The German SMS group has received the final acceptance certificate for its revamp of a walking beam furnace from ArcelorMittal Asturias, Spain, in October 2015.
The revamp involved the integration of a new combustion technology and combustion optimization system, called SMS Prometheus, which combines blast furnace and natural gas and has resulted in savings of up to 80%.
Ramon Garcia Castaño, ArcelorMittal’s project manager, said that SMS had shown ‘remarkable commitment’ in respecting the time schedule and the short-planned furnace start-up. He also praised the ‘competent and proactive crew of skilled engineers supplied by the German technology company.
The revamp, which was carried out by SMS Meer SpA, Italy, a subsidiary of SMS group, revolved around the redesign and turn-key reconstruction of the ArcelorMittal’s 150 tons/hr walking beam furnace’s combustion equipment servicing the steelmaker’s wire rod mill.
According to SMS, the combustion system allows targeted improvements of metallurgical properties, such as increased temperature uniformity or minimised negative effects such as steel decarburisation or high scale formation. It helps reduce fuel consumption by adopting heating strategies that minimise temperature set points and guarantee required final stock target temperature.
