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[Planning_Innovative products and technologies] In the era of carbon neutrality, what is the right way to use the furnace?
admin 2024-08-22 13:41:01
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Hydrogen-Based Steelmaking: The Long Road Ahead

Carbon-Based Steelmaking for High-Grade Steel is Still Inevitable

Carbon Reduction Hinges on Converter Scrap Metal Usage

Hyundai Steel's Torpedo Car Insulation at Dangjin Plant Draws Attention

 

As the global steel industry accelerates its shift toward low-carbon production, South Korea is also intensifying efforts to restructure its business models to reduce carbon emissions.

 

Hydrogen-based steelmaking is identified as the most promising technology for carbon neutrality in the steel industry, yet it is still in its infancy.

 

The electric arc furnace process, which uses low-carbon scrap metal to produce molten steel, can reduce carbon emissions by up to 75% compared to blast furnaces, making it one of the most efficient carbon reduction alternatives.

 

However, due to impurity issues, this method still has limitations in applying to high-grade steel, suggesting that traditional carbon-based steelmaking methods will remain indispensable for the foreseeable future.

 

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To achieve both carbon reduction and high-quality steel production during the transitional period before hydrogen-based steelmaking becomes viable, the most practical solution is to increase the use of scrap metal in converters.

 

At integrated steel mills, the production process typically involves 'blast furnace ironmaking → torpedo car (TLC, torpedo ladle car) transport → converter steelmaking → continuous casting → rolling.‘

 

The key to carbon reduction is increasing the use of low-carbon scrap metal instead of molten iron in converter steelmaking. The challenge is that increasing scrap usage requires sufficient heat, but heat loss during the torpedo car transport process limits the expansion of scrap usage.

 

A torpedo car, which transports molten iron directly from the blast furnace to the converter, typically sees the temperature of molten iron drop from about 1,500°C at production to below 1,300°C due to heat dissipation during the transfer process.

 

If heat loss during the transfer process can be prevented, thermal efficiency would improve, allowing for more significant scrap metal usage and thus enhancing carbon reduction.

 

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Torpedo Car Insulation

 

To achieve both environmental sustainability and economic efficiency, global steelmakers such as ArcelorMittal, Tata Steel, and BlueScope Steel have already adopted insulation materials in the refractory linings of their torpedo cars. In South Korea, Hyundai Steel has been using such insulation since 2020, making it the first in the industry to do so.

 

Hyundai Steel's Dangjin Works began insulating the inner linings of torpedo cars in February 2020, and by March of the same year, it started full-scale operations. Through gradual verification of equipment stability, the company currently operates over 30 out of 50 torpedo cars with insulation applied.

 

Traditional torpedo cars focused only on equipment stability, with little consideration for heat loss prevention through insulation. To address this, Hyundai Steel designed the torpedo car with high-refractoriness materials where the molten iron contacts the lining and with highly-insulating refractory materials in outer areas with less contact. This design effectively minimized heat loss.

 

According to Hyundai Steel, heat dissipation was reduced by nearly 20% after applying insulation to the torpedo cars. Considering that a typical temperature drop of about 200°C occurs during the transfer process, the insulation can reduce this heat loss to an estimated 40°C.

 

 

Given that a 20°C increase in molten iron temperature allows for a 2-3% increase in scrap metal input, the insulation could boost scrap usage by at least 5%. Moreover, the insulation reduced the torpedo car’s steel shell temperature by up to 30°C, with no significant impact on maintenance intervals.

 

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Insulation Applied to Torpedo Cars

 

As improved thermal efficiency increasingly leads to both economic benefits and carbon emission control, attention is turning to services that monitor high-temperature and high-pressure equipment using big data and artificial intelligence (AI).

 

In South Korea, the startup Exello has developed and commercialized a solution that extracts and analyzes real-time data from steelmaking equipment, making it the first in the world to do so.

 

EXCELLO, a Heat DX (Digital Transformation) specialist, possesses technology that can extract data in real-time from high-temperature environments and perform deep learning-based analysis.

 

Traditional refractory management relied on workers’ visual inspection and experience, driving demand for digital transformation (DX).

 

In June, EXCELLO signed a collaboration agreement with POSCO FUTURE M to jointly develop a smart refractory management solution that combines engineering expertise with Heat DX technology. Both companies plan to collaborate on research and development (R&D) and global marketing.

 

Exello has also announced the application of its smart ladle system to a Japanese steelmaker and plans to expand into the U.S., European, and other global markets.

 

Exello’s CEO, Sebastian Park, stated, "The success of this system's implementation is an important case that demonstrates the excellence of our high-temperature environment data analysis technology. We will continue to contribute to improving equipment safety and efficiency in various industries, along with the steel industry's smart factory transformation."

 

Source: http://www.snmnews.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=539196

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