Development of High Efficiency Refining at Wakayama Steelmaking Plant

by Toru Kambayashi, Takeshi Tanigaki, Yuzo Tajiri, Jun-Ichi Tani, Kiyohito Fujiwara

Publisher - Sumikin Iron and Steel Corporation, Sumitomo Metal Industries

Category - General Novel

At the Wakayama Steel Works, a single high speed BOF has supplied molten steel to three continuous casting machines since 1999. The BOF must supply molten steel in a short tap to tap time (=20 minutes) and in a fast blowing time (=9 minutes). In July 2009 a new No.1 BF has started operation, and pig iron production has been increased since then. The BOF has been improved by taking three measures to maintain high operation efficiency. The first measure is to prevent oxygen flow rate from slowing down by inhibiting scale attachment. The second is the development of a static model. The last is the improvement of the tapping hole. As a result of these developments, a 9-minute blowing period and shorter tapping time could have been maintained under increased heat size conditions. As a result, the crude steel making capacity at the Wakayama Steel Works has been increased from 3.8 million tons to 4.5 million tons per year.

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