News Room - Steel Industry

Posted on 10 Jun 2024

EAF meltshop and casting advances discussed at DIM 2024

Digimelter is the Danieli revolutionary digital melting unit for competitive green steelmaking and BF transition. Digimelter combines with Q-One power feeder for digital arc control and zero impact on the power grid, continuous scrap / DRI charge and Q-Melt process control suite for best, automatic operation. It combines the flexibility of continuously charging multiple feeding materials –such as scrap, hot metal, DRI/HBI (thus Zerobucket).

Danieli-patented, hybrid-ready Q-One power feeder, and full-automatic process optimization (Q-Melt) help steelmakers to overcome the present constraints. Hybrid by design, Q-One can be directly connected to renewable energy sources, making Digimelter the most sustainable technology for modern steelmaking. These aspects become even more important when dealing with jumbo-size furnaces which are usually required to replace BOFs, and need huge electrical power supplies.

Steelmakers rely on Danieli Digimelter for BF technology transition, worldwide.

The voestalpine Stahl Donawitz project for Danieli to supply two, new Digimelters for the special steel production facility in Leoben, Austria, replacing blast furnace #4, was showcased.

The importance of scrap preparation and sorting for improved EAF efficiency was detailed. Also, considering that an average 80% of EAF OpEx depends on raw material purchasing costs, it is very interesting to invest in internal (on-site) scrap-processing plants featuring shears, pre-shredders, and shredders. Automatic Charging/Scrap Yard systems further improve final operational costs and safety.

High-quality, low-carbon grades for flat products, based on EAF-LF-VD route, with low-residual content together with a high degree of steel cleanliness is possible and proved by the Danieli experience.

Danieli casters offer the benchmark performances for both long and flat products, delivering the most demanding qualities, the best internal soundness, the highest casting speeds and productivities, in the largest sizes, consistently.

MIDA QLP-DUE minimills incorporate Digimelter and Octocaster, empowering stable and consistent endless casting-rolling –and more proprietary technologies for thermomechanical rolling, direct bundling and spooling– ensuring the most competitive production of rebar in bundles and spooled coils, and wirerod in any condition. A true technology revolution in competitive, green steelmaking for long products.

Going larger, Danieli jumbo bloom casters deliver quality, heavy and large round sections up to 1600-mm-dia, highly requested by industry, in particular for use in wind-based renewable energy plants, replacing ingot casting and increasing the productivity by 8% yield.

Vertical semi-continuous casters integrate traditional methods like electromagnetic stirring with cutting-edge technologies such as induction heating. This fusion not only elevates efficiency and bloom quality, but also environmental sustainability.

Regarding flat-product casting. The quality of continuous cast steel products is strictly related to steel flow patterns in the mould, particularly to meniscus conditions, which are very severe in high-productivity casters.

DySenCaster® dynamic global mould-flow control technology is the Danieli answer that makes possible high casting speed and unlimited steel grade production.

Also, the results from the installation of the 3.6-Mtpy Danieli slab caster delivering quality and production goals at Jindal Steel, and the first conversion from CSP to QSP technology project at Nucor Steel Gallatin were presented.

Danieli Automation Q-Robots provide performance efficiency as well as added value through intelligent solutions capable of learning from the context and optimizing operations, in terms of accuracy, repetitiveness and safety. Localized intelligence is gathered by integrated autonomous functions that allow Q-Robots to work independently with limited external input and computational resources.

Shifting from product-based to service-based models, Danieli Automation native-designed, advanced monitoring and maintenance services offer servitization to the metals industry.

By remotely monitoring the performance and condition of the assets, it is possible to detect early signs of equipment failure, schedule proactive maintenance, and minimize the impact of any breakdown to customer operations.

Several technological packages from the environmental division were outlined.

Integration of fume quenching processes and heat recovery systems in an original way, to reduce dioxin emissions. Water usage and energy consumption savings achieved by the installation of original Q-Water system. And three more must-have water-treatment technologies that make the difference, namely Danieli-patented Zero-Liquid Discharge, Zero-Scale Pit, and DanFilters ensuring efficient, reliable and economical WTP operation.

The next NewsFlash on the Fifth Danieli Innovaction Meetings will report on the “Flat products” session.

Source:Danieli