P R O C E S S I
Memorie
The EAF technology evolution
and the Consteel® system
P. Argenta, M. Bianchi Ferri
During the past 11 years, steel production by the electric arc furnace route (EAF) has grown
on a worldwide basis by 4.1%/year, while the total steel production has grown by 2.7%.
The scope of this paper is to illustrate the benefits of steel production through the Electric Arc Furnace
route, such as the lower investment costs, higher production flexibility and lower environmental impact,
and the latest developments of the EAF based melt shops with the continuous scrap charging
and pre-heating completed by hot metal charging.
Key words: steel, hot metal, steel making, environment, energy
CURRENT SITUATION newly installed capacity.
For the first time since 1992, in 2003 the percentage of EAF
As stated in the Foreword, during the past 11 years the steel steel production is raised, reaching 20%.
production by the electric arc furnace route has grown on a The growth of EAF steel production in Western countries as
worldwide basis by 4.1%/year while the total steel produc- well as in South East Asia, is justified by the following ad-
tion has grown by 2.7%. Nowadays, EAF steel represents vantages of EAF technology: lower investment cost, higher
34.2% (330 million tons) of all the steel produced in the operational flexibility and reduced environmental impact
world, whilst 11 years ago this figure was 30% (Fig.1). This growth has been obtained by updating the installations
Between 1992 and 2002, the increase in the proportion of and technologies; this target has been achieved not only by
EAF steel has been remarkable in Nafta, Europe and South- increasing furnace capacity and power consistent with the
East Asia whilst in the former Soviet Union it has slightly available electrical systems and networks, but also by im-
declined. proving their productivity through the optimisation of the
Interesting, inside the worldwide picture, is to focus on Chi- chemical process.
na, the most growing country: although in 2002 the produc- Table 1 shows how the main features of the EAF, particu-
tion of steel through the EAF route has doubled compared to larly the furnace capacity and the transformer power, have
that of ten years ago, the proportion of EAF based steel has evolved in highly industrialized countries between 1990 and
declined due to the fact that BF-BOF technology (Blast Fur- 1999.
nace – Blast Oxygen Furnace) has dominated the scene for As far as China is concerned, in the year 2000 there were
Fig. 1 – World Production of
Crude Steel and % of EAF
Steel.
Fig. 1 – Produzione mondiale
di acciaio grezzo e
percentuale di acciaio
prodotto con EAF.
Average (Europe + USA + Japan) 1990 1999 % increase
Paolo Argenta,
Mauro Bianchi Ferri Furnace Capacity (Ton / heat) 86 110 28 %
Techint Technologies, Milano (Italy)
Transformer Power (MVA) 60 80 33 %
1/2005
Paper presented
at the 2nd International Conference Furnace Productivity (Ton / hour) 61 94 54 %
on New Developments
in Metallurgical Process Technology, Table 1 – Evolution of the main features of the EAF in highly industrialized countries between 1990 and
Riva del Garda,
19-21 September 2005, 1999.
organised by AIM
Tabella 1 – Evoluzione delle principali caratteristiche dell’EAF nei paesi altamente industrializzati tra il
1990 e il 1999.
la metallurgia italiana 41
P R O C E S S I
Memorie
Fig. 2 – Production of Crude
Steel and % of EAF Steel in
NAFTA, Europe, South East
Asia, former Soviet Union
(CIS).
Fig. 2 – Produzione mondiale
di acciaio grezzo e percentuale
di acciaio prodotto con EAF
in NAFTA, Europa, Sud Est
Asia, Unione sovietica (CIS).
Fig. 3 – Production of Crude
Steel and % of EAF Steel in
China.
Fig. 3 – Produzione mondiale
di acciaio grezzo e percentuale
di acciaio prodotto con EAF
in Cina.
Fig. 4 – Consteel® system.
Fig. 4 – Il sistema Consteel®.
more than 130 Electric Arc Furnaces in operation with an
estimated average productivity of 35 ton/hour and an esti-
mated average capacity of 30 ton/heat. This figure is rapidly
growing, since the average capacity of new furnaces instal-
led between the year 2000 and the year 2003 is nearly 60
ton/heat.
From the table above it can be concluded that the producti-
vity of these electric furnaces has grown nearly twice as mu-
ch as the furnace capacity and transformer power. This has
been the result not only of improvements in the operating
procedures, but also of the massive utilisation of the chemi-
cal package.
In fact, between 1998 and 2003 there were more than 180
installations of new carbon-oxygen lances worldwide. Out
of these 180 installations, 60% was concentrated in Western
Europe and North America whilst less than 10% was con-
centrated in China.
The latest developments in EAF steelmaking, with extensi-
ve use of DRI, HBI and hot metal as raw materials, are lea- THE CONSTEEL® SYSTEM
1/2005
ding towards the installation of EAF steel plants in locations
and for applications (high quality flat steels, special grades), The Consteel® system (Figure 4) performs the continuous
previously unforeseen and more typical of BF-BOF steel- charging of scrap in the EAF by means of a conveying sy-
making. stem that connects the scrap yard to the EAF.
These developments will also contribute to the future With the Consteel® system, scrap is loaded onto conveyors
growth of EAF steelmaking. by the scrap yard cranes. Then the conveyors move the
42 la metallurgia italiana
P R O C E S S I
Memorie
Fig. 5 – Scrap preheating effect. Fig. 6 – Consteel® heat cycle.
Fig. 5 – Gli effetti del riscaldamento del preridotto. Fig. 6 – Ciclo di colata del Consteel®.
scrap, and the conveying surface oscillates forward slowly between 80 and 120 kWh per ton of liquid steel tapped. The-
and backward faster. This movement allows the scrap to mo- se values are confirmed by the experience from existing
ve together with the conveyor during the forward stroke, Consteel® installations.
while the scrap slides over the surface when the conveyor
oscillates back. The end result is the movement of the scrap The Continuous Charging
towards the furnace. Charging continuously means to distribute the scrap charge
Before reaching the furnace the scrap enters the preheating sec- along the whole power-on period. The buckets are not used,
tion, in this area the scrap is heated-up by the hot gases exiting and the conveyor feeds the scrap from the yard directly into
the EAF that are moving in the direction opposite to the scrap. the EAF. The EAF roof is always closed and the gas suction
In the preheating section the carbon monoxide in the exhau- is constantly performed from the primary circuit, not by the
st gas is oxidized by an automatically controlled injection of canopies of the secondary circuit. In the furnace the scrap
air, allowing more energy to be recovered by the system. melts by immersion and the electric arc is working on flat
During the continuous feeding operations the steel bath in bath covered by the foamy slag.
the EAF is kept constantly liquid and the scrap entering the The EAF control system adjusts automatically the con-
furnace is melted by immersion. The electric arc is working veying speed to maintain the steel bath at the target tempera-
on a liquid bath, not on solid scrap. In this situation the arc is ture and controls the oxygen and carbon injection to main-
stable and it is not affected by the presence of solids like in tain the proper foamy slag.
the case of batch charges (with or without preheating). Figure 6 shows the typical working diagram for an EAF
Currently the Consteel® system is in operation in sixteen equipped with the Consteel® system.
melt shops (in start-up order): Ameristeel (Charlotte, USA), These characteristics give the Consteel® substantial advan-
Nucor (Darlington, USA), Kyoei (Nagoya, Japan), CoSteel tages in terms of operational savings and environmental im-
(Sayreville, USA), NSM (Bowin, Thailand), ORI Martin pact reductions. The operational characteristics of Consteel®
(Brescia, Italy), Xining (China), Guiyang (China), Ameri- bring to a working environment less noise, less dust and no
steel (Knoxville, USA), Nucor (Hertford, USA), Shaoguan bucket charge operations. The steel in the furnace is in a bet-
(China), Wuxi (China), Shiheng (China), E’cheng (China), ter metallurgical equilibrium, thus less likely to generate
Tonghua (China) and Wheeling Pitt (USA). violent reactions.
Three new plants are under design/construction phase, na- Furnace water-cooled sidewalls, roof and lances do not have
mely: Hengly in China, Jiaxing in China and Sonasid in Mo- leakage problems caused by arcing or scrap impacts, mini-
rocco. mising the risk of water in the furnace. All of this contribu-
There are two main characteristics that make the Consteel® tes to create a safer and more comfortable working environ-
system different from most of the other technologies availa- ment compared to the typical standards of the steel industry.
ble for melting scrap in the EAF: the preheating and the con-
tinuous charging. Consteel® Benchmark Values
The preheating is important to save energy, but the conti- The values shown in table 2 can be considered typical for a
nuous charging has shown more benefits for the users in Consteel® installation with all the improvements that were
terms of: achieved thanks to a continuous collaboration between Te-
• Fast payback chint and the equipment operators.
• Low production costs The values should be considered referring to a proper opera-
• High productivity tion and maintenance of the equipment.
• Flexibility
• Reduced environmental impact Consumptions and manpower
• Personnel safety. The values shown in table 3 refer to the ton of liquid steel
tapped and their uncertainty is basically due to the steel gra-
The Charge Preheating de to be produced and the charge mix (we do not consider
Preheating the charge is very helpful to reduce the energy any use of DRI, HBI or hot metal).
consumption of the EAF.
1/2005
Figure 5 shows the energy savings (in kWh/t) that can be
obtained as a function of the preheating temperature and the THE HOT METAL CHARGING
melting efficiency.
Assuming an average preheating temperature between 400 The problems of scrap shortage and insufficient electrical
and 600 degrees Centigrade and an overall melting effi- systems can be best overcome through the implementation
ciency between 70 and 80%, we read energy savings of mixed BF-EAF installations. In fact, several integrated
la metallurgia italiana 43
P R O C E S S I
Memorie
Productivity
Ratio between power-on and tap-to-tap time Between 90% and 95% (power-off only during tapping)
Productivity per MW available 2,5 t/h/MW
Plant availability (not including planned maintenance) More than 98% of the time available
Metallic charge
Charge dimensions All the EAF ready charge and bigger (up to 2 m)
Charge density No limits. Down to an average density as low as 0,3-0,4 t/m3 there is no im-
pact on productivity
Charge yield 1-2% higher compared to a batch charged furnace
Other charges DRI, HBI, solid and liquid pig iron
Table 2 – Typical values for a Consteel® installation. Tabella 2 – Valori tipici di un impianto Consteel®.
Electrical energy 325-350 kWh/t
Oxygen 20-40 Nm3/t
Carbon 5-25 kg/t
Natural gas (including post-combustion) Not used
Electrodes 1,0-1,5 kg/t for AC EAF
0,9-1,1 kg/t for DC EAF
Refractories Consumption reduction by 40-60% compared to a batch charged furnace
Manpower for operations/maintenance Reduction by 2/3 man/shift compared to a batch charged furnace
Metallurgical results
Steel oxidation Lower compared to a batch charged furnace
Nitrogen in the steel Lower compared to a batch charged furnace
Hydrogen in the steel Lower compared to a batch charged furnace
Gas cleaning system
Primary gases Flow rate reduced by 20-30% compared to a batch charged furnace
Secondary gases Constant flow rate, equal to half of what required by an equivalent batch char-
ged furnace during the bucket charge
Dust to be disposed Reduced by 30-40% compared to a batch charged furnace
Dust in the working floor Very low
Fumes from the EAF in the working floor Very low
Maintenance
Plant availability (excluding planned maintenance) More than 98% of the time available
Maintenance expenses (planned and unplanned) Less than a batch-charged furnace
Impact on power lines
Flicker Reduced by 60-70% compared to the batch-charged furnace
Harmonics Reduced by 60-70% compared to the batch-charged furnace
Environmental impact
Noise Always below 95 dBA 10 m away from the slag door. Average during melting
below 90 dBA
Radioactivity control High accuracy additional control (in addition to the gate control)
Equivalent tons of CO2 released Reduced by 10-30% compared to a batch-charged furnace
Dioxins, CO and NOx emissions In accordance with German and Japanese regulations
Table 3 – Values referring to ton of liquid steel tapped. Tabella 3 – Valori riferiti a tonnellate di acciaio liquido spillato.
plants around the world are nowadays evaluating the possi- ding the pig iron in a continuous fashion seems to be the
bility to shut down one (or more) blast furnace(s) and make most efficient way to achieve the maximum benefits in
up part of the production via the EAF route. Charging hot terms of operational safety, chemical control (with effect on
metal into the EAF can be of benefit to operations; by brin- tap-to-tap time) and foamy slag practice (with effect on
ging thermal energy into the EAF, it reduces energy con- energy consumption).
sumption and increases productivity. As of today there are in the world several examples of char-
1/2005
The experience of several years has shown that to charge hot ging of hot metal in the EAF. However, the latest realiza-
metal into a traditional top-charged EAF is made difficult by tions have been based on the Consteel® feeding and prehea-
the risk of a strong reaction in the bath. This problem is rela- ting system.
ted to the interaction between oxygen (in the steel and from In fact, amongst the sixteen operating Consteel® plants in
the lance) and carbon (in the steel, in the hot metal and from the world, six are using hot metal charge: Shaoguan, E’-
the lance). Controlling the carbon content in the bath by fee- cheng, Shiheng, Tonghua, Wuxi and Wheeling Pitt.
44 la metallurgia italiana
P R O C E S S I
Memorie
Fig. 7 – Scrap charge on a batch-type top-charged furnace and on
Consteel® system.
Fig. 7 – Carica di rottame su un forno tradizionale con
caricamento dall’alto e sul sistema Consteel®.
Fig. 8 – Shaoguan furnace. Fig. 9 – Hot metal charging concept – plan view.
Fig. 8 – Il forno di Shaoguan. Fig. 9 – Caricamento di ghisa liquida – vista in pianta.
During Consteel® operations it is possible to charge the hot This plant, featuring a 90 ton EAF fed via Consteel®, is able
metal in a controlled fashion to achieve a control over the to charge liquid pig iron from a 60 ton ladle fed from the tor-
carbon level in the bath. The scrap is loaded on to the con- pedo car. A single ladle is used for two consecutive heats.
veying system and travels toward the furnace. In the last The Pig Iron is fed from a sidewall runner (refractory lined)
conveyor section, the scrap enters the preheating tunnel, in during the whole heat; the feeding speed is automatically
which gases leaving the furnace flow over the metallic char- controlled to ensure reliable and safe operations.
ge. Chemical and sensible heat in the gases is transferred to Only the initial ladle tilting is performed by the EAF opera-
the charge in a manner similar to that of a counter flow heat tor manually until the hot metal starts flowing in the si-
exchanger. dewall runner, this operation ensures speed (fast tilting in
An important feature is that there is never any solid scrap the first phase) and safety (the operator is forced to follow
present in the furnace. Melting takes place with the electro- closely the initial, and most delicate, pouring phase).
des always working on a flat bath. The scrap is not heated by Figure 8 shows the tapping area and the hot metal feeding
the arc but by the pool of liquid steel in the vessel. Thus the device.
process is quite different from the operation of a batch-type While Fig. 9 shows the layout of basic concept:
top-charged furnace, as represented in figure 7. - The hot metal is fed via a refractory-lined runner.
The continuous feeding concept, in which the bath is always - The feeding point is located in the area of the furnace
in a liquid condition, is ideal to achieve a quick dissolution away from the feeding area of the Consteel® where also
of the carbon charged with the hot metal. By keeping the the water-cooled oxygen lance is located.
carbon level between 0,15 and 0,25%, the foamy slag practi- - The oxygen lance helps to increase the heat load and the
ce is optimised and the oxygen/carbon reactions in the bath steel bath stirring action in the area where the scrap is fal-
are avoided, thus achieving more energy efficient opera- ling, thus increasing the melting rate of the incoming solid
tions, fewer problems for the equipment and safer operation scrap.
for the personnel. Figure 10 shows a section of the furnace.
Thanks to its characteristics this process is the most suitable This type of design makes possible to process a heat with
to get the economical benefits of the hot metal charge and different charge mixes:
several plants have been able to take advantage of it. In this - up to 40% hot metal fed via side-wall runner, solid charge
regard, the Shaoguan plant in China is a very illustrative for the remaining percentage (scrap, DRI, HBI or pig iron)
example. fed via Consteel®
- 100% solid charge (scrap, DRI, HBI or pig iron) via Con-
1/2005
steel®.
THE SHAOGUAN EAF-CONSTEEL® CASE The EAF is also designed to operate by bucket charge.
The plant The achieved performances
In December 2000 the Shaoguan Plant in the Guangdong Since the starting of December 2000, Shaoguan plants has
Province has been commissioned. been working at full capacity, after only six months the tar-
la metallurgia italiana 45
P R O C E S S I
Memorie
Fig. 10 – Hot metal charging concept – side view.
Fig. 10 – Caricamento di ghisa liquida – vista laterale.
get of performances where already achieved.
The figure 11 shows the results obtained by the Shaoguan
plant during the first months of year 2002. In the picture are
shown the Chinese and English documents signed by Shao-
guan’s management.
Noticeable are the 260 kWh/t of electrical energy, obtained
with 30% of hot metal charging.
Beside the outstanding results in terms of overall consump-
tions, it is worth to underline the low nitrogen content in the Fig. 12 – Article published on “China Metallurgical News” (April
tapped steel that can allow the production of high quality 24, 2002).
steels. Fig. 12 – Articolo pubblicato sul “China Metallurgical News” (24
Figure 12 refers to an article that was published on the Chi- Aprile 2002).
nese newspaper “China Metallurgical News” (April 24,
2002) about the successful plant operations.
Among the other plants data, the best results reported on the THE WHEELING PITTSBURGH CONSTEEL®-EAF
article are 31 heats/day and 250 kWh/t.
The plant is today running consistently after more than 3 Another very illustrative example is the Wheeling Pittsbur-
years from the start-up and showing great reliability of the gh project, in the USA, where once again the trend towards
EAF plus Consteel® system, 31 heats per day is a frequently the utilisation of EAF technology with hot charge is confir-
reached days target. med. In effect, Wheeling Pittsburgh will feature the biggest
It is worth to underline that more than ninety percent of the Consteel®-EAFs ever built (225 ton of tapping size) cou-
heats produced by the Consteel® EAF are utilizing the hot pled with the charge of hot metal, as developed and tested
metal charge. by Techint together with its Chinese customers.
Fig. 11 – Average of Shaoguan
1/2005
performances as stated by
from Shaoguan plant.
Fig. 11 – Media delle
performances di Shaoguan
dichiarate ufficialmente da
Shaoguan.
46 la metallurgia italiana
P R O C E S S I
Wheeling Pittsburgh executives have decided to shut down
Memorie
CONCLUSIONS
their blast furnace n.1, which had been due to undergo major
relining/revamping work, and to switch into an EAF-based During the last decade the EAF steel production route has
shop. Wheeling Pittsburgh operations will benefit from the shown a higher growth compared to the blast furnace route.
higher energy efficiency and the flexibility added by the The EAF worldwide production is increasing its share and is
new melting unit. In fact, its president and CEO, James moving toward high value-added products, these products
Bradley, declared in an interview to Steel News that the require a better control over the tramp elements that cannot
newly-added flexibility will enable the company to run effi- be achieved without a virgin source of iron. DRI, HBI, pig
ciently in both good and lean times for the steel industry. iron and hot metal are such sources. Among these the hot
The main operating data of the new Wheeling Pittsburgh metal, when available, is the one that can allow a substantial
meltshop are: i) EAF tapping size of 225 ton, ii) Transfor- reduction of the production cost and an increase of the plant
mer of 140 MVA, iii) Productivity from 225 ton/h (100% productivity.
scrap) to 295 ton/h and iv) Raw materials: hot metal, scrap, In the current scenario, the characteristics of the Consteel®
pig iron, DRI and HBI. process make possible the utilization of hot metal in the
The start-up of the plant, which is the highest ranking pro- EAF without the typical problems related to this type of
ductivity EAF with its 300 ton/hour productivity design, practice. Under normal conditions, up to fifty percent of hot
was started up on November 28th 2004. metal can be charged in the EAF.
A B S T R A C T
L’EVOLUZIONTE TECNOLOGICA DEL FORNO AD ARCO Il Consteel® ha aiutato lo sviluppo delle acciaierie basate
E IL SISTEMA CONSTEEL® sull’EAF che utilizzano il metallo liquido nel mix di carica.
Attualmente cinque sui 16 impianti nel mondo operanti con
PAROLE CHIAVE: sistema Consteel ® stanno utilizzando il metallo liquido
acciaio, ghisa, siderurgia, ecologia, energia (Shaoguan, E’cheng, Shi Heng, Tonghua e Wuxi, tutte situa-
te in Cina) e altri due impianti entreranno in produzione en-
Negli ultimi dieci anni la produzione di acciaio tramite EAF tro la fine del 2004 (Hengli in Cina e Wheeling Pittsburgh in
è aumentata del 3,7% rispetto al 2,3% della produzione glo-
USA).
bale di acciaio. Attualmente l’acciaio proveniente dagli im-
pianti EAF ha una quota del 34% (305 milioni di tonnellate) La carica di ghisa liquida con Conteel® riduce i consumi di
della produzione totale paragonata al 30% di 10 anni fa. energia e di materie prime e incrementa la produttività.
La crescita nella produzione di acciaio con EAF è spiegata L’impatto ambientale è ridotto al minimo con la tecnologia
dai vantaggi di questa tecnologia: meno costi di investimen- Consteel®.
to, alta flessibilità di produzione e basso impatto ambienta- Il più grande EAF esistente (225 tonnellate spillate), Whee-
le. ling Pittsburgh in USA, utilizzerà la tecnologia Consteel®
1/2005
Questo evento ha causato un cambiamento delle condizioni unita alla carica di metallo liquido (sviluppato da Techint
del mercato del rottame. sugli impianti cinesi).
I produttori stanno cercando una più alta flessibilità nelle Queste caratteristiche garantiranno una capacità di produ-
materie prime che possono essere caricate nell’EAF in al- zione superiore ai 2 milioni di tonnellate da un singolo EAF
ternativa al rottame come ad esempio: ghisa (solida e liqui- dove sarà possibile caricare ghisa (solida e liquida), DRI e
da), DRI e HBI. HBI.
la metallurgia italiana 47