facebook page, Twitter feed (#lovesteel), Weibo page, Tudou page and website. worldsteel director general Edwin Basson said: “We hope that the passion and enthusiasm of those who work in the industry shared in these short films will inspire the steel leaders of tomorrow.”

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The #lovesteel film launch is the third phase of worldsteel’s digital campaign to inspire young people to think differently about a career in the steel industry. The films follow a Twitter debate between steel industry leaders and a Facebook photo competition to celebrate “Steel in Your Life” earlier this year.

Steelie awards The 4th Steelie award winners were announced at the farewell dinner to close the 47th annual steel industry conference. The trophies, known as Steelies, were awarded in eight categories. The categories, nominations and winners were: – Steel industry website of the year: Voestalpine, – Worldsteel activity of the year: finance and administration, – Innovation of the year: ArcelorMittal Dofasco for the KOBM automated steelmaking process, – Excellence in sustainability: ArcelorMittal for “Sustain our Great Lakes”, – Excellence in life cycle assessment: BlueScope for improving environmental sustainability of its product range: next generation SINCALUME steel AM125, – Excellence in education and training: Tenaris – Journalist of the year: Henry Cooke (Platts), – Industry communicator of the year: Tom Gibson (AISI). The Steelies winners were selected through nominations by member companies to the relevant worldsteel committees followed by final selection by expert panels. Journalist of the year and Communicator of the year were selected by direct vote.

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The Danieli group essentially runs two main businesses. The first – plantmaking – involves plant engineering and manufacturing, including turnkey plants, for the production of metals. Its principal operating companies in the plantmaking segment are in Europe (i.e. in Italy, Sweden, Germany, France, Austria, The Netherlands, UK, Russia, Spain) and in Asia (i.e. in China, Thailand, India, Vietnam), with service centres in the US, Brazil, Egypt and Ukraine. Danieli is one of the top three manufacturers in the world for metal making plants and machines. The second business segment – steelmaking – involves the production of special steels at Acciaierie Bertoli Safau S.p.A. (ABS) in Italy and ABS Sisak d.o.o. (ABS Sisak) in Croatia. These products are intended for the automotive industry, heavy-duty vehicles, engineering, energy and petroleum industries. For the financial year ended 30 June 2013, Danieli group revenues remained steady in the plantmaking segment, while the steelmaking segment saw a substantial drop in revenues because of the recession in Italy/Europe VCDNG . The Danieli group achieved a net profit attributable to the group of 162.5 million euros, compared with 191.9 million euros the previous year. Gianpietro Benedetti, Danieli chairman and CEO, commented: “The results of the 2012/13 financial year for Danieli’s plantmaking segment show, basically, that we have reached our objectives in terms of budget as well as global market share. Our steelmaking segment suffered from the effects of declining GDPs in both Europe and Italy, although it is notable that it

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gained market share in both areas.� ABS achieved an output of 806,000 million tonnes for the period, down compared to the previous year’s figure, but with more satisfactory revenue volumes and margins especially in the second half of the year, thanks to a more favourable production mix.

+PXGUVOGPV UVTCVGI[ VQ DG EQPVKPWGF The investment plans that the Danieli group embarked on two years ago have now been completed. The investments made during fiscal 2012/13 are: – building of a new Danieli Research Center in Buttrio, Italy, – expanding the Buttrio, Italy, workshops, – expansion of Danieli Academy for employees, – purchase of Riverside (servicing scrap recycling plants) in the US, – opening of new workshops and engineering offices in India and Russia. The workshops in China and Thailand are successfully up and running. Altogether, this manufacturing network will assure the group’s transformation into an international force that can optimize processes while preserving and improving upon the quality and punctuality. 129.5 million euros were spent essentially for new machine tools installed in production facilities in India, Russia, China and Thailand, with the objective of producing more efficiently by expanding the market for sales of plants, as well as providing for the replacement of oper-

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MPT International 6/2013

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%QORCP[ RTQƂNG ating machinery in use for more than fifteen years in the parent company’s factories in Italy. In the steelmaking segment, the ABS blooming mill and finishing facilities were upgraded at the Cargnacco, Udine (Italy) site. 38.5 million euros were invested for new plant used in ABS in the steelmaking segment to provide greater flexibility and efficiency in steel production, by expanding the range of products offered with improvements to their finish and quality, together with the active environmental management of all phases of production. The ABS Sisak works (Croatia) re-started operations successfully after revamp of the steelmaking plant. During the period the Danieli group moved ahead with research programmes initiated in previous years, with a view to providing customers with new-technology plants capable of superior quality output and lower investment and production costs. These efforts involved expenditure of approximately 40 million euros for direct and indirect research activities, with more than 300 million euros in innovative job orders managed during the year. By the end of 2013 Danieli is to launch a new series of investments to continue to the end of 2018. In line with this “Vision 2018” strategic investment plan, Danieli is to invest an estimated 300 to 350 million euros in each the plantmaking and steelmaking segments until 2018. Gianpietro Benedetti stated: “Our goal continues to be the increase and constant improvement of our competitiveness, as measured by our technology, quality manufacturing and customer service.” Danieli ABS (steelmaking) has also prepared its strategy up to 2018, which will require an estimated 200 million euros of additional investment in the companies of the ABS Group. At the Cargnacco, Italy site (ABS) the new “Rotoforges” project will be implemented. Investments will also continue in Sisak, Croatia, and in Metz, France, with the new European Metallurgical Research Center. In Sisak, the plan calls for the installation of a new VD steel treatment furnace, upgrading the flue gas treatment system and a significant restructuring of the continuous casting machine. In the plantmaking segment, the Chinese workshops will be increased; in fact it will essentially be doubled in size.

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1WVNQQM Based on the estimate that the next 12 – 18 months will see an upturn in the global economy, by 2015 a reasonably strong recovery in the consumption of steel and metals can be expected, together with more profitable prices. Consequently, Danieli expects that there will be a greater demand for new steelmaking plants and major revamps of existing ones, which some investors will want to launch in advance so that they will not be caught unawares once the market recovers. Given this scenario, Danieli expects that the steelmaking segment (ABS) will nonetheless perform satisfactorily in 2013/2014 with an efficient production mix and better production volumes. For the plantmaking segment, revenues and margins are expected to hold steady in 2013/2014, thanks to better management of operating costs and more careful planning of plant start-ups.

The group continues to pursue its efficiency objectives such as increased productivity, reduction in structural costs, innovation, and improved customer service. Together with substantial investment in structures, facilities and people in Southeast Asia (SEA), these efforts will keep the Danieli group highly competitive in the global market. During the next year, the Danieli group expects it will be able to improve its financial position, consolidating increasing available net cash with greater profitability of short term financial assets, while maintaining the liquidity of its investments. Danieli will independently finance its upcoming investments in India, Russia, China, and Thailand in the plant making segment as well as those planned in Italy and Croatia in the steelmaking segment to improve productivity and efficiency. MPT International 6/2013

Events

Technology forum 2013 presenting Danieli’s footprint in the aluminium sector Held at the Danieli headquarters in Buttrio, Italy, on 14 and 15 October, the Danieli Aluminium Technology Forum 2013 gave the opportunity for presentations and discussions on the latest breakthrough technologies in industrial operation. 150 of the aluminium industry’s most OS?JGjCB NPMDCQQGML?JQ DPMK all over the world gathered in Friuli.

Besides the well-known and recognized leading position in the plantmaking segment for steel, Danieli group has provided evidence for aluminium technology, too. Some companies of the Danieli group, such as Fröhling (cold rolling mills and processing lines) and Breda (extrusion plants), date back to the 1950s, with Olivotto Ferrè (heating and treatment furnaces), and Wean United (hot and cold rolling mills) going further back – to 1927 and 1901, respectively. Continuing this tradition of knowhow, a few years ago Danieli decided to invest, aiming to become stronger in the field of aluminium processing machines and plants. In addition to acquiring Innoval Technology, Danieli group has also expanded the engineering and project management capabilities in the field of aluminium, including hot and cold strip rolling, and through Stem (Milan) – casting and endless rolling for long products. The achievements and Danieli’s activities in the field of aluminium were presented and discussed in detail during the Danieli Aluminium Technology Forum 2013. “The idea of this event”, stated Giorgio Ximeris, Executive VP Flat Products, “stems from our will to publicize our technologies intended for the aluminium sector.” There are already several product lines involved, in particular those that deal with hot and cold rolling, extrusion, stretching, aluminium scrap recycling, heat treatment, finishing lines, automation and services.

Cutting edge technologies for aluminium producers

Danieli & C. S.p.A., Buttrio, Italy Contact: www.danieli.com E-mail: info@danieli.com

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MPT International 6/2013

Flat rolled products. An example for making innovations in the aluminium field are the state-of-the-art edge trimming lines for aluminium strip. They operate at speeds of 1,600 m/min., whereas a new plant currently under construction is designed to reach a maximum speed of 1,800 m/min. Furthermore, the Diamond Mill technology is successfully in operation at Aleris, Belgium. It forms the basis for the world’s widest aluminium 6-high cold

rolling mill, designed for KUMZ, Russia, with a barrel length of 2,850 mm. Danieli Wean United has also introduced some innovations in hot rolling, besides the well-known rolling technologies such as the single-stand reversing roughing mills, multi-stand finishing mills, the twin-coiler single-stand finishing mills, and combination plate and coil mills. In fact, the advanced finishing stand for the KUMZ rolling mill will be able to process both hot and cold aluminium products thanks to two different coolant systems based on emulsion or kerosene, according to the different products being processed. Moreover, in the field of stretchers Danieli has patented a newly developed head design which makes it possible to stretch both sheets and plates. Extrusions. In close cooperation with the Sural company, Danieli builds melting and holding furnaces and continuous casting and rolling mills able to achieve up to +/- 0.1 mm size tolerances for high-quality aluminium grades and aluminium alloy rods. Last in a row of Breda innovations in the sector of extrusion presses is the T-Win®, a newly developed 23-MN press that drastically reduces the cycle dead times, with remarkable energy savings and increased productivity that lead to improved operating margins. The prototype, fully tested in Danieli workshops, is now under industrial installation in the USA. Recycling. Danieli is also active in the field of aluminium recycling plants, where the product line Danieli Centro Recycling – built on a merging of Akros Henschel and Lynx know-how – is presently supplying a complete new plant to an internationally recognized aluminium producer.

Compelling presentations of technologies for a quality and competitive production The forum was introduced by Danieli’s top management, in particular by Gian-

Figure 1. Aleris 6-high Diamond cold mill for the production of WABS coils

pietro Benedetti, Chairman and CEO, and Franco Alzetta, Executive Director and COO. A detailed market analysis was developed by Goran Djukanovic, a prestigious market analyst of the sector. This was followed by collective presentations given by Danieli engineers together with representatives from aluminium companies who installed the respective technologies and therefore described their ongoing projects. Other impressive speeches dealt with the new technologies utilized for the construction of Jaguar Land Rover vehicles that will feature a car body completely made of aluminium. It included a report on the recent aluminium plate treatment technologies developed by the Institute for Manufacturing Technology at the University of ErlangenNuremberg, Germany. Aleris plant tour. The forum concluded with a plant tour to the the cold rolling plant Diamond Mill® at Aleris Europe in Duffel, Belgium (figure 1). Thanks to a charter flight provided by Danieli, the attendees had the opportunity to see one of the most advanced technologies supplied by Danieli for the production of coils for automotive applications.

This Danieli Fröhling-designed Diamond cold rolling mill is the first of its kind in the world, with the ability to produce the complete range of wide automotive body sheet (WABS) of aluminium on a single mill stand as well as the flexibility to roll standard products. An important WABS attribute is the strip surface finish of both standard ‘mill finish’ and EDT (electric discharge texturing) products, the latter being a requirement by certain car manufacturers for good deepdrawing properties and an attractive appearance after painting. In early 2011 Aleris formulated a requirement for a new, wide cold-mill complex centred on a new, single-stand cold mill specifically for WABS. Although Aleris’ initial enquiry was for a 4-high mill, Danieli Fröhling’s and Innoval’s joint German and UK team convinced them of the benefits of the advanced Diamond mill 6-high solution against strong competition. Danieli designed a cold mill that not only meets the criteria of WABS rolling including EDT but also provides the cold rolling capabilities for a wide range of other products. This also is the first aluminium mill in the world to be designed and supplied in line with the European safe-

ty directives that came into force as of January 2012 (EN ISO 12100:2010 and EN 13849). The Aleris WABS mill has a direct interface with a dedicated Vollert high-bay storage system. Coils are taken from the high bay and transferred to the coil preparation-station where the coil heads are prepared prior to loading onto the entry-side of the mill. After rolling, initial pass coils can be inspected on the mill as required, and then transferred off the mill where finished passes are inspected prior to each coil being automatically banded. After banding, the coils are automatically marked prior to returning to the high-bay storage system. In order to meet the stringent current and scheduled European regulations for emissions and to enhance Aleris’ environmental credentials, Danieli’s own DAN-ECO2 fume cleaning and coolant recovery system was specified and supplied. Its unique design easily achieves current European emission exhaust air concentrations of less than 30 mgC/m³ (stp) with the additional benefit of recovering up to 50 litres of rolling oil per hour. The Dan-Purity coolant filter provides a high level of coolant filtration required for the process. MPT International 6/2013

29

Ironmaking – Auxiliary equipment

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Blast furnaces can contribute considerably to the recovery of energy at iron and steel works by implementing so-called “green technologies”. Along these lines, German flat steel producer Salzgitter Flachstahl installed a new topgas expansion turbine at blast furnace B. It exploits the energy potential captured in the top gas and continuously transforms it into electric energy. Since this method does not emit any green house gases, 42,000 t/year of CO2, or an equivalent of 616 kg CO2 per MWh, can be saved. In the past, the compressed top gas of this blast furnace was simply released into the off-gas duct and after purification fed into the clean gas grid. It was then used to fuel the hot blast stoves and the power plant. The new turbine (figure 1) uses the existing pressure difference between the blast furnace top and the clean gas grid for the recovery of energy. On average, an output of 8.5 MW is achieved, with a peak value of up to 12 MW being possible. With this, the turbine will generate approx. 68 GWh/year of electric energy. About one third of the en-

ergy for cold blast generation can be recovered. The idea behind erecting this turbine plant was to recover as much energy as possible in order to protect the environment and conserve resources. At the same time, Salzgitter Flachstahl has made a significant contribution to fulfilling the self-commitment of the German heavy industry to energy-efficient production. Gas expansion turbines have become increasingly important throughout the world. The environmental authorities in the industrialized countries – and more and more also in the emerging economies – have been setting up rules requiring steel producers to use energy more efficiently and save resources. Here gas expansion turbines are a cost effective means not only to save energy but also to ensure stable supply of energy within the plant. The thus recovered amount of electric energy no longer needs to be purchased from energy providers. Due to the high availability of the turbine equipment and the steady output, the energy supply from this source has become a per-

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MPT International 6/2013

Figure 1. Schematic illustration of the design of the three-stage turbine (left) and the generator (right)

Ironmaking – Auxiliary equipment

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manent feature of Salzgitter Flachstahl’s energy requirement plan. The steel plant can thus reduce the amount of electric energy procured from the energy provider and relieve the regional electricity grid.

An exemplary project Salzgitter Flachstahl had already installed a gas expansion turbine at blast furnace A as early as in 1982, with positive experience. Therefore Salzgitter Flachstahl invited tenders for a new turbine plant for blast furnace B. The decisive factors for choosing Z&J Technologies as supplier were the technical features of the turbine – e.g. the high efficiency in particular at partial load – and the low maintenance efforts expected. Z&J assumed responsibility for the whole plant, except for the structural work which was carried out by Salzgitter Flachstahl. Consequently, Z&J was responsible across the trades. The technical services department (in charge of new building projects) of Salzgitter Flachstahl together with the blast furnace crew implemented the project within 20 months after the order had been placed. After an initial engineering phase of eight months, the construction work started in April 2011. After finishing construction, cold commissioning began in January 2012. During hot commissioning in March/ April 2012, the turbine operated interlinked with the blast furnace top and the gas grid (figures 2 and 3). Parameters such as actuating times of valves, opening angles of valves, response times and control modes were optimized in a thorough process.

Figure 3. The gas expansion turbine plant was erected in close XKEKPKV[ VQ DNCUV HWTPCEG $

The turbine was ready for commercial operation on April 17, 2012 – exactly the contractually agreed date. After completing the running-in phase and the performance and availability tests, the plant was inspected and finally handed over to the customer. The project was completed within the agreed budget and according to schedule.

*KIJ GHƂEKGPE[ GXGP CV partial load The type of gas expansion turbine used at blast furnace B was initially developed by the Japanese engineering company Hitachi Zosen. As early as in the mid 1970s, the company started to equip Japanese blast furnace plants with its turbines. Later, in the early 1980s, in cooperation with Z&J, Hitachi Zosen started exporting the technology to European plants. By the end of the 1990s, the partners had implemented a total of ten turbine plants. In recent years, Z&J has designed and manufactured gas expansion turbines with outputs between 5 and 25 MW in its own workshop in Düren, Germany. Up to now, Z&J has installed 14 turbine plants, with a total of 37 turbines of this design being successfully in operation worldwide. Z&J has meanwhile extended Hitachi Zosen’s scope of supply. The company not only builds the turbine but supplies complete turnkey plants including the engineering, the process technology and the control system. Z&J turbines feature several stages. The blades of the first stationary stage are adjustable, directing the gas flow optimally towards the downstream rotating blades. This is why the multi-stage expansion turbines work more efficiently than sin-

gle or double turbines, in particular in the partial load range. The higher efficiency of this solution compensates for the higher investment costs in a short time. Furthermore, by way of the adjustable blades, which can be completely opened or closed in one second, the gas flow can be extremely quickly controlled. This results in the turbine adjusting to any change in the gas flow rate much faster than conventional pressure control by way of gas purging. Even in the case of a process-related reduction of the blast volume at the blast furnace below the self-holding point of the turbine, no shutdown or re-start of the turbine plant is required. The selfholding point is the condition in which the generated output is just barely in equilibrium with the (friction) loss of the turbo generator. If the generated output sinks below this point, the generator becomes the motor and drives the turbine at 1,500 rpm. This condition is supervised by the generator protection device and is allowed to be maintained for a defined period of time. It usually suffices to keep the turbine in operation when the BF charging height sinks, preventing the turbine from having to be separated from the electrical grid. Thus the plant will continue supplying electric energy directly after the self-holding point has been exceeded because no start-up or run-down procedure, which would last about 50 minutes, is required.

Long life expectancy due to low rotational speed Z&J’s plants run at 1,500 rpm (at 50 Hz) or 1,800 rpm (at 60 Hz). This is only half the speed required by plants of other MPT International 6/2013

31

Ironmaking – Auxiliary equipment designs. Due to the low rotational speed, no gear mechanism is required between the generator and the turbine – being another reason for the high efficiency. The turbine blades are covered with a highly wear-resistant coating in order to achieve long lifetimes even if there is residual dust in the BF gas or in the case plastic material is injected into the BF with the risk of chlorine corrosion. This coating prevents the blade surfaces from corrosion and abrasive wear. Thanks to the comparatively low rotational speed of the blades, removal of material is negligible: up to now none of the coated blades has broken or been severely damaged. In contrast to other gas expansion turbines, this plant requires no spray water treated by additives in order to prevent dust from caking on the rear side of the blades.

cy of the turbine at the design point is 87.06%, that of the generator 97.7%. Due to the high speed and control efficiency of the adjustable blades, the process stability improves with regard to the pressure at the BF top. The precise and fast regulation of the top-gas flow rate has a positive effect on the operational performance of the blast furnace. Since commissioning, no unscheduled shutdown of the plant has occurred. The availability of the system was checked during acceptance testing and documented to be 99.08%. The Z&J turbines generally stand out due to the long lifetimes of their components and long maintenance intervals of three to four years. Practical experience has shown that the turbines can attain service lives of at least 30 years. Many plants built in the 1970s and 1980s are still in operation. The reason for shutting down a turbine plant was usually the shutdown of the blast furnace to which it was connected. Experience has also shown that turbines have often paid back in less than

First results The performance/availability tests have confirmed the performance data calculated in advance: The efficien-

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Conclusion The gas expansion plant exploits the pressure gradient of the top gas between the BF top and the downstream clean gas grid. With the turbine installed at blast furnace B, Salzgitter Flachstahl continuously recovers an average of 8.5 MW of electric energy during blast furnace operation. The three-stage turbine in the off-gas duct of BF B was implemented by Z&J Technologies as a turnkey plant. The plant works efficiently also at partial load. Due to the comparatively low rotational speed, long maintenance intervals and long lifetimes are expected for the individual components.

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two years, in particular at the larger blast furnaces. For the future, it is conceivable that Z&J will not only build but also operate the turbine plants. In this way, the iron and steel works could benefit from the advantages of the turbines while being relieved of investment, maintenance and servicing costs.

´ This Coil is the Steel Coil World Champion

Introducing its newest 20Hi cold rolling mill, which became operational in TISCO, China. Fives DMS sets a new world record for a bright annealing product, reaching the speed of 1,200 meters per minute, without compromising the quality of the coil’s surface or flatness. Fives DMS designs and manufactures a broad range of mechanical equipment for the production of steel. Through its engineering know-how, Fives DMS is also renowned for its expertise as a production line integrator for all types of steel strip or non-ferrous products. www.fivesgroup.com

Driving progress

Figure 1. Desulphurization plant with tilting ladle transfer car

Tailored solutions for hot metal pretreatment In the past the removal of sulphur has been the main focus for hot metal pretreatment. However, due to the use of lower quality raw materials or because of more stringent limitation of the phosphorus AMLRCLR GL RFC jL?J NPMBSAR in recent years demand has increased for the capability to remove phosphorus from hot metal. For effective phosphorus removal, lower silicon levels in the hot metal are a pre-requisite. This article presents various solutions for hot metal pretreatment facilities for desiliconization, dephosphorization and desulphurization.

Robert Robey, Mark Whitehead, SMS Mevac UK, Ltd., Winsford, Cheshire, UK Contact: www.sms-mevac.com E-mail: robert.robey@sms-mevac.co.uk

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MPT International 6/2013

Introduction Hot metal (liquid iron), supplied directly from the blast furnace, is normally delivered to the steelmaking plant in refractory lined torpedoes or ladles. The choice of transport vessel is dependent upon the distance travelled and the techno-economic aspects of the process. Torpedoes offer a way to minimize the temperature losses of the hot metal during transit since their design incorporates a large thermal mass with a small opening at the top. The open top ladle approach avoids the high capital cost of a torpedo fleet and the subsequent process of pouring from the torpedo into a hot metal ladle for transfer to the primary melting furnace. The downside is that higher heat losses from the surface of the ladle are possible. When the pretreatment of hot metal began, reagents were added to the blast furnace runner. Later, reagents were added by subsurface injection into the hot metal in the torpedo. Almost invariably, the requirement was for sulphur removal. Reagents such as soda ash, lime or calcium carbide were injected into the hot metal through a submerged, refractory coated steel tube. Sulphur was removed, but the final sulphur level that

could be achieved was limited because there was a tendency for sulphur to revert from the sulphur laden slag back into the iron. This occurred because deslagging is difficult, so much of the slag generated was transferred into the hot metal transfer ladle. Additionally, over many heats, some of the sulphur rich slag would be retained in the torpedo where again the sulphur could revert back to the hot metal, and the effective iron carrying capacity of the torpedo was gradually reduced by the build up of slag.

Desulphurization Modern steel plants now desulphurize the hot metal once it has been poured from the torpedo into a hot metal transfer ladle. These ladles have a pouring spout to transfer the hot metal into the primary melting furnace, whether it be a BOF vessel, electric arc furnace or CONARCÂŽ (combined converter and electric arc furnace). Opposite the pouring spout a deslagging lip can be added to allow for easier removal of the sulphur laden slag after reagent addition, before transfer to the primary melting furnace. The use of a hot metal transfer ladle

Steelmaking makes for much easier access to remove the high sulphur slag generated during the desulphurization process. There are three methods commonly in use for hot metal desulphurization: - deep injection through a refractory coated lance in the torpedo (torpedo injection), - deep injection through a refractory coated lance in the hot metal transfer ladle (ladle injection); - bulk reagent addition by mechanical stirring (mechanical stirring). Torpedo injection is mainly a legacy process, installed many years ago at various plants where this was the best available technology at the time. The choice of whether to use ladle injection or mechanical stirring is often decided by an evaluation of the availability and cost of reagents for use with either process, temperature losses and an analysis of the time available for the desulphurization and slag removal steps. The fundamentals of desulphurization rely on the chemical reactions between the common reagents and sulphur. The reagents, in order of desulphurizing efficiency are magnesium (Mg), calcium carbide (CaC2) and lime (CaO). Unfortunately the most effective reagent for sulphur removal is also the most costly per unit weight, and therefore is not necessarily the reagent of choice. The choice of reagent may also influence the number of stations required for a given final sulphur level. A high sulphur removal requirement will result in longer treatment times at the desulphurizing station and larger amounts of slag generation. Typically the lowest level of sulphur required leaving the unit is 0.002 wt%. However, the actual final sulphur requirement is very dependent on the steel grades being produced. The incoming sulphur level, the final sulphur level required, the consequent treatment time required and the ladle handling logistics determine the number of stations required to supply the primary melting furnaces with the volume of desulphurized liquid iron requested. During treatment, the reagent is pneumatically conveyed by nitrogen into the hot metal. During injection, large amounts of fume are generated and this needs to be captured by the fume extraction system. Likewise, the fume given off during the slag removal procedure must also be captured. The best way to achieve this is by placing the ladle within a substantially enclosed area. Where this is

not possible, a close fitting fume hood should be used directly above the ladle. If the ladle is placed on a moving car, one end of the moving car can be made as a refractory coated wall which can act as one side of the enclosure as the ladle moves under the treatment area. Alternatively, once the ladle transfer car is inside the enclosure, moving doors can be used to close the treatment area at the ladle entry end. The tilting mecha-

sition. A second, duplicate lance carriage is often supplied so that, in the event of a powder lance blockage, a new lance in the second position can be used to finish the treatment. This ensures high availability and minimum interruption to the supply of desulphurized hot metal to the primary melting furnace. The quality and economic supply of each reagent play a part in deciding which reagent or combination of re-

Figure 2. Desulphurization unit with ladle stand, tilting hook and travelling fume hood

nism for the ladle is incorporated into the car, as shown in figure 1. This usually comprises of an hydraulic cylinder to lift the ladle about a fulcrum or a rack and pinion type arrangement. These systems guide the ladle lip to the right position with respect to the deslagging machine and slag pot for collecting the slag from the deslagging operation. When the shop crane is used to place the ladle onto stands within the fume enclosure, a travelling hood arrangement is used to move a fume cover over the ladle. In this case, an hydraulically operated hook mechanism may be used to tilt the ladle about its trunnions to facilitate the deslagging operation (figure 2). Where a travelling fume hood design is used, the reagent injection lance can be mounted on a swivelling carriage that moves out over the travelling cover once it is in the treatment position as in figure 2. In most other cases the lance can be mounted on a fixed carriage located directly above the ladle treatment po-

agents to use. Whilst mono-injection of CaO or CaC2 is sometimes selected, the longer treatment times and larger slag bulks generated may require more treatment stations to achieve the same plant throughput as a co-injection system. Co-injection of reagents allows the supply of Mg and CaO or Mg and CaC2 powders down a single lance at the same time. In a co-injection system, two injection dispensers are used which feed into a common injection line. At the start of the treatment the lower value reagent (CaO or CaC2) is passed into the injection line with the nitrogen carrier gas. As the powder exits the lance, the lance is driven into the molten metal. When the lance reaches the bottom position, the Mg dispenser outlet is opened and Mg is injected simultaneously with the CaO or CaC2. The use of co-injection makes efficient use of both Mg and the other reagent to give a shorter treatment time. A further development of the co-injection system is the Eco-injection sysMPT International 6/2013

35

Steelmaking tem. This system has three injection dispensers available, each one containing CaO, CaC2 or Mg. Using a mathematical model, the system recommends materials, quantities and combinations that should be injected considering the aim sulphur, the start sulphur level, the cost of the reagents, the iron temperature and chemistry and the time available for treatment. This type of system of-

for hot metal desulphurization is higher than for a ladle injection type desulphurization station, however, this can be offset by the lower operating costs associated with the use of lower cost reagents. For the case of mechanical stirring, the reagent is added as a bulk addition onto the surface of the liquid iron as the melt is stirred with a refractory coated impellor (figure 3). These are

After the stirring treatment the ladle requires deslagging, so a ladle tilting mechanism and deslagging machine are still required. Since Mg cannot be used in mechanical stirring stations (the Mg would simply burn on the surface of the hot metal), considerably more lime is used than for deep injection systems. This causes higher temperature losses and generates a higher slag bulk which must be removed. With the slag, some pure iron is also removed, so overall metal losses are often higher for mechanical stirring stations, although iron recovery is possible using standard slag recovery systems.

Desiliconization and dephosphorization

Figure 3. Mechanical stirring impellor and support structure

fers the steelmaker the most flexibility in operating the desulphurization plant and gives the lowest possible treatment cost. Where space for the addition of further hot metal desulphurization stations in a particular steel plant is limited or a shorter treatment time is required it is possible to increase the capacity of the stations by installing additional injection dispensers and operating a Twinjection™ system [1]. For this type of system the injection time is reduced by using co-injection through two separate channels down a single refractory coated lance. Because there are two separate co-injection streams, the rate of reagent addition is effectively doubled and the overall treatment time is reduced without reducing reagent efficiency.

Mechanical stirring In most situations the capital cost of building a mechanical stirring station 36

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granular materials rather than the fine powders used in deep injection. A strong vortex within the metal stream is generated by the rotating impellor. This disperses the reagent particles deep into the hot metal where they flux and react with the molten metal. For mechanical stirring the reagent particle size can be much larger, typically 1 – 5 mm may be used. Whilst CaC2 can be used, this is uncommon and the predominant reagent is burnt lime. Because of the need for stiff structures to counteract the reaction forces from the rotating impellor, the impellor is usually mounted in a fixed structure and the ladle is brought to the mechanical stirring station on a transfer car. Alternatively, the ladle can be placed on a ladle stand and the impellor can be brought over the ladle by using a moving gantry type arrangement. The reagent can be added by pneumatic conveyance, blowing the material onto the surface of the melt, or by a simple feeder and chute arrangement from the storage hoppers.

There are two reasons why steelmakers look to hot metal pretreatment for the removal of phosphorus. Firstly, in Japan, the desire to produce steels with very low final phosphorus levels has led to the practice of removing phosphorus from the hot metal ladle, or even via the two stage converter process. Secondly, however, more and more individual steelmakers are looking at the feasibility of using lower cost, higher phosphorus containing raw materials for blast furnace operations. This can result in more converter reblows for high phosphorus or the need to remove phosphorus via hot metal pretreatment or further phosphorus removal in the primary melting furnace. In order to remove phosphorus from hot metal it is necessary to have a low silicon content, less than 0.2% [2]. Therefore the pretreatment of hot metal for dephosphorization is commonly preceded by desiliconization [3]. The amount of silicon to be removed varies widely depending upon the silicon level of the hot metal. The simplest way to remove the silicon is by the addition of iron oxides in the blast furnace runner or into the pouring stream as the torpedo fills the hot metal transfer ladle (figure 4). The sizing of the iron oxide particles can be relatively coarse, but the particle granularity has to consider the mechanism of addition and delivery rate that is required. The feed rate of material into the blast furnace runner has to be matched with the flow rate of the liquid iron, and the size of the reagent storage vessel has to reflect

BSE MultiROB Multifunctionality Rapidness & Reliability Operator Safety Best Technology

Principles.

Concept.

Advantages.

O Implementation of a standard industrial robot upgraded with special equipment and features for steel plant operation.

O Remote controlled from the operator room.

O Increase of safety and work conditions.

O Manual cartridge exchange can be done up to 7 metres away from molten steel with a very low risk.

O Minimum space requirement.

O Detection of collisions inside EAF or on furnace platform stops the robot and retracts it back into parking position automatically.

O Quick and easy maintenance.

O Heat and dust resistant set-up.

O Any measurement and sample taking position within lance length possible.

O Basic functions: UÊTemperature and sample taking UÊAutomatic cartridge exchange UÊRefractory status and hot heel measurement O The BSE MultiROB can be installed at any kind of EAF or LF, and it is easily adjustable to new situations or repositioning at a new location. O Wide range of further development options and applications, e.g.: UÊDoor burner UÊMechanical door cleaning UÊRefractory repair UÊCleaning of upper shell rim

Badische Stahl-Engineering GmbH Robert-Koch-Straße 13 D-77694 Kehl/Germany Phone (+49) 78 51/877- 0 Fax (+49) 78 51/877-133 eMail info@bse-kehl.de www.bse-kehl.de

O Special equipment to cool down the electronics mounted on the robot. O Total measurement cycle from park position to measurement at EAF and back takes no more than 20 seconds. O Lance movement is freely programmable with an accuracy of less than one millimetre.

O Reliable operation due to heat protection of all relevant parts.

O No interruption of poweron cycle and foaming slag practice during measurement.

Watch BSE MultiROB at the heat of the action:

Steelmaking the quantity of reagent that is likely to be required each day. A high silica slag is generated from the desiliconization treatment which must be removed at some stage. When the iron oxides are added into the pouring stream from the torpedo to the ladle, then the iron oxides can be added relatively quickly. The energy of the pouring stream is used to vigorous-

dephosphorization needs to be fluxed to improve its phosphorus retention capacity. The temperature loss due to the injection of iron oxides and fluidising agent (CaO/CaF2) is compensated for by blowing of oxygen onto the ladle surface through a supersonic lance at the same time as the deep injection of reagents. Therefore, for dephosphorization, in addition to the refractory coat-

a deoxidation reagent is added from a supply hopper to reduce the oxidation state of the slag.

Conclusion The use of mono-injection, co-injection, Eco-injection, Twinjection™ or mechanical stirring technologies can

Figure 4. Desiliconization arrangement at the hot metal pouring station Figure 5. Typical dephosphorization layout including reagent and oxygen lances

ly mix the iron oxides throughout the ladle and effectively remove the silicon. Deslagging is required in both cases prior to subsequent processing. Alternatively, it is possible to carry out desiliconization in the torpedo car using injection of iron oxides. However, injection processes in the torpedo have proven troublesome in that build up of the generated slag can occur resulting in a significant reduction in capacity of the torpedo car. Therefore, where possible, torpedo injection is avoided. Once the hot metal transfer ladle arrives at the pretreatment station, the first course of action is to skim off the silica rich slag by tilting the ladle and using a deslagging machine to remove the slag into a slag pot. Now the station can be used for phosphorus removal. The process for removing phosphorus requires an oxidizing environment. Additionally, the slag produced during 38

MPT International 6/2013

ed lance for co-injection of iron oxides and CaO/CaF2, a second lance arrangement for oxygen blowing is required (figure 5). As well as phosphorus, some silicon, manganese and carbon are also oxidized during oxygen blowing. The production of CO and subsequent oxidation to CO2 requires that the fume extraction system is designed to post combust CO and has water cooling to protect the duct and to reduce the fume offtake temperature. The requirement for water cooling of the fume hood favours the provision of a ladle transfer car rather than a moving fume hood arrangement for location of the ladle car inside the fume enclosure. Once the dephosphorization treatment is complete, the ladle must again be tilted and deslagged to lessen the chance of reversion of the phosphorus from the slag back to the hot metal. If the next step is desulphurization, then

be used for sulphur removal at hot metal pretreatment plants. A range of mechanical equipment, tailored to each steelmaker’s specific needs, offers a sulphur removal solution to match the treatment time available. In combination with sulphur removal, hot metal pretreatment plants designed for the removal of silicon and phosphorus offer steelmakers cost effective solutions for using lower quality blast furnace raw materials or improving final sulphur and phosphorus level in steels.

References [1] R. Robey et al. MPT International, 28 (2009), No.5, pp 24-28. [2] B. C. Welbourn, Technical Steel Research, Report No. EUR 12007 EN. [3] E. T. Turkdogan, “Fundamentals of Steelmaking”, The Institute of Materials, London, 1996

the leading technical journal for the global iron & steel industry

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Steelmaking – Automation

Upgrade of the ladle furnace at Votorantim Siderurgia Barra Mansa, Brazil

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Russula has successfully replaced and commissioned the control system of a 50 t ladle furnace at the meltshop of the Votorantim Barra Mansa works. During the 15-day AMKKGQQGMLGLE NCPGMB jCJB equipment and communications tests were performed. Engineers and operators completed an intensive training programme to familiarize with the new control system.

Alexandre Rizek Schultz, Rodrigo de Oliveira Godoi, Russula do Brasil, Indianópolis, SP, Brazil Contact: www.russula.com E-mail: info@russula.com

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MPT International 6/2013

The meltshop at Votorantim Siderurgia Barra Mansa (VSBM) comprises two 50 t electric arc furnaces (EAF), one 50 t ladle furnace (LF) and an alloying facility to handle and feed lime and alloying material to the furnaces. Prior to the revamp described hereafter, there was a really heterogeneous automation environment. The LF control system consisted of an ABB Masterpiece 260 control with I/O cards S100; and the operator interface was the ABB Operate IT. The EAF No. 1 was equipped with a Siemens S5 control system, and the EAF No. 2 had a modernized Controllogix Rockwell PLC. The control for the alloying facility was developed in the same system as for the ladle furnace, which had some operational limitations, since the alloying facility also served both EAFs, No. 1 and No. 2. Three operator HMI (human-machine interface) stations were installed, one for the ladle furnace and the other two for the alloying facility serving both electric arc furnaces, respectively.

Project scope The project primarily involved an upgrade of the ladle furnace control system.

The old ABB Masterpiece 260 and I/O S100 cards were to be replaced with a state-ofthe-art Siemens Simatic S7-400 PLC. The project scope included several subsequent measures. At the beginning, a field survey was to ensure the information integrity, avoiding possible disruptions. The new control system was developed for the electrodes, as well as for all other auxiliary furnace functions. Also new controls were developed for the alloying facility as well as for all other auxiliary furnace functions. Existing HMI screens were converted for better viewing in the new “Wonderware Intouch” system. After installing the respective software licenses on computers and servers, engineering and operator stations and servers were configured. To disassemble and remove the previously existing equipment, cables had to be identified and disconnected. Afterwards, new cable conduits were installed in the electrical room for the new equipment, followed by the new equipment itself. After cable connection to the new panel, electrical and electronics needed to be tested to guarantee correct equipment function. Supply and cable installation were done according to the field surveys. Elec-

Steelmaking – Automation tromechanical design development was required for the panel installation in the electrical room. Functional tests were performed, the control system and electrical equipment was commissioned. All safety interlocks, process sequences and process operation were checked. Operation was tested and monitored in manual or automatic mode where applicable. Operator training completed the project.

equipment in the system is shown on the supervisor screen. All equipment can be triggered by the supervisor, including connecting or disconnecting the dedusting system. When clicking on a valve, motor or fan, there is a popup window that opens to assist operators with the settings for each device.

ible what type of operation is being performed. Indications informing the operation status, for example if the cycle has begun, which treadmill received the material, if the silos discharged the lime, are also illustrated on this screen. The mode of operation (automatic or semiautomatic) of the motors and valves is

New meltshop automation The former ABB Masterpiece 260 Controller with I/O S100 cards was replaced with a Siemens S7-400 PLC. The S7-400 is widely used in the steel sector, ensuring spare parts service and minimizing equipment downtime. Two independent PLCs were installed, one for the ladle furnace electrode control and the auxiliary system of the LF and another S7-400 PLC system for the alloying facility, installed in a separate rack. Due to this configuration, the meltshop personnel observed that there was greater operational flexibility. Now the ladle furnace can undergo maintenance while the EAFs are operating. This was not possible with the previous system because the alloying facility was controlled by the same PLC as the ladle furnace. Consequently, there are three operator HMI stations (figure 1): one to operate the ladle furnace and the other two to operate the alloying facility, i.e. to manage the addition of lime and alloys at each of the two electric arc furnaces, respectively. Regarding the operator interface, the obsolete ABB Operate IT technology was replaced with a Wonderware Intouch HMI. The 2012 HMI version has a simplified layout with visually improved enhancements compared to the previous system. Navigation between screens became more dynamic, thus facilitating the day to day operations for the furnace operators. On request, the new Wonderware Intouch screens were configured similar to the previously existing screens. Figure 2 illustrates the main supervisory screen for the ladle furnace. This screen shows the electrodes position and current, number and data of the melt, the position of the transfer car and also the status of the auxiliary equipment. The system to perform optimal control of the electrodes was developed by Russula. Figure 3 shows the control screen for the dedusting system. The status of all

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Figure 3. Ladle furnace off-gas system

The latest alarms triggered are shown at the bottom of all supervisory screens. All procedures for adding lime and alloys are operated from the supervisory screen illustrated in figure 4. Level sensors in the silos indicate the presence of material, when the material is discharging to the hopper car and the amount of material added to the heat with or without the aid of stored recipes. The position of the hopper car is also shown on the screen. Arrows indicate the direction in which the car moves and the weight of the material in the car. All motors and valves are illustrated such that by their colour, it is clearly vis-

indicated with the letter A for the automatic mode and the letter M for the semi-automatic mode.

Planning and installation execution In order to start up as quickly as possible with the new control system, the time available between the shutdown and restart of the furnace operations had to be optimized. Constant meetings were scheduled during the project engineering and manufacturing phases and daily meetings during the project inMPT International 6/2013

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Steelmaking – Automation stallation. A proactive attitude was instrumental in the project development and prevented unforeseen surprises in the equipment delivery and during the start-up. Many of the performance services, such as software and hardware testing, were done before the commissioning. A portable IBA data acquisition unit was installed to record important signals from the control of the electrodes, as well as generate references for the electrode placement. Thus, before the

The first challenge the Russula team encountered in the project was that the alloying facility control was installed on the same panel and PLC as the ladle furnace. This would mean that during the ladle furnace maintenance shutdown, the lime and alloy additions used by the EAFs would also have to be shut down. The Russula engineers proposed to Votorantim to separate the additions and the ladle furnace functionality to give greater operating flexibility. The idea was accepted by Votorantim and the

Figure 4. Alloying facility

official start-up, the Russula team accumulated hours and hours of data demonstrating the furnace behaviour. This allowed the team to set up and adjust many of the control loops beforehand ready for hot testing. The portable data acquisition system consisted of a card with eight analogue inputs and eight digital inputs. Data was stored with acquisition times of 1 ms. The card also has an internal 24 hour battery and an SD memory card capable of storing up to 24 hours of records with acquisition times of 1 ms or more if a longer time is required. The data content was analyzed with the IBA Analyzer PDA, which was provided free of charge. Installation and start-up planning began with meetings to gather information about the installed equipment and major functions including: – survey of documentation and interface with the existing programme, – confirmation of CPU and existing programmes, – confirmation that the existing signals matched the existing drawings. 42

MPT International 6/2013

Russula engineers began to separate the lime and alloy addition signal from the ladle furnace signals, creating two interface lists of all the signals. After checking all the signals and interfaces the next step was to identify and tag all wiring that came from the existing installation and the future connections to the new equipment. Together with the Votorantim Siderurgia Barra Mansa team targets were planned for the identification and installation of the wiring and at the same time for separating the ladle furnace system from the lime/alloy additions. Meetings were held with the production management to execute the work during the preventive maintenance shutdowns. These stops were necessary to switch off the panel in order to identify the wiring. Four stops were made biweekly to check all the signals and cabling. This step was fundamental to save time during the final commissioning, when the old system was to be exchanged for the new one. Now with the wiring fully identified, the old PLC was exchanged with the new PLC which had been previously installed in the room next door.

The control room was remodeled to receive the new operating stations, only keeping the main operating desk. The new electrical cabinets were built with four doors, two doors for the ladle furnace and two doors for the alloying facility, thereby facilitating the maintenance of the equipment. Consequently, operation of the ladle furnace would no longer affect the lime and alloys additions. During the scheduled downtime at the end of 2012, the wiring was disconnected, brought down to the basement and rerun to their correct positions in the new electrical panels, each wire appropriately identified and tagged. The reconnection of the wiring was carried out quickly and without incidence of errors due to the preliminary identification work. Finally the connections between the electrical panels and field signals began. Some of the signals were disabled, but with the help of the VSBM team these problems were solved and the programme testing could begin. A new fibre optic network was built during the biweekly scheduled downtimes to ensure that there would not be any communication problems during testing and operation. This project also included exchanging the electronic balance for a newer system that was more compatible with operations. The former scale system with the ABB load cell was replaced with a Toledo scale and load cell supplied by a domestic manufacturer. Commissioning. Russula was responsible for the commissioning of all new controls, i.e. for the ladle furnace and for the alloying facility. A team of eight highly specialized engineers was coordinated by the start-up managers who in turn coordinated with the general project manager. Due to coordinated planning with VSBM, the commissioning activities and the start-up occurred on schedule. Thanks to the preliminary activities undertaken to identify the wiring, there were no connection issues. The Russula engineers had been analyzing the current control of the electrodes months before the switchover of the control system. This was done by hooking up an IBA data acquisition system to the old Masterpiece controller. This strategic measure ensured that both the ladle furnace and the alloying facility entered into operation without delay and failures. Russula and

Steelmaking – Automation VSBM are very pleased with the final results achieved in this project. Training. Since there were differences between the old system and the new system, Russula developed a complete training programme that was provided to the engineers and operators at VSBM.

Conclusion The automation modernization project for the meltshop at Votorantim Siderurgia Barra Mansa (VSBM) works involved upgrading the ladle furnace control system, exchanging the old ABB Masterpiece 260 with I/O S100 cards with a state-of-the-art Siemens Simatic S7-400 PLC. The S7-400 is widely used in the steel sector, ensuring spare parts service and minimizing downtime due to electrical failure. With regard to the operator interface, the obsolete ABB Operate IT was replaced with a Wonderware Intouch HMI. Russula developed the system to perform optimal control of the electrodes. With the help of the IBA real-time analysis tools, it was possible to acquire the necessary data to demonstrate the regulation of electrode regulation and performance. The IBA tool was also used to optimize the new control system. Accurate electrode control in the ladle furnace is important to: – minimize the overload duration from short circuits through the molten steel, – minimize energy consumption and especially reactive power, – minimize the use of electrodes. Since the first test operation, shortly after implementing the new electrode control, the ladle furnace has been operating smoothly. Even with the complex control of the electrodes, no problems occurred throughout the commissioning activities. This was due to the thorough project planning and system testing, which had begun during monthly maintenance shutdowns, long before the official 15-day shutdown. The test plan was also critical to the successful project results. Undoubtedly the best reward after so much work, planning and dedication is a successful project conclusion. The success could be easily seen when the first melt was processed in the ladle furnace with absolutely no failures. Customer participation and support were instrumental to this success during all stages of the project, especially the support received for the initiative to have a full testing programme before hot testing. Shortly after the revamp, the ladle furnace produced at its normal rate again. MPT International 6/2013

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Figure 1. Slab cutting at the vertical caster at Baosteel, China

Enhanced vertical continuous casting technology HQT ĆƒCV CPF NQPI RTQFWEVU The vertical caster concept allows the casting of almost any steel grade, particularly of RFMQC QRCCJQ UFGAF BCjLGRCJW cannot be cast on a bow-type machine. These special steel grades require a good deal MD kCVG@GJGRW DPMK RFC A?QRCP properties. Through continuous improvement and consistent upgrading with modern technological packages, the applicability of vertical casting AMSJB @C CVRCLBCB RM CTCL more steel grades and section sizes, resulting in enhanced quality and productivity.

Paul Pennerstorfer, Heinrich ThĂśne, Siemens VAI Metals Technologies GmbH, Linz, Austria Contact: www.siemens.com/metals E-mail: rainer.schulze@siemens.com

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MPT International 6/2013

Introduction The technology of continuous casting originally started with vertical machines, taking over a major portion from ingot steel production, due to cost savings achievable in downstream processes. As the continuous casting technique improved, bow-type casters were developed and became more and more important because they achieved further savings. But for very special steel grades and extremely exacting quality demands, the ingot route and vertical continuous casting have remained the preferred solutions. Prevention of bending and straightening forces, highest cleanness, symmetry and homogeneity of the produced slabs or blooms are the outstanding features here. Beside the continuous improvement and consistent upgrading with modern technological packages, Siemens VAI Metals Technologies has extended the operational field of the vertical technique in respect of steel grades, section

sizes, quality and productivity. In the following some examples are presented.

Baosteel vertical slab caster for ultra-high-alloyed steel grades A broad range of highly critical alloyed steel grades is extremely difficult to cast in a conventional bow-type caster. This is because these types of materials are extremely rigid and sensitive to cracking, meaning that they cannot be easily bent from the vertical into the horizontal direction in the bending and straightenCapacity No. of strands Slab width Slab thickness Metallurgical length Casting speed Machine height

270,000 t/year 1 600 – 1,300 mm 150 mm / 200 mm 13.6 m 0.7 – 1.3 m/min 40 m

Table 1. Design data of the vertical slab ECUVGT CV $CQUVGGN 5RGEKCN 5VGGN 5JCPIJCK

Continuous casting

Figure 2. 3D layout scheme of the Baosteel vertical slab caster

ing zones of a caster. Therefore Baosteel decided to install a single-strand vertical slab caster with a nominal casting capacity of around 270,000 t/year (figure 1). The motivation for this decision was to ensure fulfilment of the strictest quality demands and be able to continuously cast new steel grades. Baosteel can now cast a broad and highly specialized product mix comprising high- and ultra-high-alloyed carbon, special and stainless steels. The caster itself has a vertical height of 40 m and a metallurgical length of 13.6 m. Slabs are cast in thicknesses of 150 and 200 mm at widths between 600 and 1,300 mm. Depending on the steel grade and the slab thickness to be cast, the casting speed varies between 0.7 and 1.3 m/min (table 1). For this unique continuous casting machine, the following sophisticated technological packages and special design features, summarized in figure 2, were required to ensure reliable plant operations and highest slab quality: – butterfly-type ladle turret with independently liftable arms and ladle weighing, – semi-gantry-type tundish car with trough-type tundish and SEN stopper rod system, – Smart Mold with Mold Expert system, LevCon mold level control and soft clamping, – DiaFace Mold Narrow Face for low friction and uniform heat removal in the mold, – DynaFlex hydraulic oscillator with on-line stroke, frequency and wave pattern adjustment, – Smart vertical rack and Smart Segments with DynaGap Soft Reduction®, – revolver-type rollers,

– DynaJet spray nozzles, – rigid-type dummy bar with bottom feeding system, – Dynacs dynamic secondary cooling model incl. centre/margin mode, – torch-cutting machine, – level 1 and level 2 system, – segment exchange system, – tilting roller table, – withdrawal unit. – hook car. 5CHGV[ EQPEGRV In a caster of 40 m height it is essential to fix and secure everything because a falling strand, cut slab or any other part would be a great safety hazard. Thus, a machine safety concept was developed including a machine protection programme for all automatic routines. It starts as soon as the strand, slab or dummy bar stops longer than five minutes. Furthermore, a novel withdrawal unit was installed in addition to a completely new slab-discharge system. During slab cutting, the slabs are clamped by a second withdrawal unit and transferred through the casting pit by a system of hook cars and tilting roller tables. Another part of the concept was the secondary cooling-water deflection system which had to be implemented in order to fully remove water from the caster area and keep the casting pit dry. Quality. It had been necessary to install a wide range of technological packages and design features to fulfil highest surface and internal quality demands placed on the critical steel grades produced at Baosteel. Furthermore, with this caster, the company is able to cast almost any steel grade. This improves

Figure 3. 5WTHCEG CRRGCTCPEG KOOGFKCVGN[ after casting, austenitic stainless steel 310s

casting flexibility and is the ideal solution to serve certain niche markets. A DynaFlex hydraulic oscillator was installed for the online control of the mold-oscillation parameters and improved strand-surface quality. With this technological package, sinusoidal and non-sinusoidal oscillation can be achieved by hydraulic drive systems only. The system avoids wear as well as generation of resonances at high frequencies without the requirement of lever arms or bushings. The first segment (No. 0) was equipped with an electromagnetic stirrer for casting ferritic and silicon steel grades. All segments supplied are “Smart Segments” which, in combination with the respective technology package and input data from the secondary-cooling system, enable dynamic soft reduction to be carried out to minimize centerline segregation for highest internal strand quality. In consideration of highest surface and internal quality demands for the critical steel grades produced at Baosteel and to improve the casting flexibility, “dry casting” is practiced in the lower strand section to prevent strand overcooling. This is made possible by employing internally peripherally cooled rollers of the socalled “revolver type.” Results. With the vertical caster concept, casting of almost any steel grade, particularly of those which can definitely not be cast on a bow-type machine, can be assured. Typical steel grades to be cast on the Baosteel vertical caster are as follows: – Ni-based alloys (Incoloy800H, GH3030, GH140), – precision alloys (HFNi36, 4J29, 1J50), MPT International 6/2013

45

Continuous casting

Figure 4. Cross section of 30Mn20Al2 grade slab, macro-etched, 200 mm x 1,300 mm

Due to the sophisticated machine design and soft reduction technology, the internal quality of the slabs is very good and does not show any cracks or centre segregation. Figure 4 shows the macroetched cross section of a low-magnetic steel, 30Mn20Al2 steel grade, cast in the Baosteel vertical caster. Figure 5. Multi-roller drive unit for heavy TQWPF DNQQOU WR VQ C FKCOGVGT QH OO

– – – – – –

special stainless steel grades, anti-wear steel (20Cr5Cu, etc.), heat-resistant steel (1Cr6Si2Mo, etc.), low-magnetic steel (20Mn23AlV, etc.), tool steel, die steel (T8, T10), structure steel (35CrMo, 42CrMo, 50CrV, 75Cr1). Because of changing mold flux properties and the high Al content of 30Mn20Al2, the sticking tendency of the strand shell increases during casting. But even during casting of these extreme sticking sensitive steel grades there was no breakout. This was possible because of the Mold Expert system which is a very useful tool to monitor the casting process within the mold and keep it in a very save range. It allows the online detection of strand shell sticker during casting. This means that additional information like friction forces, heat flux removal and thermal (temperature) condition of the mold are available, providing a better overview of the process conditions in the mold. Because of low casting temperatures of certain steel grades, special care had to be taken to supply sufficient hot steel to the meniscus area. Thus fluid flow analyses had to be carried out to find a proper SEN design, defining the parameters for immersion depth and SEN opening dimensions. This and the DynaFlex oscillator have major influence on the surface quality. Figure 3 shows an example for the surface appearance of a 310s austenitic stainless steel cast in the Baosteel vertical caster. There is a smooth surface with shallow oscillation marks and no depressions. 46

MPT International 6/2013

8GTVKECN ECUVGT EQPEGRV for large round blooms at <JQPI[WCP 5RGEKCN 5VGGN Driven by obvious advantages of the vertical casting process for very special steel grades, there is a new trend to use vertical casting even for heavy blooms. Thus an additional share of the today’s ingot casting route can be shifted to the more cost-effective continuous casting line. Recently the Chinese company Zhongyuan Special Steel Co. Ltd. placed an order with Siemens Metals Technologies for a vertical continuous caster to produce heavy blooms in round crosssection. Until now Zhongyuan has only had an ingot casting plant mainly for the production of steel forgings. With the new two-strand vertical continuous caster, Zhongyuan will in future also be able to produce blanks in all high-quality steel grades, tool and bearing steels, as well as heat-resistant stainless steels. The new vertical bloom caster serves for a capacity of up to 370,000 t/year. It will be operated in the electric steel plant in Jiyuan, Henan province. The 2-strand machine is designed with Capacity No. of strands Bloom diameters Bloom length Metallurgical length Casting speed Machine height

370,000 t/year 2 400 / 600 / 800 mm 2.5 – 6 m 23 m K?V K KGL 40 m

Table 2. Design data of the round bloom ECUVGT CV <JQPI[WCP 5RGEKCN 5VGGN

a height of 40 m and a metallurgical length of 23 m. It will produce heavy blooms with diameters of 400, 600 and 800 mm and lengths of between 2.5 m and 6 m (table 2). The caster is equipped with a straight DiaMold tubular mold and the DynaFlex oscillator for flexible adjustment of the oscillation parameters. Technology packages such as the LevCon mold level control system and the Mold Expert breakout prevention system are to ensure trouble-free casting. Siemens is supplying the entire process equipment, secondary cooling system, including the DynaSpeed metallurgical cooling model, and the DynaJet cooling nozzles, as well as the complete process automation. A multi-roller drive unit (figure 5) allows for compensation of the high downward forces of the strand during casting and for reduction of the tensile stresses around the periphery and in the centre of the bloom during solidifying. By this advanced design, safe and optimum support of the 120 t strand during casting as well as homogeneous internal quality of the cast blanks is ensured. The unique Zhongyuan caster is the first of this multi- roller type in the casting section range up to dia. 800 mm round to be supplied to China. Commissioning is scheduled for the end of 2014.

Advanced technological solutions New drive generation. When casting heavy round sections, which run at low casting speeds, the strand shell needs not to be supported against inner ferrostatic load by containment. The ferrostatic pressure is kept easily by the circular strand shell itself. So the driving rollers serve just for holding the strand corresponding to the strand weight. Vertical strands with bigger bloom diameters become very heavy, and conse-

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Continuous casting

High tensile stresses over the whole cross section CRRGCTCPEG QH ETCEMU

Figure 6. FEM simulation of stress distribution in the strand at a two-roller drive unit

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(KIWTG Simulation of stress distribution in the strand at the multi-roller drive element

quently the holding forces increase tremendously. With the current technology, the strand is held by applying pinching forces on the strand by two oppositely arranged rollers in pairs along the strand guide. Especially at round sections the pinching loads of just two opposite arranged rollers cause unfavourable deflection and stress in the solidifying strand. The forces generate tensile stress in the shell and the mushy zone. Cracks appear at a certain pinching force level. The mechanism can be seen in the result of a numerical FEM simulation and in practical experience (figures 6 and 7). Consequently, the pinching forces have to be limited in order not to generate cracks in the shell and in the segregation sensitive centre area. Using the current two-roller drive elements, an uneconomic higher number of rollers would be necessary to achieve the required friction force for holding the strand. The current tworoller technology for strand holding at vertical round casters works only up to 48

MPT International 6/2013

a casting sections of dia. 400 mm. For bigger blooms a different approach is recommended. Multi-roller drive elements were developed as a new drive generation for heavy vertical round caster sections up to dia. 800 mm. Inspired by radial forging machines which are outstanding in forging technology, three rollers are combined in one plane to the new multi-roller drive element. One roller serves as fixed side. The other rollers are 120° offset and mounted on swivelling levers. It needs just one hydraulic pinching cylinder to drive the levers and to generate identical forces to all three rollers. The system automatically adjusts to different bloom diameters. By placing the three rollers around the strand centre, the pinching force distribution at the bloom is radially symmetric. In comparison to the conventional two-roller system, shell deflection and the resulting stress are reduced dramatically HKIWTG . Therefore, the shell is able to withstand three times higher roller forces and an increased holding force can be applied.

Figure 7. 2TCEVKECN GZRGTKGPEG QH ETCEM CRRGCTCPEG CV VQQ JKIJ RKPEJKPI NQCFU CV C two-roller drive unit

Figure 9. Practical investigation for the multi-roller drive element. No evidence of ETCEMU CV VJTGG VKOGU JKIJGT RKPEJKPI HQTEG

The new multi-roller technique is best applicable up to a casting size of approximately dia. 800 mm (figure 9). The number of rollers and the costs for equipment remain at a reasonable level. High holding force safety and reliable strand quality are provided. Holding car system. For the biggest casting sections up to diameter 1,300 mm and above, a new and unique holding car system for strand guidance is coming up. This technique works without any rollers (figure 10). It holds and guides the strand downward from the mold by a cyclically operating holding tong and car system. Most characteristic is the lack of any roller forces acting on the strand shell, making for best quality conditions.

Conclusion The vertical caster concept allows the casting of almost any steel grade, particularly of those which definitely cannot be cast on a bow-type machine. Restric-

Continuous casting tions can be found only in the availability of casting powders suitable for the low casting (liquidus) temperatures or other “strange” physical properties or chemical compositions of certain special steel grades. These unusual conditions of certain special steel grades demand a high degree of flexibility from the casting equipment to make casting of these grades possible. Modern engineering procedures using the latest state-of-the-art engineering tools, like realistic physical and numerical simulation, together with the

unique, well proven and sophisticated machine features can push the limits and make new things possible, even in the long time established continuous casting process.

References [1] Gould L.: Start-up of a vertical slab caster at Baosteel, China; metals&mining 3/2009, Page 54-55

Figure 10. 2TKPEKRNG QH ECUVGT YKVJ PGY holding car system

[2] Hrazdera G., et.al.: Advanced continuous casting technology boosts productivity and product quality of Asian steel producers; SEAISI 2010

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MPT International 6/2013

49

Strip processing – Environmental protection

Ecological and economical pickling process for stainless steel The new eco4 pickling process is considered to be the best available technology for newly built and for the modernization of existing annealing and pickling lines for stainless steel products. Compared to the traditional technology, the new process avoids any formation of hexavalent chromium and consequently the need for relevant conversion and neutralization treatment plants. It also reduces NOx production by about 90% and the content of nitrates in the waste water by 40%. The lower consumption of energy and of the highly pollutant and costly substances HF and HNO3 also minimizes investment and operative costs.

Stefano Martines, Pierluigi Curletto, Tenova Strip Processing, Genoa, Italy; Stefano Luperi, Luca Lattanzi, Centro Sviluppo Materiali S.p.A., Rome, Italy Contact: www.tenova.com E-mail: stefano.martines@tenova.com

50

MPT International 6/2013

Introduction Pickling is a process the purpose of which is to remove the oxides covering a metal surface and to clean surfaces of product down to the bare metal. Pickling operations are very important in stainless steel manufacturing. Being arranged after the annealing operations, they provide the transition between the hot and the cold plant [1]. Pickling is carried out in one or more reactors and involves several reactions. It represents one of the most pollutant and costly chemical processes in the steel industry. The most widely used process includes electrochemical and chemical operations to remove oxides scale as well as a chromium-depleted layer generated on the strip surface during high temperature steel annealing. For hot rolled as well as cold rolled coils, different acids are normally used in a multi-step process; the impact of these chemicals on the environment is heavy due to the presence of the high corrosive acids and the hazardous substances hexavalent chromium and NOx. During recent years, Tenova has geared its research activities towards the development of new pickling technologies aimed at reducing the polluting effects of the chemicals used in this process and the overall operational costs associated with the process. After several years of intensive research at CSM laboratories, a new pickling process has been successfully developed and tested up to pilot scale. This new process has not only less environmental impact but also much lower operational costs thanks to a dramatic reduction in the consumption of expensive acids (as HF and HNO3). This also results in less energy and fuel consumption because the waste treatment effort is markedly reduced. The overall pickling cost savings range between 4 and 6 â‚Ź/t of product for an annealing and pickling line for cold rolled coils.

Traditional stainless steel pickling process In continuous annealing and pickling lines (APL), the pickling of stainless steel

after the annealing furnace is performed by a series of chemical reactions aimed at dissolving the metal oxides and the chromium-depleted layer generated during the high-temperature processes (hot rolling, continuous annealing, cooling). After mechanical shot-blasting, hot rolled coils are usually treated in a descaling tank operated with sulphuric acid (H2SO4) at high temperature (up to 100°C), followed by chemical pickling in mixedacid baths (HNO3 + HF or HNO3-free). The conventional sequence for pickling hot rolled coils (H-APL) is as follows: (1) sulphuric acid (H2SO4), (2) brushing, (3) mixed acid (HNO3 + HF), (4) brushing and rinse. For cold rolled coils, the traditional pickling process uses sodium sulphate (Na2SO4) for an electrolytic treatment, followed by mixed-acid chemical pickling (HNO3 + HF) in the same way as the hot rolled coils but with different recipes. The conventional sequence for cold rolled coils (C-APL) is as follows: (1) electrolytic treatment (Na2SO4), (2) brushing, (3) mixed acid (HNO3 + HF), (4) brushing and rinse. The scale formed during the annealing of cold rolled steel is compact and richer in chromium than the steel substrate, consequently the task of the sodium sulphate (Na2SO4) electrolytic treatment is to dissolve the chromium oxide to soluble chromates. Thus mixed-acid liquor can easily remove the remaining scale through quick dissolution of the chromium-depleted layer. In both cases the conventional pickling process is worldwide mainly based on hydrofluoric acid (HF) and nitric acid (HNO3) as pickling agents; these two acids are expensive and hazardous. The spent liquors and fumes produced by the process are extremely dangerous for the human health. In order to comply with more stringent environmental regulations and minimize human risks, proper sophisticated treatments in complex plants are necessary [2]. In the neutral electrolytic descaling process normally used for C-APL,

Strip processing – Environmental protection the chromium is dissolved into soluble hexavalent chromates (Cr(VI)); the bath needs to be continuously discharged and treated with proper chemicals to convert the Cr(VI) to Cr(III) and, after neutralization, to precipitate the metals (mainly Fe and Cr) as hydroxides. Also the water used to rinse the strip after the electrolytic treatment has to be continuously discharged and treated to eliminate Cr(VI). Hexavalent chromate – Cr(VI) – compounds are toxic substances classified as genotoxic carcinogens; in addition, they target the respiratory system, kidneys, liver, skin and eyes. In these plants, special care is required during periodic washing and maintenance operations to avoid that the operators have direct contact with solutions contaminated with Cr(VI). Likewise care must be taken that all the waste waters are conveyed to a treatment plant where the Cr(VI) is converted to the much less dangerous Cr(III).

The innovative eco4 pickling process

solutions, re-oxidation of the Fe ions to the 3-valent form. The main innovative feature of the pickling process is the new AC electrolytic pickling tank (AC booster) specifically designed to use the strong descaling and pickling effects of the AC power applied onto the strip by means of a series of grids connected to the AC source. Compared to traditional DC electrolyt-

and HNO3), minimizing acid consumption, spent liquor and NOx in the fumes per surface unit. The cost savings have been estimated at 1.5 to 2 €/t of produced steel considering, for innovative and traditional pickling sequences, the costs of chemicals (in case of an acid purification unit to recover the free acid from the waste solution in both cases), the neutralization costs,

Figure 1. Comparative results for pickling of hot rolled coils AISI 304 (pickling time and relevant mass losses)

Named after both its ecological and economical benefits, the new eco4 pickling process (patent pending) developed by Tenova and CSM [3] has been designed to significantly reduce the pollution risks for the environment and hazards for the operator, while at the same time reducing the operational costs associated with both production and waste treatment. The eco4 pickling process is based on the following technologies. Hot rolled coils. Before pickling, mechanical descaling is performed by means of a shot blaster. Afterwards the stainless steel strip undergoes the following sequence: (1) sulphuric acid (H2SO4) in a high-turbulence tank with optimized length, (2) electrolytic pickling in sulphuric acid (H2SO4) fed with AC power to complete the descaling of metal oxides and to dissolve a large portion of the chromium-depleted layer, (3) brushing, (4) final pickling and passivation with mixed acid (HF + HNO3) or with nitric-free mix of acids, (5) brushing and rinsing. The mixed-acid solution is re-oxidized to continuously regenerate the HNO2 back to HNO3, through the O2 re-oxidation unit or, in case of nitric-free acid

Figure 2. Comparative results for pickling of cold rolled coils AISI 304 (pickling time and relevant mass losses)

ic treatments, the continuous reversal of polarity determines the persistence of a transient pattern of polarization which does not allow stabilization of the reaction products, greatly increasing the kinetics of dissolution of the oxidized layer. With the AC power having an intensive effect on the removal of scale and on the dissolution of the chromium-depleted layer, the majority of mass loss takes place in the H2SO4 acid solution (figure 1). Thus the pickling load is removed from the bath of mixed acids (HF

NOx reduction cost and electrical energy costs. If an acid regeneration plant has been installed, the relevant investment and operating costs (natural gas, ammonia for NOx reduction) are dramatically reduced. In fact, a neutralization plant designed for one traditional line could be used for three lines of the innovative design. Cold rolled coils. In contrast to the conventional process, electrolytic pickling is also performed with H2SO4 and DC power input followed by AC power input (acMPT International 6/2013

51

Strip processing – Environmental protection cording to the steel grades) to convert the chromium oxides of the scale and to achieve dissolution of the Cr-depleted layer (up to 60% of standard metal losses). The process sequence is as follows: (1) DC electrolytic treatment (H2SO4), (2) AC booster (H2SO4), (3) mixed acid, (4) brushing and rinsing. Final pickling and passivation with mixed acid solution use (HF + HNO3) or a nitric-free mix of acids. Also here, the mixed-acid solution is re-oxidized to continuously regenerate the HNO2 back to HNO3, through the O2 re-oxidation unit or, in case of a nitric-free mix of acids, re-oxidation of the Fe ions to the 3-valent form. Also for cold rolled coils, the main innovation in the pickling process is the new AC electrolytic pickling tank (AC booster) – designed to achieve descaling and pickling effects on the strip surface by means of a series of grids fed with AC

less steel (of conventional process) depending on local rates (costs referred to electrical energy, chemicals, Cr conversion, acid recovery/APU and neutralization treatment).

Sulphuric acid versus sodium sulphate An important contribution to making this innovative process/technology environmentally friendly is the adoption of a sulphuric acid bath (H2SO4) – working at a specific temperature range for each steel grade – instead of the traditional sodium sulphate bath (Na2SO4) in the electrolytic tank. When using sulphuric acid in the electrolytic process, Cr(VI) (as chromates) formed during electrolytic scale dissolution is immediately transformed to Cr(III) – thanks to the chemical reaction with Fe(II) ions which are pro-

Figure 3. SEM view of the pickled surface (roughness Ra 0.12 – 0.34 m)

power. As already described above, for lines of the H-APL type, the AC power is very effective for scale removal and for the dissolution of the chromium-depleted layer. Here the majority of the mass loss takes place in the sulphuric acid (H2SO4) solution, markedly reducing the pickling load from the (HF + HNO3) mixed acids and leading to decreased consumption values and wastes (figure 2). Using the new pickling process, the overall cost saving for a C-APL is between 4 and 6 €/t on total pickling costs of 9 to 12 €/t of stain52

MPT International 6/2013

duced during electrolytic dissolution of the steel substrate. Consequently the Cr(VI) is eliminated from the beginning. Tenova’s innovative electrolytic tank technology (patent pending) and the relevant bath re-circulating system have been developed, among others, by means of 3D CFD calculations with the objective to obtain accurate fluid dynamics in the cells so as to ensure gas removal and avoid surface area with reduced electrolytic pickling activity and, consequently, current localizations. In fact, between the electric grids

where the process is performed the heat developed by the Joule effect as well as the H2 and O2 resulting from water electrolysis are rapidly evacuated. Furthermore, thanks to the continuous renewal of the solution on the strip surface, the new tank guarantees enhanced pickling efficiency and steel surface quality especially with ferritic steel grades. Moreover, this innovative electrolytic process and the cell design allow reaching a better strip quality in terms of roughness and brightness compared to the traditional process, while reducing health risks and achieving the environmental advantages described above. As shown in figure 3, samples pickled by the eco4 pickling process do not show any oxide residues or over-pickling. Another great advantage of the eco4 process for C-APL is the significant reduction of electrical energy consumption (- 40%) due to the following reasons: - lower electrical resistivity of H2SO4 compared to Na2SO4 allowing the process to run at lower voltage while getting the same total current, - specific cell design and positioning of submerging rolls provide for a major reduction of lost current inside the cell between electrodes connected to different poles, - higher pickling efficiency of the AC treatment compared to the DC treatment, because in AC mode the electrodes are permanently used, while in DS mode the anode sequence is idle time. As a direct consequence of the reduced pickling load of the mixed-acid pickling, further major advantages include: - lower fresh acid consumptions (HF + HNO3) and, if an acid regeneration plant is used, lower amount of natural gas required to regenerate spent acids, - lower amount of energy and chemicals (urea or ammonia) necessary to treat fume emissions, which contain NOx in case a conventional selective catalytic reduction de-NOx is used. It is possible to eliminate the selective catalytic reduction by adopting a de-NOx system based on the already mentioned O2 acid re-oxidation units. These systems reduce the operational maintenance costs and are suitable to convert the majority of the HNO2 (instable acids) generated by the pickling reactions to HNO3. In this case, a final fume scrubbing system is sufficient to

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Strip processing – Environmental protection eliminate the residual NOx and to filter vapours of hydrofluoric acid (HF) and sulphuric acid (H2SO4).

Conclusions Steel producers have usually two main concerns: on the one hand, minimization of environmental impact that may affect the workers’ health and people living close to the works. On the other hand, operational costs are to be limited to improve line productivity and, if possible, product quality at the same time. The final aim is to increase the profit in an ever more competitive market. Thanks to the use of the AC booster electrolytic pickling tank, the new eco4

pickling process perfectly fulfils these expectations. Compared to the traditional technology, the new eco4 pickling process has the following main advantages: - It avoids any formation of hexavalent chromium and the installation of an otherwise required conversion and neutralization treatment plant. - It reduces about 90% of the NOx produced and 40% of the nitrates in the waste water. - It reduces the consumption of the most pollutant and costly acids (HF + HNO3) by 40 – 70%. - The overall energy consumption for a C-APL pickling section can be reduced (- 40%). - Investment and operative costs for re-

generation, treatment and disposal of spent acids and residues can be reduced. The new eco4 pickling process can be defined as the best available technology today for new annealing and pickling lines for stainless steel or for the modernization of existing pickling plants.

References [1] Henriet, D.: Surface treatments for stainless steel state of the art - developments and trends, Ed. R. Nauche, EC-DGXII, EUR 17248 EN, (1995) [2] Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC) - Reference Document on Best Available Techniques in the Ferrous Metals Processing Industry, European Commission, December 2001 [3] CSM Patent EP1307609

Absolute encoders for improved performance SPECIAL EQUIPMENT Absolute encoders for extreme operating and ambient conditions, as found in steelworks, rolling mills, mining operations, ports and crane systems, are available from Johannes Huebner Giessen. The company has upgraded its 40 and 60 series encoders with larger ball bearings for a higher dynamic load rating. The series 40 is available in two versions. One has a solid shaft (11 or 14 mm in diameter) for mounting the encoder using a coupling, while the other has a hollow shaft (20 mm in diameter) for direct mounting of the encoder on the drive shaft. Huebner can also supply a second shaft end for the solid-shaft device. This permits an encoder to be designed for temperatures as low as -40°C and shocks of up to 450 g. The new series 60 models are hollow-shaft devices with a bore diameter of max. 50 mm and feather keyway. This series of absolute encoders is particularly suitable for attaching additional devices. Thanks to its B14 flange it offers a stable basis for further attachments. Thus the new encoders are less affected by wear and damage during prolonged heavy use. Huebner has also expanded the range of available interfaces. Now, there is a parallel output additionally to familiar interface types such as Profibus, Profinet, Devicenet, Ethercat and SSI. Parallel outputs facilitate very rapid information transfers as data can be communicated via connections that run parallel to each other. In addition, the series 41 from Huebner is an absolute encoder that comes with SIL3/PLe safety certification in accordance 54

MPT International 6/2013

Examples of absolute encoders

with the IEC 61508/EN 13849 standards. Thick aluminium casing and the sealed interior guarantee that the encoders remain absolutely reliable even in the most extreme ambient or industrial conditions. All devices are equipped with secured bolt connections to protect against vibration, together with feather keys and keyways for form-fit shaft connections. The new series are also constructed to attain protection classes IP 66/IP 67, making them suitable for use in saline environments.

Contact: www.huebner-giessen.com

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Technical innovations

Intelligent communication interfaces AUTOMATION In industrial production, numerous automation, engineering and visualization systems are connected to a bus. For years the Profibus DP and Profinet IO industrial fieldbus standards have been used for communication between devices of different manufacturers in automated production lines. With a new update to its Profibus DP interface, Zumbach is raising the usability of its devices to a new level. Profinet IO – the successor to Profibus DP – is designed for data exchange between Ethernet-based field devices. The open industrial Ethernet standard meets the increasing demands of

automation reliably and sustainably with optimum flexibility, efficiency and performance. A new GSDML file developed for Profinet makes the implementation of Profibus and Profinet easy and practically identical. In addition, Profinet IO industrial Ethernet is now available for the entire Zumbach family of devices. The interface enables centralized control of all devices involved in the production process as well as many standard diagnostic functions – and all this via a secure and fast connection (up to 12 Mbps). The cyclic collection and preparation and reliable evaluation of the

Selection of gauges with suitable communication interface

measuring data via the interface have a significant effect

on the quality of the quality monitoring.

Contact: www.zumbach.com

Bright tube annealing furnace HEAT TREATMENT JMC Steel is installing a bright tube annealing furnace as part of its Wheatland Tube Division expansion. The 11,340 Main furnace section being prepared for shipment

kg/h furnace has already been shipped by CAN-ENG Furnaces. The unit is configured to operate under dry EXO gas for the bright annealing of heavy walled precision cold drawn mechanical tubing. The overall line

will stretch out more than 91 m by 4 m wide. The main furnace section measures 18 m in length.

Contact: www.can-eng.com

High performance hydraulic oils MAINTENANCE The increased hydraulic efficiency, impressive system cleanliness and durability offered by the Mobil SHC 500 can help maintenance staff decrease machine maintenance, extend oil drain intervals, and reduce hydraulic system energy. Additionally, the increased hydraulic efficiency potential of Mobil SHC 500, offered by ExxonMobil, can also result in an overall reduction in CO2 emissions, helping reduce the environmental impact of metallurgical operations. The Mobil SHC 500 series are supreme performance hydraulic oils formulated from synthesized, wax-free hydrocarbon base fluids combined with a carefully engineered super-stabilized additive system. They are exceptionally high quality, widetemperature, shear-stable hydraulic oils with controlled lowtemperature pumpability properties and maximized anti-wear 56

MPT International 6/2013

protection for high-pressure vane, piston and gear pumps used in steel plants. In addition, Mobil SHC 500 series deliver outstanding low and high temperature performance, providing an extra margin of equipment protection above and beyond the capabilities of comparable mineral oil-based products. This benefit resonates with the steel industry that is subject to extremely high operational temperatures and, therefore, demanding sufficient heat-resistance from the lubricants in use. Also, at -40°C Mobil SHC 500 is thinner than similar viscosity index conventional mineral hydraulic oils, allowing it to circulate around the hydraulic system faster at start up, ensuring the lubricant is in place to protect machine components. Contact: www.mobilindustrial.com

Technical innovations

Intensive grinding mill MATERIALS PROCESSING As an extension to its portfolio, Outotec added the high intensity grinding mill (HIGmillTM) to its line of comminution equipment. The HIGmill provides several unique advantages such as a low specific grinding energy (SGE) value combined with high power intensity, simple flow sheet with no recirculating loads, true flexibility in process variables and long maintenance intervals. Other advantages include high energy efficiency, high energy intensity and vertical orientation, small footprint, low wear rates and easy maintenance and a large installed power base up to 5,000kW. All units are supplied with a variable speed drive system. The first HIGmill will be de-

livered to a customer in Africa for a sulphides project in early 2014. To serve customers even better and to provide more data in the feasibility phase, Outotec has developed a HIGmill mobile test unit designated HIG 25. It is a small scale mill which simulates full size operations. The mobile test unit is in a transportable container ready for fast shipment. All documentation and certificates are according to industry standards, and the compact design makes it fast to install on-site and easy to operate. The test unit functions as a part of a portable laboratory that includes testing equipment to handle samples at customer sites. Contact: www.outotec.com

Grinding mill units

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MPT International 6/2013

57

Technical innovations

Continuous caster for giant Ø 800 mm blooms CONTINUOUS CASTING Dongbei Special Steel in Dalian City, Liaoning province, China, successfully commissioned a continuous caster for up to Ø 800 mm blooms. The caster was supplied by SMS Concast. It is Dongbei’s third continuous bloom caster from SMS Concast. Just like the previous plants in Dongbei – Beiman (2002) and Dongbei-Dalian (2011) – the new continuous caster produces high-quality special steel blooms. Its annual capacity amounts to 450,000 t. The machine casts blooms with diameters of 600 to 800 mm. Dongbei Special Steel uses the blooms to forge large shafts, tool steel and stainless steel on its hydraulic presses and radial forging machines from SMS Meer. It supplies these products to the oil, energy, aircraft and automotive industry. Contact: www.sms-concast.ch

Bloom handling at Dongbei Special Steel

Upgrade of coke plant, sinter plant and blast furnace ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION Three projects, which began in 2012, are currently being implemented in the blast furnace and sinter plant of ArcelorMittal Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina, with the aim of reducing emissions from these units and decreasing the impact on the surrounding environment. The projects are being implemented in order to fulfil the environmental protection goals

and improving working conditions. At the coke plant, assembly of the new charging machine is due to start soon. At the blast furnace, the installation of the cast house dedusting system is on track. The new system will ensure complete dedusting of the solid particles during the tapping of hot metal in the cast house, significantly reducing emissions and improving the working conditions.

Two large projects are also underway in the sinter plant. The first is the replacement of the existing water dedusting systems with new bag filters, used in the reloading and transportation of sinter and lime. All five filters have recently been installed and run in the trial mode with satisfactory results. The other project currently being im-

plemented is the replacement of all four sections in the No. 4 sinter machine precipitator. In the coke plant, a new charging machine is to be built. This measure will significantly reduce the amount and duration of emissions of solid particles, creating much better working conditions for around 150 employees in this area.

Contact: www.arcelormittal.com

Simultaneous refurbishment of a 6-stand roughing mill HOT ROLLING A major roughing mill refurbishment project carried out by Corts Engineering comprised the following measures: - replacing of the foundation of the scale breaker, - reworking of all relevant mill window surfaces on all six stands, - redesign and installation of a new clamping system, - installation of Corts compound-steel mill and chock liners, - installation of the patented Corts Lubtec automatic greasing system. Prior to the revamp, the mill experienced quality issues, cobbles, work roll bearing failure and drastic wear on the existing mill and chock liners. To minimize downtime, the work 58

MPT International 6/2013

had to be done simultaneously on all six stands. Corts Engineering planned and engineered the entire job in only four months prior to the shutdown and start date. After machining of the stands, new liners with adjusted thicknesses were installed. The new mill window gap between chocks and housing is now optimized and the rolls are held in a precise location. Corts also installed its compound-steel precision flat bearings. These compound steel elements provide a very hard corrosive surface which acts more like a bearing than a wear plate, and Corts is able to offer long term guarantees against wear and corrosion. Contact: www.corts.de

Technical innovations

Slag granulation with dewatering technology ter jets as it falls into a granulation tank. The generated steam is captured by means of a condensation tower. CSC had already been using Paul Wurth’s INBA systems on its Nos. 1 through 3 blast furnaces. Their high reliability, effective emission control and low operating and maintenance costs led CSC to also decide in favour of INBA technology for blast furnace 4. The construction of the second system is under way. The plant will start up during the first quarter of 2014, along with the completely relined blast furnace 4.

Slag granulation facilities at a blast furnace

Contact: www.paulwurth.com

© Utz Peter Greis, Düsseldorf

SPECIAL EQUIPMENT In May 2013, China Steel Corporation, Kaohsiung, Taiwan, commissioned the first of two new slag granulation systems with INBA® dewatering technology from Paul Wurth at its blast furnace No. 4. CSC installs the new systems to improve its blast furnace slag production method for the cement and construction industry. Each INBA plant will serve one of the two casthouses (with two tapholes each) and is designed for processing a maximum slag flow rate of 10 t/min. The liquid slag is granulated by wa-

Managers with different points of view looking at the worldwide steel landscape

MPT International 6/2013

59

Literature service

Induction furnace system type IFM 8 pages, English, German, Chinese, Russian, Portuguese A brochure providing information on the medium-frequency coreless induction furnace system type IFM offered by ABP Induction Systems GmbH for holding and melting of ferrous and non-ferrous metals. Designed for melting capacities of 8 to 60 t the furnace systems provide high melting rates up to 60 t/h.

www.atos.com

advanced applications

electronic controls

electrohydraulics

Contact: www.abpinduction.com E-mail: info@abpinduction.com

Digital electronic controls 16 pages, English The 2012 Atos handbook on digital controls provides basic information on electronic drivers and axis motion controllers, plus 18 digital electrohydraulic applications. The new line of digital electronic controls features efficient control of modern machines through associated proportionals.

Contact: www.atos.com E-mail: info@atos.com

Regenerative burners 8 pages, English The technical brochure highlights the principle of regenerative heating technology offered by Bloom Engineering with particular emphasis on reduction of emissions and fuel savings. The regenerative side burner series and flat flame burner series are used for customized heating technology solutions. Contact: www.bloomeng.de E-mail: info@bloomeng.de

Industrial burner installations 20 pages, English, Chinese A picture book brochure showing typical applications of the high intensity gas burners from Friedrich Ley. The mostly customized burner installations are used in foundries, iron and steel making plants, non-ferrous metal industries, chemical plants and refineries. Contact: www.fried-ley.de E-mail: ley@fried-ley.de

Industrial furnaces 8 pages, English, French, German, Spanish The company brochure provides an overview of the range of industrial furnaces offered by Heinrich GrĂźnewald Industrieofenbau, in particular bell type annealing furnaces, bogie hearth furnaces, chamber furnaces and roller hearth continuous furnaces designed for the metals industries. Contact: www.gruenewald-industrieofenbau.de E-mail: info@gruenewald-industrieofenbau.de

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MPT International 6/2013

Literature service

Coil processing solutions 4 pages, English A folder summarizing the key parameters of enhanced levelling and slitting technologies from Herr-Voss Stamco for the processing of high-strength steels. In addition, the brochure contains information about cut-to-length lines, multi-blanking lines and other technolgogies, as well as field services.

The Best Solutions Based on the Best Technologies

PRECISION CORRECTIVE LEVELERS

CUT-TO-LENGTH AND MULTI-BLANKING LINES

ELT™

SLITTING LINES

Contact: www.herr-voss.com E-mail: sales@herr-voss.com

Position sensors 8 pages, English, German A concise product brochure outlining the characteristics of the range of Temposonics series of absolute, non-contact position sensors offered by MTS Sensor Technologie. Information provided includes the key technical data and also the operating principle and the areas of application. Contact: www.mtssensor.com E-mail: info@mtssensor.de

Refractory/engineering solutions for hot blast stoves and BF linings 16 pages, English A technical brochure providing information on solutions for hot blast stoves and blast furnace linings developed by the refractory and engineering business unit of Paul Wurth. The typical fields of application are shown for hot blast stoves with external or internal combustion chamber, burners and waste gas systems. Contact: www.paulwurth.com E-mail: paulwurth@paulwurth.com

Air treatment installations and fans 12 pages, English, German The company brochure provides an overview about the range of exhaust air purification equipment, industrial fans, sulphur grinding systems and process engineering plant construction offered by Rotamill Anlagen- und Ventilatorenbau. Technical details are given for various applications in the industry. Contact: www.rotamill.de E-mail: info@rotamill.de

Mobile de-bricking technology

ENGINEERING | PRODUCTION | SERVICE

16 pages, English A brochure presenting mobile de-bricking machines supplied by TML Technik for the iron and steel industry. The product range includes telescopic excavators and booms, de-bricking, slag skimming and charging machines and taphole drilling machines used in steelmaking as well as construction and mining machines. Contact: www.tml-technik.com E-mail: info@tml-technik.com

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61

In the next issue‌ Steelmaking Production of ferritic stainless steel at VOD plants High plant productivity and long continuous casting machine sequences combined with very strict quality requirements in terms of carbon and nitrogen levels are the main targets achieved at the VOD plant of Chinese Taiyuan Iron & Steel Co. started-up recently. An optimized process technology allows for carbon and nitrogen levels lower than 150 ppm. The VOD process parameters and the preconditions for the incoming liquid steel are discussed in this article.

Material flow logistics Analysis of prevalent scrap yard layouts Raw material costs not only include the basic price of raw materials themselves, but also – often neglected but equally important – the costs for scrap purchasing and inventory management as well as for scrap yard logistics and operations, i.e. material storage and material handling. Without any doubt, the scrap storage and the material flow have a major impact on production figures and operation costs. In any case, the success of steelmaking business starts at the scrap yard.

Secondary metallurgy Vessel lifting versus ladle lifting system for typical RH plant configurations The design and the technological specifications of an RH-type circulation degassing plant are usually tailor-made for the respective steel works with sometimes very specific considerations, at least the option for later expansion. In this article the various lifting systems for RH plants are compared; the operational principles are explained with special emphasis on their pros and cons.

This preview may be subject to change.

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Plant revamp and modernization from ANDRITZ METALS

The steel industry faces ever increa-

trial plants, especially from the electrical

comprehensive knowledge of the line

sing requirements regarding energy

and automation point of view. ANDRITZ

and process technology have resulted in

efÂżciency and environmental protec-

METALS supplies complete electrical

ingenious solutions, enabling our custo-

tion as well as quality efÂżciency

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mers to produce top-level products in

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the metal industry and has many years’

terms of quality and productivity, and to

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ANDRITZ AG Eibesbrunnergasse 20 1120 Vienna, Austria Phone: +43 50805 0 Fax: +43 (1) 813 76 45 welcome@andritz.com

www.andritz.com

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