The market share of the Metallurgy Division of AUMUND Fo¨rdertechnik GmbH is growing. A new specialized conveyor for HDRI (hot direct reduced iron), a 116m-long BZB-H-I 900/400 designed for a capacity of 323tph (tonnes per hour) hot DRI at 750 °C, has just been supplied to Tosyali’s new steel plant in Algeria.
The decisive factor in the award of the order to AUMUND Fo¨rdertechnik was the technical solution. AUMUND is putting its patented bucket conveyor into operation in Algeria. The improved sealing of this conveyor protects the material from environmental influences; the inert system prevents the re-oxidization of the highly reactive bulk material and permits the transportation of the DRI without great losses in the level of metallization.
“In order to produce the same amount of steel, a far smaller energy input into the electric arc furnace is required. Therefore the tap-to-tap cycles are reduced and productivity can increase by up to 20%”, explains AUMUND Project Manager, Christian Niedzwiedz.
The AUMUND specialized conveyor for HDRI will be used as the connection between the Midrex shaft furnace and an electric arc furnace.
Tosyali is currently building the world’s largest DRI plant, located in Bethioua, Algeria, with Midrex technology. The new direct reduction plant will have a production capacity of 2.5mt (million tonnes) of DRI and have the option to produce either hot or cold DRI (HDRI or CDRI).
The latest generation specialized conveyor was first implemented at one of the largest steel production plants in India in 2013, and has since been patented. This BZB-H-I conveyor has a capacity of 165 t/h. In this application the material also comes from a Midrex shaft furnace.
ADVANTAGES OF HOT CHARGING
The conveying of hot DRI (HDRI) to the electric arc furnace has considerable advantages. The requirement for electrical energy per tonne of molten steel is significantly reduced. The energy reduction is achieved because the input material retains the heat that it already has when it comes out of the DRI production process.
Therefore less energy is needed to melt it down, and automatically the melting process takes less time. Because the material is filled directly into the furnace, the lid does not need to be opened, so even more time and energy is saved.
“Compared with cold charging, the conveying of HDRI saves up to 6% on electrode consumption. The tap-to-tap times and primary energy source carbon requirements are reduced, so this in turn reduces the CO2 emissions”, according to Christian Niedzwiedz. When HDRI enters the furnace at approximately 600°C, the energy saving is more than 120kW per tonne of molten raw steel.
ABOUT THE AUMUND GROUP
The AUMUND Group is active worldwide. The conveying and storage specialists has special expertise at its disposal when dealing with bulk materials. With their high degree of individuality, both its technically sophisticated as well as innovative products have contributed to the AUMUND Group today being a major force in many areas of conveying and storage technology. The manufacturing companies AUMUND Fo¨rdertechnik GmbH (Rheinberg, Germany), SCHADE Lagertechnik GmbH (Gelsenkirchen, Germany), SAMSON Materials Handling Ltd. (Ely, England), as well as AUMUND Logistic GmbH (Rheinberg, Germany) are consolidated under the umbrella of the AUMUND Group. In conjunction with the headquarters of the manufacturing companies, the global conveying and storage technology business is spearheaded through a total of ten subsidiaries in Europe, Asia, North and South America and supported by five warehouses in Germany, Hong Kong, USA, Brazil and Riyadh.