Waste Heat Recovery from High Temperature Off-Gases

from Electric Arc Furnaces

Sachin Nimbalkar1, Arvind Thekdi2, James Keiser1, John Storey1
1

Oak Ridge National Laboratory

One Bethel Valley Road, Oak Ridge, TN 37931-6479
Phone: 865.946.1548
Email: nimbalkarsu@ornl.gov
2

E3M Inc.
5206 Ivystone Ct., Sugar Land, TX 77479
Phone: 240.715.4333
Email: athekdi@e3minc.com
Keywords: Electric Arc Furnace, EAFs, Waste Heat Recovery, Scrap Preheating
ABSTRACT
This article presents a study and review of available waste heat in high temperature Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) off gases and heat
recovery techniques/methods from these gases. It gives details of the quality and quantity of the sensible and chemical waste heat in
typical EAF off gases, energy savings potential by recovering part of this heat, a comprehensive review of currently used waste heat
recovery methods and potential for use of advanced designs to achieve a much higher level of heat recovery including scrap
preheating, steam production and electric power generation.
Based on our preliminary analysis, currently, for all electric arc furnaces used in the US steel industry, the energy savings potential is
equivalent to approximately 31 trillion Btu per year or 32.7 peta Joules per year (approximately $182 million US dollars/year). This
article describes the EAF off-gas enthalpy model developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) to calculate available and
recoverable heat energy for a given stream of exhaust gases coming out of one or multiple EAF furnaces. This Excel based model
calculates sensible and chemical enthalpy of the EAF off-gases during tap to tap time accounting for variation in quantity and quality
of off gases. The model can be used to estimate energy saved through scrap preheating and other possible uses such as steam
generation and electric power generation using off gas waste heat. This article includes review of historical development of existing
waste heat recovery methods, their operations, and advantages/limitations of these methods. This paper also describes a program to
develop and test advanced concepts for scrap preheating, steam production and electricity generation through use of waste heat
recovery from the chemical and sensible heat contained in the EAF off gases with addition of minimum amount of dilution or cooling
air upstream of pollution control equipment such as bag houses.
BACKGROUND AND POTENTIAL OPPORTUNITY
The U.S. steel industry has experienced significant growth in production of liquid steel from recycled scrap using Electric Arc
Furnaces (EAFs), which accounted for about 60.3% of U.S. steel production in 2011 [USGS 2011]. The process uses electricity as
well as fossil fuels, primarily natural gas and some carbon, to supply the process energy requirements. A large amount of exhaust
gases at greater than 1,650 C (or 3,000 F) are discharged from the furnace during the EAF melting time. These gases contain carbon
dioxide (CO2), water vapor (H2O), carbon monoxide (CO), hydrogen (H2), oxygen (O2) and other hydrocarbons. The gases also
include small amounts of metallic and non-metallic solid particles of varying size range. Heat content of off gases varies during the
cycle, commonly known as tap to tap time, which varies typically from 50 minutes to 60 minutes. The exact heat content depends on
a number of factors such as use of fuel, oxygen, scrap temperature and type of charge material. Figure 1 shows an example of heat
balance carried out on an EAF using electrical energy as well as carbon injection, oxy-fuel burners and additional oxygen during the
melting operation.
As seen in this figure, over 38% of the total heat input may be discharged as sensible and chemical heat in off gases. In this case
chemical heat is 22% which is higher than sensible heat indicating presence of a large amount of combustible material. Although
figure 1 shows data for a specific operation, based on our literature review, off gases often contain exhaust gases which are
responsible for energy losses of about 25% to 35% of the total heat input.
Based on a conservative estimate of 30% off-gas heat loss, US steel production of 80.5 million metric tons/year (or mT/year), 61.3%
by EAF and average energy use of 606 kWh/mT of steel, the total heat loss is estimated at 9.0 billion kWh or 31 Trillion Btu/year
using 3,412 Btu/kWh conversion factor or 95 Trillion Btu/hr. using conversion factor of 10,500 Btu/kWh that includes electricity

generation, transmission, and distribution losses. Actual number is somewhere in between and depends on proportion of electric
energy and chemical energy used. Total sensible heat loss via exhaust gases would be approximately 14.0 peta Joules (or 13.3
TBtu/year).

Electrical Losses in wires

13 kWh/mT (1.7%)
Slag Layer
23 kWh/mT (3.1%)

Water Evaporation
3 kWh/mT (0.4%)

W/C Panels
59 kWh/mT
(7.9%)

Off-Gas - Chemical
159 kWh/mT
(21.4%)

Steel Heating & Melting

407 kWh/mT
(52%)

Off-Gas - Sensible
124 kWh/mT
(16.7%)

Figure 1. An example of heat balance carried out on an EAF using electrical

energy as well as carbon injection, oxy-fuel burners and additional oxygen during
the melting operation (mT metric Ton).
CURRENT METHODS OF WASTE HEAT RECOVERY FROM EAFs
As per the electric arc furnace roundup done by the Association for Iron & Steel Technology [AIST 2014], there are approximately
173 EAFs in the US. The characteristics of these 173 EAFs is shown in figure 2. Approximately 42% of the EAFs were built before
1990 and over 56% are large size furnaces with average heat size greater than equal to 50 metrics tons. These numbers show there is a
significant opportunity for replacing old EAFs with new energy efficient EAFs and save significant amount of energy.
In the vast majority (>85% in USA) of installations (estimated percentage based on Table 1), it is common practice to collect EAF
exhaust gases, mix them with ambient air to combust the combustible materials and then drop the temperature of the gases to less than
200 C (or 400 F). These relatively lower temperature gases are then passed through a pollution control device such as a bag house
before discharging them into the atmosphere. The capacity of these direct evacuation systems is typically 35,315 SCFH (or 1,000
Nm3/hour) per metric ton of furnace capacity. The exhaust gas system may include a drop out box to drop out large particles, a
quench or cold air mixing system, and an exhaust fan that uses hundreds of horse power of electrical energy. The entire exhaust gas
direct evacuation system requires frequent cleaning and other types of maintenance. Also fourth hole direct evacuation systems do not
always operate as designed. For example, changes in furnace pressure causes fumes to escape through doors, ports, roof-sidewall
joints and electrode openings, thus bypassing the direct evacuation system. Hence many EAF operations also utilize a deep rectangular
canopy hood over the furnace to capture the fumes generated during charging, tapping, melting, and refining. These types of system
typically have capacities of 12 to 30 million SCFH (or 340,000 to 850,000 Nm3/hour) per metric ton furnace and consume a
significant amount of electrical energy.
In some cases (for <15% of the total EAFs in the US) the waste heat from EAF off-gases is recovered and used for either scrap
preheating or steam generation. Our literature review shows that scrap preheating is a commonly used and most practiced method of
waste heat recovery for EAFs in the world. Hence in this article, we are mainly focusing on scrap preheating technologies and
comparing them with our advanced waste heat recovery concepts. In case of EAFs with scrap preheating technologies, exhaust gases

from the furnace are passed through a scrap preheating system where the gases supply heat to the charge material to raise its
temperature before charging into the EAF vessel. At this time several designs of a charge preheating system are used by the industry.
For example:
CONSTEEL technologies
Scrap preheating in charging bucket,
Fuchs shaft preheater,
Fuchs double shaft preheater, finger shaft furnace, etc.
BBC-Brusa rotary tube-type scrap preheating furnace, and
Table 1 lists all major waste heat recovery techniques/methods available today for recovering waste heat from high temperature
Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) off gases and their advantages and disadvantages. As mentioned above, although there are several other
waste heat recovery systems (e.g. chemical recuperators, evaporative cooling, steam or power generation, etc.) available for
recovering waste heat from EAFs, in this article, we are mainly focusing on scrap preheating technologies as they are commonly used
and widely accepted.

Large EAFs (Ideal

candidates for WHR)

Figure 2. AIST 2014 EAF Roundup Start-up Year and Average Heat Size (metric tons)
Use of charge preheating offers several benefits including lower use of energy level in EAF (MW), reduced melt time and increased
productivity per MW (mT/hour/MW) [EPRI 1997, Memoli 2010, 11, and 13]. The systems listed in table 1 and used at a few plants
include heating of scrap in buckets, shafts, or in a conveyor specially designed to withstand high temperatures. In all cases only a part
of the exhaust gas heat is transferred to the charge material and a relatively large amount of heat is still left in the exhaust gases
leaving the charge preheater (figure 3). There are also several issues identified by users with the currently available scrap heating
systems. Commonly used scrap preheating systems require frequent maintenance and may result in uneven heating of scrap with
localized melting of steel in the scrap preheater itself resulting in operational problems. In many systems, operators prefer low to no
preheating of the scrap material to avoid heat deformation of the charging bucket and resulting maintenance issues or the occurrence
of white smoke or a bad smell as a result of preheating certain types of scraps. Some scrap preheating systems may increase
combustion gas pressure under the furnace roof. In those cases, a highly sensitive furnace pressure control is required to avoid
unacceptable pressure in the furnace, which would lead to CO gas escaping through any gaps in the furnace and associated plant
equipment. Many of these problems are due to uncontrolled gas temperature and the presence of combustibles together with
unpredictable air flow patterns that may result in uncontrolled combustion of combustible gases. Hence there is a need for
development of systems that overcome issues and problems experienced with the use of currently available designs.

Table 1. Existing waste heat recovery techniques/methods from high temperature Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) off gases
Existing Method of
Waste Heat
Recovery

Advantages

Disadvantages

Waste Heat Recovery

Potential

Hot furnace off gases delivered to

a scrap charging bucket from the
fourth hole in the EAF through a
special hood over the charging
bucket. Typically the scrap is
preheated to a range of 315 to
450C (600 to 850F) (EPRI
1997).
A batch type preheater situated on
top of the EAF, scarp is preheated
in the shaft by low velocity offgases and then dropped into the
EAF, can reduce electric
consumption up to 18%, and
increase production by 17 to 20%,
EAF dust reduction ~ 20%.
Two furnaces each with a shaft
and one common electrode mast
and set of electrodes to serve both
furnaces. Tap-to-tap cycles have
been reported to be as low as 40
minutes.

Recovery of waste heat and decreased

electrical consumption to melt steel
scrap, increased productivity, removal of
moisture from the scrap, reduced
electrode and refractory consumption,
some of the furnace dust is trapped by
the scrap and returned to the furnace
thus reducing EAF dust generation and
disposal [JONES 1998].

Recovers only part of the sensible

and chemical heat, still require
large amount of cooling/mixing
air, inconvenient to operate such as
scrap sticking to bucket, poor
controllability of preheating due to
cycling of the off-gas temperature
and flow rate, cannot justify the
capital expense for tap-to-tap times
less than 70 min., if there are
organic substances in the scrap,
such as plastics, odors and/or
dioxins may be formed, many
systems in the past have
experienced operating issues and
problems related to safety,
maintenance and localized melting.

Can recover 30% to 45% of

the waste heat leaving the
furnace (EPRI 1997). The
medium mass temperature of
heated scrap in a range of
315-450C (or 600-840 F).
Scrap preheating reduced tapto-tap time by 910% and the
electrical energy consumption
of the furnace by 7278
kWh/mT [Toulouevski 2013].
Double shaft furnace 100120 kWh/mT [JONES 1998]

Fuchs Finger Shaft

Furnace

The finger shaft design uses a

unique scrap retaining system
with fingers which allow the
preheating of 100 % of the scrap
amount [Voss-Spilker et al.
1996].

Through the utilization of the furnace

off-gas during the heat cycle, scrap can
be preheated to a temp. of approx. 800
C (1,472 F) prior to the final melting
in the furnace vessel. This means
considerable energy and cost savings
with a substantial reduction in tap-to-tap
times.

The energy savings depend on the

scrap used and the degree of postcombustion of off-gases.

The Fuchs Systems make

almost 100% scrap preheating
possible, leading to potential
energy savings of 90-110
kWh/mT [Hofer, 1997]

BBC-Brusa (Italy)
rotary tube-type
scrap preheating

A rotary kiln inclined 12 to the

horizontal and positioned such
that the scrap exiting the kiln

Decreased energy, electrode, and

refractory consumption

Can operate only using properly

prepared fragmentized scrap. At
higher temperatures, sticking of the

Can heat the scrap to 450C

(or 850F) (EPRI 1997).

Scrap preheating in
charging bucket

Fuchs shaft
preheater

Fuchs double shaft

preheater

Brief Description

furnace

drops into the EAF furnace

through the roof.

CONSTEEL
technology for scrap
preheating

Counter flow heat exchanging

conveyor tunnel, continuous scrap
feeding, Consteel technology is
perhaps the most widely used
method of scrap preheating world
wide

Tenovas
Evaporative Cooling
(ECS) Technology

ECS technology uses off-gas

waste heat to generate steam to
use in vacuum degassing system
and/or power generation [AIST
2010].

Continuous
Optimized Shaft
System (COSS) by
Fuchs Technology

Combines the benefits of the

SHAFT Systems high scrap
preheating with those of the
CONSTEEL process the
continuous scrap feeding.

Telescopic Roof
Furnace for single
charge EAF
operation by Fuchs
Technology

Innovative EAF concept for

single bucket application,
telescope principle for gantry &
roof lifting minimizes electrode
length [FUCHS Tech].

Decreased energy and tap-to-tap times,

low electrode consumption, reduced
harmonic and flicker problems, a
reduction in dust generation (20 to 30%),
reduced shop noise

The EAF of the COSS system can

operate with or without the shaft, which
is connected to the EAF by means of a
removable car. Scrap can be charged
into the shaft without interrupting the
power input. Less maintenance cost as
compared to the CS and FS. The short
power off time, the high energy input
due to the flat bath operation and the
much higher scrap preheating
temperatures compared to the Shaft
Furnace Systems and CS guarantee very
low conversion cost figures and higher
productivity.
The telescopic roof allows for a larger
furnace volume depending on the scrap
density that is currently available
without the need of longer electrodes.
Productivity increases due to a reduced
power off time (single bucket charge)
and less required power on time (energy
savings due to scrap preheating).

scrap, which makes it difficult to

move the scrap through the kiln.
Large size equipment.
Uses radiation as major mode of
heat transfer in a tunnel and heats
only the top layer of scrap on a
conveyor, in some cases localized
melting of scrap on the conveyor
belt

Recovers only part of the sensible

and chemical heat, to control
preheating temperature off-gases
are bypassed through bypass offgas regulation system.

Can recover up to 50% of the

waste heat leaving the furnace
(Tenova Core 2013).
Electricity use can be
decreased to approximately
335-355 kWh/mT [Herin &
Busbee, 1996]
High pressure steam
generation average 20
mT/hour at 13
Bar/192C and 28 bar/230C
[AIST 2010].

100% scrap preheating

possible with reduced
electrical energy consumption
of 80-100 kWh/mT. Average
productivity 114 mT per hour
[FUCHS 2013]

Energy savings to standard

Electric Arc Furnaces in the
range of 20 - 30 kWh /mT are
possible [KKA], 30 40
kWh/mT [FUCHS Tech].

LIMITATIONS OF EXISTING METHODS OF WASTE HEAT RECOVERY FROM EAFs

Compared to using heat of off-gases for getting hot water or steam or electricity, heating of scrap can be much more attractive option
since return of lost heat straight back to the heating and melting process assures not only reduced energy consumption, but also a
significant increase in productivity (mT/hr/MW) of EAF. Figure 3 shows enthalpy or heat content kWh/mT, (expressed as kWh/mT)
of solid and liquid iron at temperatures for melting process in EAF. Approximately 294 kWh/mT energy is needed for heating of
scrap to the melting point of 1530-1540C (or 2780 2800F), 75 kWh/mT is used for melting and about 25 kWh/mT is needed for
heating of molten steel from the melting point to the tapping temperature. Thus, 75% of all the required heat is used for heating the
scrap to the melting point, and only 25% for melting and heating of liquid to tapping temperature.

Figure 3. Comparison of consumptions of useful heat for scrap heating, scrap meltdown, and for heating of metal up to tapping
temperature
Despite the advantages attributed to the scrap preheating, use of scrap preheating technologies is quite limited in the US as well as in
the world. This can be explained based on the following reasons:
Use of currently available scrap preheating system can recover only a portion of the heat recovery potential from total heat of
off gases. As shown in figure 3 (green band), the existing scrap preheating technologies can recover anywhere between 25120 kWh/mT (200-650C or 390-1200F) depending upon technology, size, and scrap quality.
Many systems in the past have experienced operating issues and problems related to safety, maintenance and localized
melting.
Oil and other flammable contaminants present in the scrap emit a lot of heat while burning out. This results in quite
undesirable consequences. Even when moderate-temperature (1000-1200C or 1800-2200 F) gas is used for pre-heating of
scrap, pockets of burning and melting of small fractions can be formed in the heated layer. When this occurs, the separate
scrap lumps are welded together forming so called bridges which obstruct normal charging of preheated scarp into the
furnace.
At temperatures higher than 800-900C (or 1470-1650F) the fine scrap is oxidized intensely due to its very large surface
area. This decreases the yield and can create dangerous situations during charging scrap into the furnace. Charging of large
quantities of fine strongly oxidized scrap into the liquid bath can cause an explosion-like release of CO.
When preheating of scrap, it is likely that highly toxic compounds of halogens with hydrocarbons of varying composition,
known under the general name of dioxins, may form.
Consteel technology that uses a conveyor in a tunnel to heat scrap uses radiation as major mode of heat transfer (and
negligible amount of convection on scrap top layer) that heats only the top layer of scrap on a conveyor. Average preheating

temperature of scrap in tunnel by Consteel Technology is 400-600C (750-1100F) resulting in potential saving of 80 120
kWh of sensible heat energy per liquid ton of steel [P. Argenta 2005]. As shown in figure 3, the total enthalpy (sensible +
chemical) of EAF off-gases may go up to 282 kWh/mT. Hence, at best, it recovers less than 50% of the total available waste
heat and about 50-70% of the off gas energy still remains untapped.
According to data from Tenova studies, the optimal hot heel weight in Consteel furnaces comprises 50-60% of the total
capacity [Memoli 2011] which exceeds the general practice for many EAFs by two to three times. The necessity to keep an
enormous hot heel in Consteel furnaces may increase the heat losses [Toulouevski 2013].
Although the hourly productivity per MW (mT/hr/MW) of Consteel furnaces is higher than that for EAFs, the rate of scrap
melting (ton/hr.) is lower than that of the EAFs approximately 1.4 times [Toulouevski 2013]. The productivity defined by
mT/hr/MW is higher only because the power (MW) is lower.
APPROACH FOR EFFECTIVE SCRAP PREHEATING

During the last few decades researchers have attempted implementing different practices for waste heat recovery including preheating
the scrap using EAF off-gases. Nevertheless, they did not yield the results which, in comparison with EAF without scarp preheating,
could justify the usage of sophisticated equipment requiring additional maintenance and attention. Hence it is necessary to rethink and
potentially redesign EAF waste heat recovery including scrap preheating systems. Scrap preheating is definitely an attractive option
and Figure 4 clearly shows benefits of effective scrap preheating. If we increase scrap temperature from 200C to 600C (or 390F to
1110F), amount of electric energy needed for melting the scrap drops by over 15%. But in order to achieve effective and controlled
scrap preheating, the following guidelines should be considered:
Maximum possible heat recovery with minimum exhaust gas volume,
Complete and controlled combustion of off gas combustibles at controlled temperature,
Production of relatively clean gases,
Use of convection heating of scrap using clean and combustible free moderate temperature (800-900C or 1470-1650F)
gases,
Providing supplemental fuel heat using burners to maintain constant scrap temperature entering the EAF
Better control and predictable scrap preheating process conditions, uniform heating of scrap across the scrap depth and
avoid localized scrap overheating or melting,
Effective cleaning of scrap preheater gases if necessary, and
Flexibility to allow use different types of scrap.

Figure 4: Benefits of Effective Scrap Preheating Percent of Total Electric Heat Required vs. Scrap Temperature
The current research project at ORNL is aimed at developing and testing new concepts and materials that allow maximum costeffective recovery of sensible and chemical heat from high temperature contaminated gases discharged from EAFs. The remaining
portion of this article explains potential new concepts that follow aforementioned guidelines and may allow maximum recovery of
total waste heat from EAFs.

EAF WASTE HEAT RECOVERY ADVANCED CONCEPTS

The goal of our research work at ORNL is to develop innovative waste heat recovery concepts to preheat scrap when required and
justifiable, generate steam if required in the plant and produce electrical power simultaneously. The proposed heat recovery systems
discussed in this section aim to eliminate many problems associated with currently used practices and provide an opportunity to
recover sensible and chemical heat through controlled combustion of combustibles in the EAF off gases. The proposed heat recovery
systems include controlled combustion of the combustible content of EAF exhaust gases and removal of a large percentage of
particulates resulting in relatively clean hot gases. These gases can be used for scrap or charge preheating and to produce steam and
electrical power usable by the plant.
The systems include a number of new features and hence they differ from the conventional systems in the following ways:
Preconditioning of exhaust gases to process (or oxidize) combustible gases at controlled temperature and to remove a large
percentage of particulates so that the gases can be used in a heat recovery system. This results in clean or combustibles
free gases for use in heat recovery systems.
Extraction of off-gases from the furnace by keeping the off-gas pressure under the furnace roof nearly constant.
Controlled temperature and gas composition while transferring heat in a heat recovery system.
Use of a heat recovery system to reduce exhaust gas temperature as opposed to use of a large volume of cooling air to lower
exhaust gas temperature.
Use of a heat transfer system that provides heat accumulator capability to reduce the effect of variations in sensible and
chemical heat content of EAF exhaust gases during a heat or the cycle.
Scrap preheating using hot gases that contain no combustible material and are at a controlled temperature to allow convective
heating of scrap or charge material for heating entire mass of scrap prior to charging in an EAF.
Use of clean exhaust gases in a steam generator that includes auxiliary fuel firing to deliver a fairly constant amount of steam
for use in the plant.
Steam can be used to generate electrical power to offset some of their power costs, if economically justified.
DETAILED TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION OF THE PROPOSED SYSTEMS
The proposed systems for recovering sensible and chemical heat from EAF exhaust gases consist of several modules. Due to
limitations on available space and confidentiality reasons we will discuss only high level description of the waste heat recovery
systems in this section. They are shown in the attached Figures 5 and 6 and described below.
1. A heat recovery subsystem used to condition exhaust gases. This is designed to complete combustion of gases containing
chemical heat under controlled temperature using the minimum amount of combustion and cooling air. A heat source module
where heat from hot gases is transferred to a heat transfer medium that can withstand high temperature and can store heat.
2. A heat transfer module (heat sink) where heat stored in the medium from the heat source module is transferred to air or other
fluid. This module is used to cool the heat transfer medium that is recycled back to the heat source module.
3. A particulate removal or dropping arrangement in or outside the heat transfer modules. This is accomplished by using proper
geometrical configuration and/or use of cleaning medium such as compressed air, mechanical scrubbing or other methods to
remove particulates attached to or mixed with the heat transfer medium.
4. Use of a mixture of hot air from the heat sink module and hot and relatively clean gases, free of combustibles and vapors
including small amount of particulates, at a controlled temperature in the secondary heat recovery subsystem.
5. The secondary heat recovery system may include a scrap or charge preheater and/or a steam generator.
6. The gases are distributed to the scrap preheater and/or to a steam generator based on heat demand in the scrap preheater with
excess gases going to the steam generator. Exact use, distribution and control of the heat depends on specific plant
requirements.
7. Recirculation of scrap preheater exhaust gases to the heat source module where temperature is well above 982C (or 1,800
F) to combust any combustible gases or volatile organic compounds (VOCs) mixed with heating gases in the scrap or charge
preheater.
8. A steam generator that uses clean, hot gases and air from the heat sink to produce steam. The steam generator may use
auxiliary fuel firing, such as natural gas, to maintain constant steam production when heat content of hot gas and air is not
adequate to deliver the desired steam production.
9. The steam can be used in the plant or for other uses if required (for example, the vacuum degassing system, vacuum pumps,
etc.). Or the steam can be used for power generation using conventional steam turbine-generator system.
10. Clean and lower temperature exhaust gases from the steam generator are directed to the bag house or other type of pollution
control equipment at controlled temperature by using dilution air if necessary.

11. If necessary, a gas treatment device such as injection of activated carbon can be used to reduce the concentration of pollutants
such as dioxin and furan to meet the environmental control regulations.

Figure 5. A system for recovery of sensible and chemical heat from EAF exhaust gases with integrated clean charge preheating.

Figure 6. A system for recovery of sensible and chemical heat from EAF exhaust gases with integrated clean charge preheating (scrap
with oil and combustibles).

The research team has developed excel based models for calculating overall heat availability (sensible + chemical) and recoverable
heat values (steam or power generation potential) for the waste heat recovery concepts discussed above. These excel based models
calculate sensible and chemical enthalpy of the EAF off-gases based on off-gas chemical composition, temperature and mass flow rate
during tap to tap time, and variation of above parameters in terms of actual values with time. These models provide heat transfer
analysis for the aforementioned concepts to confirm the overall system and major component sizing (preliminary) to assess
practicality of the systems. The next revision of these models will provide estimated installed cost based on preliminary design and
system cost estimate for the selected WHRS concept(s), operating cost for fuel and electricity for the system, and economic value of
other benefits (i.e. productivity gain, emission reduction etc.).
CONCLUSION
Use of the EAF off-gas heat for the purpose of scrap preheating in the electric arc furnaces offers several benefits including
continuous charging, lower use of energy (power level, MW) in EAF, and increased productivity (t/h/MW). At this time use of scrap
preheating using heat from EAF off gases is practiced by a very small number of EAFs in the USA. In these cases only a part of the
off-gas heat is transferred to the charge material and a relatively large amount of heat is still left in the exhaust gases leaving the scrap
preheater. Commonly used scrap preheating systems require frequent maintenance and may result in uneven heating of scrap with
localized melting of steel resulting in operational problems. Many of these problems are due to varying gas temperature and presence
of combustibles together with unpredictable air flow patterns that may result in uncontrolled burning of combustible gases. Hence,
there is a need for the development of systems that overcome issues and problems associated with use of currently available designs
and recover the maximum possible waste heat.
The ORNL has developed innovative waste heat recovery concepts that can be used a recover a large percentage (>70%) of off gas
heat to preheat scrap, generate steam, and, if economical, produce electrical power. The proposed heat recovery systems aim to
eliminate many problems associated with currently used practices and provide an opportunity to recover sensible and chemical heat
through controlled burning of combustibles in the gases with use of integral heat recovery. These proposed heat recovery systems also
include removal of a large percentage of particulates which results in hot and relatively clean gases. These gases can be used for
charge preheating and to produce steam and electrical power which are usable by the plant. The ORNL team expects to test one or
more systems in collaboration with industrial partners and end users.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This work was supported by the US Department of Energys Advanced Manufacturing office (AMO) under contract number - FWP
No. CEED 210, Project 19864, Agreement 19128. We would like to acknowledge technical support provided by Tenova Core, Fuchs
Technology, Gerdau Knoxville, and ArcelorMittal.
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