Methods of Energy Recovery in the Iron and Steel Industry: Evalution of New Possibilities and Design Studies for Slab Cooling

Abstract

The Worid energy crisis was brought to a head by the formation of the oi] cartel (OPEC) and its collective action in 1973/1974 to quadruple oil prices. The days of cheap and abundant energy sources came to an abrupt end. The immediate energy crisis was absorbed by the strong economies of the major energy consumers, hence the ever-increasing demand for non-renewable energy resources continues almost unabated. In contrast to most manufacturing industry, the direct energy costs of material manufacturers are a significant proportion of their total production costs. Therefore, in the forefront of the list of priorities at the British Steel Corporation was to consider and evaluate every possible method of reducing its energy bill. The present study was initiated to review the present state-of-the-art in the energy recovery equipment field and to evaluate new areas and novel techniques for the British Steel Corporation. A breakdown of energy usage and losses for an integrated iron and steel works was obtained. The possible areas for future energy recovery are highlighted. The existing energy recovery methods are briefly discussed and their advantages and disadvantages listed. New developments,currently under investigation in the UK and overseas iron and steel industry are considered and their advantages and disadvantages discussed...