ELECTRIC-ARC FURNACE STEELMAKING

The new compact steelmaking plant at Suez Steel

A 600,000 t/y plant with state-of-the-art steelmaking and continuous casting facilities was started up in March 2000 by VAI at Adabia in Egypt for the production of billets. The plant incorporates new technology and is designed for the production of high-quality billets for both domestic and international markets. Contractual guarantees were exceeded during the performance tests of the finger shaft furnace and the five-strand billet caster. A total of 5600 tonnes of billets were cast in 64 hours, corresponding to a casting speed of more than 4.3 m/min. Martin Hiebler and Erich Pollak VOEST-ALPINE Industrieanlagenbau GmbH & Co On 5 July 1997, the Suez Steel Company S.A.E. (Suez Steel) of the Arab Republic of Egypt and VOESTALPINE Industrieanlagenbau (VAI) of Austria signed a contract for the turnkey supply of a steelmaking plant which was built at Adabia on the Gulf of Suez, about 160 km south-east of Cairo. Designed in accordance with the latest technology and automation for steelmaking plants, VAIs scope of supply and services included the provision of a finger shaft furnace, ladle furnace, five-strand billet caster, dedusting and watertreatment plants, and an oxygen plant as well as integration facilities and civil works. VAI was responsible for the start-up and commissioning of the plant and also for the training of employees. Civil works commenced in June 1998 and the first column of the main building was erected in September of that year. Mechanical and electrical installation work was started in 1999 in January and March respectively. Approximately 5000 t of steel structure, 7000 t of equipment, and 35000 m3 of roofing and wall cladding were installed. Assembly, installation and hot testing of equipment commenced on 12 February 2000, and the steelmaking plant was started up on 4 March 2000. The Suez Steel mini-mill is characterized by a strategy of utmost cost-efficiency and maximum flexibility in the use of scrap and direct reduced iron as charge materials, and a plant design that is both compact and seamless. The plant is easy to operate and maintain, and meets all safety and environmental regulations. Roughly 250 people are employed at the plant in Adabia, which provides the basis for the prosperity and welfare of workers and their families. The process route of steelmaking and casting is outlined in Figure 1 with the layout of facilities including dedusting facilities and scrapyard shown in Figure 2. The compact U-shaped layout is intended to optimize logistics and in particular to minimize transportation times. The scope of supply (not shown in the layout) includes stockyards, maintenance shops, oxygen plant as well as the transformer building. Suez Steel is now in a position to produce billets at the rate of 88111 t/h mainly structural steel grades St 37, St 52 and St 60. The steelmaking plant Designed for an annual production capacity of 600,000 t of billets, the plant can operate with a 100% scrap

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q Figure 1 Steelmaking process route

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charge or a mixture of scrap and direct reduced iron (DRI/HBI). The centrepiece is a 95-t AC finger-shaft furnace (Figures 3 & 4) supplied by FUCHS, a daughter company of VAI, which is the parent companys centre of competence in electric-arc steelmaking. The main design features of this furnace are: diameter, 6.1 m; transformer, 80 MVA; electrode diameter, 610 mm; voltage range, 580-910 V; oxygen/gas burners, 6 x 3.5 MW; oxygen/ carbon lances, 2 x 2000 Nm3/h; lime-injection system, 100300 kg/min; and facilities for round bottom tapping. Finger shaft furnace The fingers in the furnace shaft are used to preheat the scrap component of the charge. With the fingers in the closed position, the scrap for the next heat is suspended within the furnace shaft and is heated by the offgas evolved during the current heat. The fingers are fully water-cooled and are supported by special shock absorbers. The furnace has current-conducting electrode arms plated with copper in the area of the main current flow. These arms are internally water-cooled and can be moved independently of the roof. The watercooled roof includes the necessary cooling panels, piping, sensors and socket for lime/alloy additions. Oxygen and carbon are injected into the steel bath using a water-cooled lance positioned outside the furnace. This promotes the formation of a foamy slag to minimize radiation losses, protect the side-wall panels and increase thermal input efficiency. Carbon is also injected into the bath using a submerged tuyere. This additionally supports the melting of the DRI that is continuously charged into the furnace. Injection promotes post-combustion and enables the carbon content of the steel to be adjusted more exactly. An analyzer determines the contents of carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and oxygen in the offgas to control the rate of post-combustion. Natural gas is injected simultaneously through the outer ring of the tuyere and cracks as it enters the steel bath. The resultant cooling effect freezes the steel surrounding the tuyere, the so-called mushroom effect, forming a protective layer that shields the tuyere and refractory lining. By this means, it is possible to limit tuyere wear to below 0.5 mm per heat. The composition and temperature of the melt are homogenized by blowing inert gas into the steel bath through porous refractory bricks in the furnace hearth. Six oxygen/gas jet burners (each 3 MW) are used for a period of about 510 minutes at the start of operations to accelerate the melting process (Figure 5). Two other burners (each 4.5 MW) in the vessel hood ensure that volatile organic components in the offgas are completely combusted. Offgas exits from the shaft through the movable collecting hood above the shaft and is transported to a drop-out box

q Figure 2 Layout of the melt shop

that functions as a dust collector. The entire shaft is mounted on a travelling frame so that it can be moved for maintenance purposes. Process cycle The unique design and process features of the FUCHS finger-shaft furnace not only drastically reduce energy costs but also allow the worlds shortest tap-to-tap times to be achieved in electric-arc steelmaking. With charges of 100% scrap and full optimization of operational practices, heat cycle times as short as 30 mins are possible, as demonstrated at Stahl Gerlafingen AG in Switzerland, and approach those of conventional oxygen steelmaking processes. This feature guarantees maximum productivity. A brief description of a typical process cycle provides an insight into the reasons for this superior performance. The first batch of scrap is charged into the shaft on to the closed fingers prior to the tapping of the ongoing heat and is preheated by the ascending offgas to an average temperature of about 700C. Following tapping, the fingers are opened and the scrap drops into the furnace vessel. The second batch of scrap is then immediately charged into the shaft with the fingers in the open position. The melting process is then started by activating the electrodes and burners. DRI is added continuously once melting begins. As soon as the scrap has melted sufficiently, the fingers are closed and the scrap for the next heat is charged into the shaft. The preheating/melting cycle then begins again. Figure 6 shows the process cycle of a finger shaft furnace using a charge of 100% scrap. Process automation Level 1 automation ensures the efficiency and reliability of production operations. User-friendly operator screens with animated displays facilitate the control of all main furnace functions. Consecutive operations, such as furnace preparation or scrap charging, can be combined into

ELECTRIC-ARC FURNACE STEELMAKING

q Figure 3 The FUCHS 95-t AC finger shaft furnace at Suez Steel

q Figure 4 The platform of the finger shaft furnace

a one-button command. Trend displays of main process parameters and specific consumption figures provide an overview of furnace conditions and this contributes significantly to greater operational safety. Programmes for automatic melting are adapted to individual charge mixtures, enabling reproducible and consistent standards of process control. Finetuning of set points allows experienced operators to optimize melting sequences and maximize production economy. Heat reports can be statistically evaluated using the process computer. Ladle furnace The liquid steel is transferred to the ladle furnace for temperature and compositional adjustments (Figure 7). The unit is equipped with a water-cooled roof with openings for the stirring lance, and for alloy additions and wire feeding. The transformer used is rated at 15 MVA and the heating rate is 4C/min. Dedusting system Offgases extracted from the shaft of the steelmaking furnace and from the roof

hole of the ladle furnace are cleaned using a bag filter system. A canopy hood in the roof structure collects the dust and fumes escaping through openings in the furnace roof during melting operations as well as during charging and tapping. The air extracted from the canopy hood is used to cool the offgas from the furnace prior to the dedusting operation. Filter bags are cleaned periodically using a pneumatic system and the dust is transported by chain conveyors to a collection container. Extraction is by radial fans located downstream from the filter plant. The billet caster The continuous casting machine that was supplied to Suez Steel has five strands and is designed to enable a sixth strand to be installed in the future. The machine incorporates VAIs latest design concepts for high-speed casting and is characterized by its fit-foruse equipment of sturdy and rigid design to minimize production and maintenance costs (see Table 1). Casting speeds of up 5.3 m/min for 100 x 100 mm formats are possible using the VAI DIAMOLD technology. Billet sizes range from 100 x 100 mm to 150 x 150 mm at strand lengths of between 3 m and 12 m. Figure 8 shows the caster layout and the billet runout area is illustrated in Figure 9. Some key aspects of the caster equipment are outlined in the following paragraphs. Ladle turret The ladle turret is of the double-fork arm design, each fork capable of accommodating a maximum ladle weight of 170 t. Tundish The tundish is T-shaped in design with inclined walls and a cover to minimize temperature loss during casting; the maximum bath level is 750 mm. The tundish car is of the cantilever type with a

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q Figure 5 The EAF jet burners in operation

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q Figure 7 The ladle furnace q Figure 6 Steelmaking process cycle q Table 1 Main data of the billet caster Machine type Ladle size Casting mode Casting radius Strand centre distance Casting speeds: 100 x 100 mm 130 x 130 mm 150 x 150 mm Metallurgical length VAI-BC-9/5/R 95 t open stream /sequence casting 9m 1100 mm 5.3 m/min 4.3 m/min 3.6 m/min 29 m

q Figure 8 The five-strand billet caster

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load capacity of approximately 47 t and is equipped with a lifting mechanism to allow shroud casting to be used in the future. DIAMOLD mould High-speed billet casting is enabled by the use of specially designed DIAMOLD moulds. In comparison with conventional mould designs, strand-casting speeds can be increased by more than 50% depending on the steel grade and strand format. The copper mould tube features a unique, highly tapered geometry with open corner areas in the lower part of the mould (Figure 10). Rapid and homogeneous shell growth is assured due to the uniformity of heat transfer from the strand shell to the copper mould at accelerated casting speeds. The open corner areas in the mould exit zone

q Figure 9 Caster runout area

reduce frictional forces and contribute to improved strand surface quality. The lifetimes of DIAMOLD moulds at Suez Steel typically exceed 500 heats. Oscillation frequency is adjustable between 30 and 250 strokes/min and the oscillating stroke can be adjusted up to 18 mm. Strand withdrawal and straightening The curved strand (constant 9 m radius) is bent to the

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Performance indicators

Units

Tapping weight Tap-tap time Electrical energy Oxygen consumption Natural gas consumption Electrode consumption Metallic yield

t min kWh/tliq Nm3/t Nm3/t kg/t %

Charge mix: Ratio of scrap and DRI/HBI 100/0 50/50 20/80 Target Achieved Target Achieved Target Achieved 95 101 95 97 95 97.9 50 49 60 52 63 63 310 316 440 436 540 536 37 28 27 23 26.5 21.5 7 6.9 4 3.4 4 1.4 1.5 0.95 1.7 1.54 1.8 1.23 92 96.4 90.4 90.5 88.2 88

q Table 2 Results of EAF performance tests

q Figure 10 DIAMOLD tube geometry

Plant start-up and operational results Beginning with the tapping of the first heat on 12 February 2000, about 1600 heats were produced by the end of that year, equivalent to more than 150,000 t of billets (Figure 11). As planned, the bulk of the steel produced consisted of St52 and St60 grades, with a few St37 grade heats. Three major interruptions occurred during the start-up period which were due to the non-availability of consumables or scrap. But even when there was no scrap available the furnace was able to operate efficiently using a 100% charge of DRI. Performance tests commenced in September 2000 and the results are shown in Table 2. All systems and equipment, from scrap and alloy handling to process automation, functioned effectively. Furnace heats exceeded the guaranteed tapping weight of 95 t, and tap-to-tap times satisfied contractual specifications for various scrap/DRI charging ratios, ranging from 100% scrap to 20% scrap and 80% DRI. Caster performance guarantees were also exceeded during these tests with the casting of 5600 t of billets within a period of 64 hours, corresponding to a casting speed of more than 4.3 m/min. Specific consumption figures were below or within the tolerance range of the guaranteed figures. Particularly noteworthy was the specific electrode consumption of only 0.95 kg achieved with 100% scrap charging. Concluding remarks What was once barren land at Adabia is now a major industrial complex crowned by the name Suez Steel. Beginning with a vision, a completely new steel works was planned, built and started up in an area without an infrastructure. The successful completion of this challenging project represents a major milestone in the industrial development of the Arab Republic of Egypt. As the most modern steel plant in the country, considerable demands are placed on the quality and skill of personnel. Therefore, a comprehensive training programme was implemented for operational and maintenance employees. Following start-up, the highly motivated personnel went from one monthly production record to the next. A record rate of nine heats per shift was achieved during the commissioning phase with up to 24 heats produced in one day. VAI has now completed contractual work at Suez Steel. The Preliminary Acceptance Certificate was received on 9 January 2001 and the plant is now in the hands of its owners and operators. Martin Hiebler is Product Manager, Steelmaking Technology, and Erich Pollak is Project Manager, Continuous Casting Technology at VOEST-ALPINE Industrieanlagenbau GmbH & Co in Linz, Austria.

q Figure 11 Start-up curve of the electric-arc furnace

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horizontal position in accordance with the VAI concept of continuous straightening. Cutting and cooling of billets The hydraulic diagonal shear has a maximum cutting force of 380 t. The unit consists of a fixed frame, shear cutting carriage, cutting cylinder and pinch roll. After cutting, the billets are transferred from the run-out roller table to the turnover cooling bed. Automation The system is designed for the automatic start of casting, supervision of the level of steel in both tundish and mould, and regulation of the 4-zone secondary cooling system.