Posted on 21 Apr 2016
Chinese steel producer Rizhao Steel
Group Co., Ltd (Rizhao) awarded Primetals Technologies the final
acceptance certificate (FAC) for three of a total of five Arvedi ESP
lines. For two of the lines, the FACs where received in January, for the
third one on April 1. Although the project schedule was very tight, the
ambition was to complete all phases on time, what was successfully
achieved. The first two lines were ordered in 2013 and went on stream
within 20 and 22 months, respectively. The start-up of ESP plant 3,
ordered in 2014, was achieved within 15 months. The lines are designed
for a total annual production of 7.65 million metric tons of high
quality, ultra-thin hot strip, in widths up to 1,600 millimeters and
thicknesses down to 0.8 millimeters. The lines produce carbon steel,
high-strength, low-alloy grades, and two-phase steels. The production
ranging from 0.8 to 6 mm thickness is now focused on hot strip with a
thickness of 0.8 millimeters, leading to production sequences in which
more than 50 percent of the products have a thickness of less than one
millimeter.
The Arvedi ESP plants enable Rizhao to tap
into the attractive domestic and foreign markets for high quality,
ultra-thin products. With a length of just 180 meters, the plants are
considerably more compact than conventional casting and rolling mills.
Energy consumption is up to 45 percent lower than in a conventional
casting and rolling process, and CO2 emissions are also significantly
lower.
Primetals Technologies was responsible for the engineering of the Arvedi ESP plants, and supplied the mechanical equipment, media systems, technology packages and automation system. The entire line is controlled by an integrated basic automation (level 1) and process automation (level 2). This ensures finely tuned interaction between the casting and rolling processes. The project also included a comprehensive training and support package. This covered not only the theoretical and practical training of the customer's personnel on the existing ESP plant belonging to Acciaieria Arvedi SpA in Cremona, Italy, but also support provided by specialists from Acciaieria Arvedi for starting up and operating the new plants.
