ALUMINIUM INJECTION TECHNOLOGY SUCCESSFULLY COMMISSIONED AT BGH EDELSTAHL SIEGEN (GERMANY) EAF FOR STAINLESS STEEL PRODUCTION.
18th February 2010: Since 2006, BGH Edelstahl Siegen GmbH (Germany) has consistently strived and pursued improvement of the 42 ton electric arc furnace by making use of burner technology and solid material injection in collaboration with MORE srl (Gemona del Friuli, Italy). The meltshop is capable of producing 160.000 tons/year and is equipped with LF, AOD, VD processes used in the production of high chromium steels, stainless steels, acid and heat resistant steels.
In addition to the existing MODULE chemical energy package for oxygen, natural gas, carbon, lime and dololime requirements, since July 2009 the EAF has been equipped with an aluminium fines fix injection technology for the production of stainless steel grades.
The equipment, supplied by MORE srl, consisted on a specially assigned pressure vessel to manage the aluminium fines requirements and the installation of a HI_JET injector on the left side of the slag door with a maximum flow rate of 100 kg/min. The patented HI_JET injector has a central injection pipe shrouded by an annular supersonic oxygen stream that accelerate the injected material up to sonic velocity, this technique allows full penetration of the solid material through the slag into the steel bath.
The pneumatic injection of aluminium supports the metallurgical process by reducing the chromium oxide from the slag during the stainless steel production. The operating result shows a higher chrome recovery from the slag, obtained with aluminium injection, than with ferro-silicon practice. In addition, the aluminium is used for the super heating of the charge in several steps with a coherent oxygen jet blown into the slag. Through this exothermal reaction, power-on time and electrical energy's consumption are going to be reduced.
This new application at BGH Siegen reinforces MORE's leadership to serve the electric arc steel making industry with innovative and reliable technology. At present, MORE has a scorecard of 350 solid materials pneumatic transportation/injection systems worldwide in operation or under manufacturing.