Consteel® EAF
With more than 30 years of history, and over 80 installations worldwide, the Consteel® EAF technology is the best alternative to the conventional EAF for the production of any grade of steel.
Overview
Tenova’s Consteel® Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) is the efficient steelmaking process where the raw feed materials are heated and charged continuously into an EAF and melted by immersion in the liquid steel present in the furnace, while simultaneously controlling gaseous emissions.
Tenova’s Consteel® EAF produces liquid steel with high productivity, a short and adjustable heat cycle and the lowest power cost compared to any other EAF installation using conventional or other alternative steelmaking technology.
The charge is loaded from a scrap yard onto the charge conveyor and pre-heated by process off-gas as it is continuously fed into the EAF, where it is melted by immersion in liquid steel. The EAF operates in constant flat bath conditions, a key advantage over conventional batch processes where scrap is melted by the direct action of the electric arc. The EAF gases are sent to a fume-cleaning plant in conditions suitable for the complete combustion of carbon monoxide and other pollutants without any fuel consumption.
Technical data
Tenova is able to assist its customers in the entire offer and design phase of the plant, providing a service that translates into a tailor made configuration with respect to the specific needs of each case.
EQUIPMENT & CONFIGURATION
- AC/ DC type furnace
- 25 to 300 tons heat size
- 30 to 420 tons per hour productivity
- Full platform / half platform design
- Many layout variants available, to fit different melt shop reality
PROCESS & OPERATION
In the Tenova’s Consteel® EAF process, charge materials melt by immersion in a molten pool heated by energy coming from the electric arcs and from the chemical reactions taking place in the liquid phase, not by direct energy transfer from the arcs or burners, as in the conventional Top-Charge EAF. The preheating of the charge helps reducing the energy requirements of the process.
- High flexibility in metallic charge mix (scrap, pig iron, hot metal, HBI/DRI, scrap surrogates, skulls)
- Scrap Tracking System for better control the raw material input
- High melting efficiency
- High productivity even on weak power grids
- Higher yield of the metallic charge
- Low OPEX
- Exceptional reliability: >98% on the whole unit, >99,5% on the conveyor
REFERENCE
Among other references, Tenova is proud to have designed and supplied the most productive electric arc furnace in the World, the Consteel® EAF at Acciaierie Arvedi.
Innovation
More than 30 years after the first industrial installation, Tenova is enduring an intensive, continuous research activity on the basis of the long-standing experience and engineering expertise developed in the steelmaking sector.
The effort in development process, brings Tenova’s Consteel® system to be the most advanced EAF system on the market today, a leadership achieved through the maximum availability, efficient use of energy and raw materials, easy operation and maintenance, and respect for the environment.
The innovation process never stops and touches the system as a whole, from the design of the equipment to the search for ever better performance, from adaptation to increasingly severe operating conditions to integration with modern auxiliary technologies.
The need to adapt to ever new and more stringent operating conditions has made it possible to develop and fine-tune advanced operational control systems, with particular attention to the management of the metallic charge of the furnace – the Tenova Scrap Tracking System – and to the optimization of the melting process.
In this context, attention to safety and the improvement of the working conditions of operators are a fundamental driver for TENOVA, as well as the attention and commitment to make the steel industry increasingly green.
Taking into account their great history and experience in plant engineering, Tenova and ABB have become partners creating an innovative technology to further enhance the efficiency of Consteel® EAF. Thanks to a mutual technological effort and close collaboration, Tenova and ABB have jointly developed CONSTEERRER™ with the aim of making liquid steel faster, in a safer manner and at lower cost.
Safety
The concept of EAF Consteel® is inherently safe. The process is based on the continuous charge of raw materials, practically eliminating the use of buckets in favor of the flat bath melting for the entire duration of the heat. The operation of such production unit does not require any intervention by operators, who can concentrate their activities on the supervision of the production process considering that the Tenova EAF Consteel® operates fully controlled by the automation system.
In addition to the intrinsic characteristics of the Consteel® EAF, Tenova designs and manufactures its equipment with the utmost attention to safety and reliability:
- Strong and sturdy mechanical construction
- Reliable electrical and automation configuration
- Tenova EAF is the most modern EAF on the market, featuring a unique system designed to allow quick and safe roof centerpiece replacement.
- The water cooling circuits are equipped with TENOVA Safe+ technology for the leakage detection and prevention of damages.
- Tenova No-One-On-The-Floor technologies
- Tenova automatic slag door “scraper”
- Possible closed-design of the control room
- Design and supply safety operation areas around the equipment
Automation
More and more in modern electric steel mills a role of strategic importance is assumed by the operational and management coordination between the different production phases. This need becomes more evident where synchronization between the various phases must always be guaranteed. Tenova automation systems are conceived and designed with the aim of guiding the operator through each phase of the production process, providing reliable and comprehensive decision-making support, especially where the normal production flow is modified by unforeseeable causes.
The set of Innovative Technologies implemented in Tenova's automation systems, guarantee steel production by eliminating the presence of the operator inside risky areas, bringing the necessary inspection and control operations in remote and eliminating the direct interaction of man with the machine, guaranteeing the strictest safety conditions.
This, by applying solutions aimed at improving production/maintenance aspects, i.e. improving the continuity of operation of the plants, their productivity and troubleshooting assistance.
Tenova Automation suite assure the best and easy way to control the EAF Consteel® thanks to the latest state-of-the-art Automation and Process Control systems, including the innovative TENOVA iMeltShop concept for the integrated control of the whole melt shop production line.
All the operations can remotely managed thanks to the possible close control room design and all technological packages included in Tenova No-One-On-The-Floor: Temperature and sampling Robot with Polyeye for EAF internal visual check, Tenova Auto Tapping system, Scrap basket automatic charging system.
Environment
Due to its intrinsic characteristics, the Tenova Consteel® system is the best environmental friendly technology for melting steel, being in fact the best choice for the energy transition that the steel industry has faced recently.
- Noise reduction thanks to continuous foamy slag operation
- optimal combustion of CO in the primary fumes
- low NOx emissions in the fumes
- low emissions of Dioxins/Furans in the fumes
- less dust production thanks to the primary separation in the heating tunnel
- use of scrap surrogates
- use of carbon substitutes
- integration with the energy recovery system Tenova iRecovery®
Digital
Digital technologies are changing our world, including the way we make steel. Using technologies like predictive maintenance, industrial Internet of things (IIoT), cloud platforms, augmented reality and artificial intelligence, through a data-driven approach, you can now gain insights into your plant, improve your decision making and optimize your production process.
Tenova is able to provide you with the ultimate technologies in this field to cover a huge variety of applications as you can see in the image below.
With the purpose of making easier the access to these innovations, Tenova has decided to propose them into modular digital packages, each of them focusing on a specific aspect.
These modules can be composed and customized to help you reach your goals.
The target of such solutions is the activation of an overall process of digital transformation in the steel production processes, enabling:
- Staff safety;
- Increase of production efficiency which results in lower OPEX and lower consumption of resources (hence a more environmental conscious production).
- Higher production flexibility;
- Improved planning and optimization of maintenance activities Quicker (and in some cases immediate) response with regards to the services provided;
- Quality and personalization of products;
- Transparency, traceability and sustainability of production processes;
- Staff training.
Related Solutions
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