Danieli Centro Combustion implements a new system for hot billet charging

The service team of Danieli Centro Combustion executed the upgrade to implement direct charging of the reheating furnace at Acciaierie di Sicilia (Alfa Acciai Group) in Catania, Italy.

The purpose was to allow charging of hot billets in the 80 t/hour pusher-type furnace and to achieve about 40% of fuel reduction, which consequently results in lower carbon emissions.

The job was executed in two steps, during summer and winter plant shutdowns, in order to minimize the impact on production.

The first step consisted of installing new, special water-cooled beams and a customized shield at the furnace inlet charging side, to prevent damage due to the high temperature of the hot billets.

A second and major upgrade involved replacing all the internal furnace handling guides with water-cooled ones, to withstand the hot charge, and adding a fiber screen that has the dual function of preserving the external wall of the furnace and maintaining the temperature of the hot billets. Moreover, a new cooling system with proper fan was installed to prevent the dangerous increase of waste-gas temperatures in the recuperator system.

Source and Photo: Danieli

The strict cooperation between Acciaierie di Sicilia and Danieli Centro Combustion technical service teams made possible the completion of the revamping activities five days in advance of the original schedule, and the FAC was quickly released.