Introduction

The plant has two nos. low resistance submerged arc smelting furnaces where
the electrodes are deeply buried in a conductive charge mix, with micro arcing
from the tips to a floating coke bed. The resistance to immersion depth
relationship provides the basis for regulating the furnace power. The transformer
secondary tap is set at the desired value and the electrodes are raised or
lowered to maintain the set point resistance or impedance. Control of load
resistance essentially controls furnace power. The electric arc furnace (EAF) is a
major consumer of electrical energy. Reduction of energy consumption has
therefore always been regarded as a vital priority. The laws of thermodynamics,
which govern the reactions used, limit the reduction of energy necessary for the
smelting process. The reduction of the overall energy consumption is therefore in
most cases only possible by recovering the energy content of the hot furnace offgas or optimizing the auxiliary utility equipments.
Concerning the energy usage, the disadvantage of the smelting furnaces used
without energy recovery is the high amount of energy lost as CO in the off gas
and as waste heat. For instance by producing ferro-silicon and silicon metal only
about 32 % of the energy consumed is chemical energy in the product, that
means about 68 % of the energy is lost as heat in the furnace off-gas.
Process integrated measures
Following the definition, best available technique shall mean the most effective
and advanced stage in the development of activities and their methods of
operation. In practical terms this refers to emission reduction and other
environmental beneficial techniques that include both end-of pipe techniques and
process integrated measures.
Process integrated measures are technical or operational solutions that can be
introduced directly in the production to reduce the environmental impact of a
process at the source. To identify such techniques the core process should be
examined according to its input and output mass streams.

Figure 2 Main input and output mass steams to an electric arc furnace
The reduction of both the amount of dust and fume emitted and the energy
consumed by the process are linked as shown above by the smelting furnace as
the heart of the process.
3.1 Process integrated measures to reduce dust emissions
Reducing the emission of dust and fume at source means reducing the off-gas
volume. For example, the ferro-alloy industry still uses open furnaces and
retrofitting with an appropriate hood in order to change the open furnace into a
semi-closed furnace will reduce the off-gas volume. By applying a nearly closed
hood it is possible to limit the infiltration of air, but at the same time supply
enough air to combust the CO generated in the furnace. This will then lead to the
following effects:

Reduced off-gas volume to be cleaned and consequently less dust

emitted to air, which also means reduced specific emission factor for dust.
Reduced energy demand for the bag - filter plant.
Reduced capital and operational costs for the bag - filter plant
Increased off-gas temperature up to 500 C and with that the possibility to
recover the energy content from the hot off-gas.

3.2 Process Integrated measures to reduce the energy consumption

The operation of open furnaces leads to huge amounts of ambient air sucked into
the furnace to burn the CO, which is generated by the smelting process. This
consequently results in a very large volumetric flow of waste gas, which does not

allow the recovery of its energy content because the temperature level is low
(100 150 C) and the flow rate large to build technically and economically
efficient heat exchangers. To recover as much as possible from the process
energy the off-gas volume needs to be reduced. This can be done as already
described by installing a nearly closed hood to the furnace. A furnace hood
reduces not only the off-gas volume, it increases also the temperature, which
then makes energy recovery by using a waste heat boiler possible.
The positive effects are:
Recovered

energy can be used to produce electricity that can be used on

and off site.
Recovered

energy can be used as steam on-site, for chilled water generation

The

furnace hood can be integrated as superheater in the recovery boiler.

The

overall energy consumption of the plant will be reduced.

Due to the physical properties of the raw material some ferro-alloys like
ferrochrome and ferro-manganese can also be produced in totally closed
furnaces. This reduces even more the off-gas volume, but generates off-gas that
contains a high amount of CO. After dedusting the CO can be used as high
quality fuel for a variety of purposes, which then combines the reduction of dust
and the use of energy in a very efficient way.
4 BAT for process integrated measures
Taking into account the advantages mentioned before, providing the furnace with
a nearly closed hood or depending on the raw material, closing the furnace
completely, are regarded as process integrated BAT measures in the NonFerrous Metals Industries BREF for the production of ferro-alloys. Due to the
increased offgas temperature and in the case of the closed furnace, the presence
of CO, both allow the operation of an efficient energy recovery system or
utilisation of the energy content of the CO. A combination of the BAT process
integrated measures for the furnace and the energy recovery is presented in the
following table.
Table no. Process integrated BAT measures to reduce dust emissions and
energy consumption

4.1 Requirements for implementation of process integrated BAT measures

As shown in the previous part of the presentation, the process integrated BAT
measures for smelting furnaces and energy recovery go hand in hand.
Otherwise, providing a furnace with a nearly closed hood without recovering the
energy content from the high temperature off-gas requires an additional gascooling system, where then the main advantage of a semi-closed furnace has
been lost. In the case of a closed furnace without energy recovery, the CO
should be flared off, which indeed is a waste of energy.
According to the different furnaces (semi-closed, closed and blast furnaces) the
metals produced and the infrastructure of a plant there are several options to
recover and use the energy from the off-gas. Taking into account the
considerations given by Annex IV of the IPPC-Directive especially the cost and
benefits of the measures, there are a couple of BATs considered to recover and
use the energy.
By implementing the above integrated BAT measures it is important to bear in
mind that changing an open furnace into a semi-closed furnace or replacing the
open furnace by a closed furnace and installing an energy recovery system
means a large financial investment. This might probably be the most expensive
financial investment a company can take. For the installation of a waste heat
boiler we are talking about several million Euro. Due to the potentially high costs
and the important technical impact in the production process, a window of

opportunity should be used to introduce such BAT measures. A smelting furnace

can be operated without a major interruption for several years, and the time when
the furnace needs to be significantly changed or replaced is the right moment to
consider major changes. Also regular maintenance intervals or investment cycles
might be used to introduce high costly investments.
As already mentioned, for the installation and operation of an energy recovery
system several million Euro needs to be spent. The payback time for such an
investment is then dependent on factors like local energy prices, times of
operation and the presence of potential customers for the steam and hot water
produced. Beside the cost of investment, the economic assessment should also
take these factors into account, especially the price of electrical energy is the
critical point in the timing of introducing these process integrated BAT measures.
ENERGY SAVING OPPORTUNITY IN BAG FILTERS
The plant has installed three nos. battery of bag house filters with a dedicated
one for each furnace and one new bag house common for both furnaces. The
earlier installations are with a FD fan for the bag filters and the new common unit
has an ID fan.
F1 Furnace bag filters:
The bag house filters have been provided with a FD fan of capacity 170 HP,
80000 m/hr and sucks in a mixture of ambient air, charge dust and flue gases
from the furnace. The dust laden air is filtered through the bag house filter via a
cooler (operated in summer) and recirculated back to the chimney.
Measurements on air flow static pressure indicate 650 mm WC at discharge of
fan before bag filters and 70 mm WC after bag filters. Air flow estimations
indicate about 25000 Nm/hr flow after bag filters. Actual power consumed by FD
fan motor is 51 kw. This indicates that the pressure drop across the bag house
filters is about 580 mm WC which is very high. Similar readings were taken for
bag house filters and table below gives the average values.
F1 Furnace

F2 Furnace

Common for F1 &

F2

It can be seen from the above values that the pressure drop across the bag filters
is exceptionally high. This is because the bag filters are choked with dust
particles and collection efficiency is lower. This leads to increased restrictions for
sucking flue gas and dust from the furnace and their escape to the ambient
surroundings causing safety and environmental exposure risk that takes place for
the people working on the operating floor.
One of the reasons for frequent choking of bag filters is that the compressed air
used by plant is not dried and hence carries a lot of moisture along with it. This
moisture condenses on the filter elements and forms a thick cake of dust
particles which are then difficult to dislodge thus causing the plant to replace the
filter. Attempts to open the compressed air receiver drain valve lead to lot of
accumulated water being drained.
It is recommended to immediately re-commission the compressed air dryers and
maintain required dryness fraction of the compressed air. This will help reduce
the cake formation, reduce resistance to air flow and extend the useful life of the
bag filters.
Opportunity for Energy Saving by replacing Bag Filters with Electro Static
Precipitators:
The plant has installed a set of bag filters for each furnace and an additional bag
filter set common for both the furnaces. An ID fan / FD fan sucks in air and flue
gases through the furnace and the bag filters and discharges the same to the
chimney. Total fan power connected on the pollution control devices is about 457
KW. Based on measurements conducted on the fan motors actual power
consumption is bout 166 KW. The pressure drop offered by the bag filters is
given in the below table.
Bag filter
1
1.1
1.2
2
3
4
5

Mode
Connected fan motor; KW
Actual fan power consumed; KW
Pressure drop across bag filter;
mm WC
Total head developed by fan;
mm WC
Volume of air handled; m/hr
Quantity of ash collected; kg/day

F1
furnace
F.D.
127
47
580

F2
furnace
F.D.
150
51
360

650

380

Common for
both furnaces
I.D.
180
68
NA (~13.5 + 2.5)
= 160 mm
550

22500
56

22300

NA

The bag filters limit the flue gas emission to about 135 mg/Nm. Also, the bag
filters are prone to frequent choking thus requiring expensive filter replacements
and breakdowns. The choking of bag filters causes insufficient suction pressure
at the furnaces openings and inefficient removal of the gases causing dusty
atmosphere at and above the furnace-operating floor. Table below gives the
comparative norms for bag filter versus Electro Static Precipitator (ESP). The
pressure drop across a bag house filter is about 200 mm WC and across an ESP
about 25 mm WC. As per fan empirical laws the fan power varies as square of
the discharge head. Thus, it is evident that fan power required for the same
volume of air handling will be far less in an ESP. Although, the replacement cost
of bag house filters with an ESP is very high the option can be evaluated by the
plant management as a first cost measure for their other upcoming new
installations or whenever they are considering replacing of the old filters.

Below table gives the savings potential by replacing these bag filters with
an ESP and save fan power
1
2
3.
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11

Total air handled by all three no. fans = 75000 m/hr.

of pollution control bag house filters
Dust collected by all bag filters (@ 7 = (7X5)+(7X6)+(7X5)
kg/day per individual filter)
24
= 5.5 kg/hr.
Total power consumed by all three = 166 KW
no. fans of pollution control bag
house filters
Pressure drop across bag filters
= 360 & 580 mm WC
Pressure drop across E.S.P.
= 25 mm WC
Estimated power consumed by fan = 75000 x 10 x 2.72 x 10 -5
for common ESP
0.6
= 32 KW
Power consumed by rectifiers of ESP = 15 KW
Total power consumption at new = 47 KW
(ESP) pollution control equipment
Savings potential in fan power
= 166 47
= 119 KW
= Rs.33 lacs p.a.
Approximate cost of installing an = Rs. 50 lacs
ESP
Simple payback period
= 18 months

Opportunities for saving in D. M. Water circulation for furnace :

The plant circulates D.M. water from a battery of 5 pumps to each furnace for
internal cooling needs. Total flow measured for each furnace is about 50m 3/hr
with a power consumption of about 43 KW for 5 nos. pumps. Thus, total power
consumed for DM water pumping is about 86 kw in 10 nos. pumps. This gives an
overall pump house efficiency of about 14%. The total discharge available at the
plant header is not the sum of rated discharge capacities of all pumps because
the pumps are pumping in parallel to a common header.
If the same flow required for both furnaces (i.e. about 100 m/hr) is delivered by
one single pump it is estimated that the plant will save about 70 KW of pumping
power equivalent to Rs.19.4 lacs per annum. The existing 10 nos. pumps will act
as stand by.

Below Table gives the brief savings calculation for saving in DM water
pumping :
1
2
3
4
5
6
7

D.M. Water circulation through F1 furnace

D.M. Water circulation through F2 furnace
Total D. M. Water circulation
Power consumed by 5 nos. pumps for F1 furnace
Power consumed by 5 nos. pumps for F2 furnace
Total pumping power
Actual pumping power required by one no. pump
for delivering 100 m/hr flow at 45m head (pump
efficiency 85% and motor efficiency 90%)
Savings potential in pumping power
Annual savings potential

50 m/hr
50 m/hr
100 m/hr
42 KW
44 KW
86 KW
= 45 x 100 x 1000___
3.67 x 105 x 0.85 x 0.9
= 16.0 KW
8
= 86 16 = 70 KW
9
=70 x Rs.3.5/unit x 7920 hrs
p.a.
= Rs.19.4 lacs
10 Approximate cost of pump set and piping cost = Rs. 2 lacs
upto header
11 Simple payback period
= 1 to 2 months
Opportunities for savings in Cooling Tower make water :
Saving potential in DM water circulation network :
The plant has installed D. M. water Cooling Tower for cooling the D. M. water in
circulation. Total return water to the cooling tower from both furnaces and
transformer oil coolers is about 170 m/hr (including about 40 m/hr overhead
tanks overflow). Thus, at a 2% evaporation and carryover loss from the cooling
tower, the total makeup D. M. water to the cooling tower is about 81 m/day, and
the same also tallies with the D. M. plant regeneration log sheet. The total D. M.
water generation cost is about Rs.50/m, thus giving an annual D. M. plant
operating expense of Rs. 12 lacs.
It is proposed to cool this D. M. water in circulation by indirect contact with raw
water in a plate type heat exchanger. The raw water will pick up heat from the
D. M. water and in turn will be cooled in the existing cooling tower. Additional raw
material pumping power of about 12 KW equivalent to Rs. 3.3 lacs p.a. will be
incurred. Net savings potential is to the tune of Rs. 8.7 lacs p.a. with an
approximate investment cost of Rs. 4 lacs for installing a raw water pump set,
necessary piping, plate type heat exchanger and miscellaneous supports etc.
giving a simple payback period of 5.5 months.

Opportunities for savings in D.M. water circulation to Overhead storage

tanks for Transformer Oil Cooling
The plant circulates D. M. water through individual overhead tanks to both the
transformer oil coolers. Return hot water is cooled in common cooling tower and
returned back to the overhead storage tanks (OST). Total D. M. water in
circulation is about 70 m/hr (35 m/hr each from two nos. pumps for both the
transformers) out of which about 40 m/hr (20 m/hr from each OST) was
measured as overflow and balance through the oil coolers. Also, at times based
on process conditions the plant needs to operate both the oil coolers on line for
individual transformers. The overhead storage tanks are kept full incase of
sudden tripping of grid supply to supply cooling water for furnace internal
requirements till the time the stand by DG sets are brought on line. However, this
overflow from both the tanks can be minimised by sharing of feed water pumps.
It is proposed to operate only one pump to feed both the overhead storage tanks
and save on extra water overflow. Estimated savings by stopping one no.
delivery pump is about 10 KW equivalent to an annual savings of Rs.2.8 lacs p.a.
with a minor investment in piping modifications cost.
Alternatively, the plant can install auto level indicator cum controllers for both the
overhead tank pumps to ensure the tanks are full as & when required.
Insulating Refractory lining
The term "freeze lining" refers to the refractory system's ability to maintain a
temperature profile that is low enough to freeze a layer of process material on its
hot face, which insulates the refractory and prevents direct contact with molten
metal and slag. In doing so, the common wear mechanisms found in the
submerged arc furnace - chemical attack, erosion, and thermal stress - can be
prevented. These wear mechanisms are all related to high temperature; thus,
they are prevented by maintaining low temperatures.
The expected minimum campaign life of the freeze lining is fifteen years as
compared
to
the
ten
years
of
the
conventional
linings.
The success of the freeze lining is very critical to the quantum and direction of
heat flow through the lining that control the freeze protection. Under freeze
protection can lead to reduced lining life and over freeze protection, on the other
hand, can lead to operating difficulties and loss of smelting efficiency.
The lining, together with the electrodes, forms the heart of the operation of a
submerged arc furnace.

The amount of water vapour generated during the combustion process has a
significant impact on thermal efficiency because both the physically and
chemically bond water must be evaporated. All water in the fuel leaves the
furnace in vapour forms at between 150 C and 300 C and is also one cause of
choking of bag filters. The water vapour condenses when it reaches the bag
filters and sticks to embedded dust particles leading to cake formation.