Oxygen-Enhanced Ladle Preheating Systems: Improved Tap-to-Tap Cycle Time and Operating Cost Reductions

摘要

Energy costs and stricter emissions requirements are a perennial concern of steelmakers. Although ladle preheating consumes a relatively small portion of the overall energy budget of a steelmaking plant, it is an inefficient energy consumer and can benefit from improvements in combustion technology. Furthermore, poor ladle preheating can have a large effect on the energy efficiency of the largest energy consumers within the steelmaking shop, the EAF or BOF itself, and the LMF station or other secondary metallurgical facility with reheating capability. Modern steelmaking ladles need to be preheated to in excess of 2,100°F which means that more than 60% of the fuel energy is exhausted to the stack when air fuel burners are used. Praxair's Dilute Oxygen Combustion (DOC) system provides a means of cutting energy consumption by as much as a half, while also lowering carbon emissions and reducing NOx.