� INTERVIEW �
The transition from the traditional operation with natural gas and air to oxy-combustion results in fuel savings of between 10-50 % with consequent reduction of CO 2 emissions .
Sarralle in collaboration with ArcelorMittal as an important phase of the project . In this phase , several heating and drying curves have been carried out by operating the ladle preheater with 100 % green hydrogen , in order to ensure that the new equipment can satisfactorily reproduce all the required temperatures for ladle casting , achieve homogeneous heating of the refractory and that it has no negative impact on the refractory material . Seeing as the steelmaking plant does not have a continuous hydrogen supply at the moment , the green hydrogen for the trials was supplied by NipponGases and transported by semi-trailers .
It is important to stress that safety was our top priority during the project . Due to the fact that hydrogen was used as a fuel within the steel plant for the first time , safety procedures were put into place , H2 detection sensors and individual portable sensors were installed and ATEX studies were conducted .
Oxy-combustion burner technology to the rescue
Currently , most hightemperature heating equipment in the steel industry operates with natural gas as fuel and air as an oxidizing agent . Disregarding water vapor , atmospheric air contains around 79 % nitrogen and only 21 % oxygen . Therefore , during the air combustion process , nitrogen must be heated , losing process efficiency . Seeing as the nitrogen component is not heated during oxy-combustion , fuel consumption is reduced .
The transition from the traditional operation with natural gas and air to oxy-combustion results in fuel savings of between 10-50 % depending on the current operation of the equipment , with consequent reduction of
CO 2 emissions . For instance , for ladle preheaters , a natural gas consumption reduction of 50 % is obtained with a subsequent decrease in OPEX costs . The introduction of hydrogen as a
Green Steel World | Issue 9 | November 2023 11