PULSE VALVES
the perfect choice for this application . The typical stroke between “ open ” and “ closed ” is only about 8 mm . This short stroke is accompanied by very small moved masses . For that reason , only small actuating forces are needed . As a result , the valve is ultimately more compact than most other valve types .”
The first SIP box
Following this meeting , the first “ SIP box ” - the prototype of the new system - ran in continuous operation for four to five years and was further optimised . Step by step , the original sliding gate valve design was developed together with the system and the process . Various design changes were made and then tested in practice to adapt the valve to the requirements of the application . “ Finally , we optimised the valve to a record opening speed of just 2 ms . This made it possible to generate impulses that reach deep into the coke bed with really strong shock waves ,” said Marcel Mokosch . “ However , the extremely fast switching speeds combined with high pressures and high switching frequency brought the valve to its load limits . This combination of requirements was really a challenge for us at the time , but we also saw it as a great opportunity for the sliding gate technology to prove itself . To achieve valve service lives that were acceptable to the user under
The intention is for Primetals Technologies to market the SIP technology worldwide and to make it accessible to other steel manufacturers . Photo : thyssenkrupp AT . PRO tec GmbH
Dr Rainer Klock from thyssenkrupp AT . PRO tec ( right ) with Marcel Mokosch from Schubert & Salzer Control Systems ( left ). Photo : Schubert & Salzer Control Systems GmbH
these extreme operating conditions , their mechanical limits had to be extended by design changes . The declared goal was a service life of one year , in other words several million switching cycles .” In 2015 the moment had finally arrived : thyssenkrupp Steel Europe and thyssenkrupp AT . PRO tec GmbH began with the development , installation and operation of a complete oxygen impulse process system on blast furnace 1 in Schwelgern . In the years that followed , the optimisation of the SIP boxes was finalised . SIP devices were installed on the 40 tuyeres of the blast furnace with the furnace in normal operation .
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Sliding gate valves were the perfect choice for this application .
Successful project completion
The SIP system was completed in autumn 2020 . 40 SIP boxes were activated step by step over a period of several weeks . The effects on the process were awaited with excitement . The SIP system on blast furnace 1 in Schwelgern paid for itself in less than two years of operation and now saves costs amounting to several million euros every year . Due to the increased efficiency , the total consumption of reducing agents ( coke and injection coal ) has been significantly reduced . This is also reflected in the CO2 savings of between 50 and 100 kg per tonne of pig iron produced , resulting in annual CO2 savings in excess of 100,000 tonnes . The entire project is a great success for thyssenkrupp AT . PRO tec : “ After one and a half years of continuous operation , the Schubert & Salzer sliding gate valves have proven to be more than capable of coping with the extreme conditions . The many years of joint development work with Schubert & Salzer has more than paid off . Finding such a persevering and reliable development partner is not a matter of course ,” explained Dr Klock , now the managing director of thyssenkrupp AT . PRO tec GmbH . “ One of our future projects is to enable further automated process optimisations by linking the SIP technology and the blast furnace process with the help of a Level 2 automation system . First of all , however , our goal is to make the SIP technology a global success .” When the technology was fully operational for the first time , thyssenkrupp . AT . PRO tec decided that partnering with one of the leading blast furnace plant and equipment suppliers would be helpful in achieving this goal . In August 2021 an exclusive worldwide marketing and sales agreement was signed with Primetals Technologies Ltd . “ The intention is for our reliable partner Primetals Technologies to market this technology worldwide and to make it accessible to other steel manufacturers , too ” concludes Dr Klock . www . valve-world . net Valve World August 2023
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