Germany-based
Tenova, a specialist in innovative solutions for the metals and mining industries, last month fired up the most productive electric arc furnace ever, a Tenova Consteel EAF, at Acciaieria Arvedi, an Italian producer of steel coil.
This record-breaking melting unit replaces the existing Consteel furnace, originally installed in 2008. The new furnace has a tapping size of 300 tonnes and is designed to reach a power-on time of 37min with a charge mix including up to 30% HBI or other scrap substitutes.
The outstanding productivity performance of the new Consteel EAF has been designed with the aim to meet the increased demand of the recently revamped continuous casting and rolling mill line of the steel plant.
This output has never been achieved before by a single EAF world-wide, and it is made possible by the proprietary Consteel continuous charging and melting technology of Tenova, complemented by Consteerrer, an innovative electro-magnetic stirring system, jointly developed with ABB.
Silvio Reali, Tenova senior vice president, said: “Thanks to the cooperation between the Tenova project team and the plant personnel of Acciaieria Arvedi, we were able to witness a seamless start-up of such an unprecedented machine. We are currently proceeding with a very quick ramp-up phase.
“After just a few days, the furnace is already operating on three shifts achieving high production rates and performance.”
The furnace has a 9.1m diameter shell and is continuously fed by a 4m wide Consteel slip-stick conveyor. The furnace is also equipped with a ‘state of the art’ level one and level two automation package.