Bypassing Problems Related to Water Cooling: Case Study for Applying ILTEC in a 100-ton EAF

by Martina B. Hanel, Andreas Filzwieser, Rolf Degel, Hans-Jörg Krassnig

Publisher - Mettop GmbH, PolyMet Solutions GmbH, SMS group GmbH

Category - Engineering & IT

All different metallurgical furnaces and aggregates that deal with high temperatures have in common, that they need a powerful cooling system, since temperatures from 800 up to 2000 °C are required for the production of metals. Worldwide, industrial scale cooling systems predominantly operate with water. This is mainly due to the high thermal conductivity and the convenient availability of water, making it broadly used and favourable. However, water also has several disadvantageous characteristics1-3 . Due to its restriction to a maximum operation temperature of 60 °C and the risk of explosion - both due to volume expansion and possible hydrogen explosion - the cooling medium water can even cause severe dangers. On taking a closer look at the safety issues it has to be noted, that due to water damages - especially in the field of highly stressed areas – several fatal accidents occur every year worldwide4,5. This was the main motivation to rethink the existing cooling systems in metallurgy and to finally develop the innovative “cooling with ionic liquids” concept. This water free cooling concept has now been approved in industry for several years and hence the possible application and resulting advantages with an EAF are discussed here. Since it is well known that there are multiple reasons for damage caused by leaking of water within the different parts of the EAF, it is of superior interest to eliminate water as the cooling medium: within the upper shell, hydration of the refractory material, caused by small leakages in the side wall cooling panels that lead to molten steel perforation, can occur. In off-gas parts, cooler perforation due to corrosive off-gases can take place. Hot spots within the sidewall of the refractory lining in the bottom vessel, leading to additional down-time causing production losses, are a problem that can be solved. Not to forget the priceless benefit of a safe workplace.

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