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Siemens to Modernize NatSteel Finger-Shaft Electric Arc Furnace
04/27/2012 - Siemens VAI Metals Technologies has received an order from NatSteel Holdings to modernize the finger-shaft electric arc furnace in its Singapore Works. The project involves installing a new FAST system, renewing the furnace shaft and the lower shell, and bringing the automation of the arc and ladle furnace up to state-of-the-art.
Siemens VAI Metals Technologies has received an order from NatSteel Holdings Pte Ltd. to modernize the finger-shaft electric arc furnace in its Singapore Works. The project involves installing a new FAST (furnace advanced slag-free tapping) system, renewing the furnace shaft and the lower shell, and bringing the automation of the arc and ladle furnace up to the state-of-the-art.
Commissioning is planned for March 2013.
Siemens supplied the 80-tonne finger-shaft furnace currently run by NatSteel in Singapore. The furnace has a round bottom tap and a maximum input power of 56 MVA. This furnace already achieves consumption figures of less than 290 kW·h per tonne of steel.
To increase the productivity of the furnace and further reduce the specific energy requirement, Siemens will install new mechanical equipment based on the Simetal EAF Quantum solution platform specially developed for electric arc furnaces, and new automation equipment. The main feature of the furnace modernization will be the installation of the FAST system, as well as a new anode. The lower shell of the furnace will also be adapted, and the plugging of the tap hole will be automated.
The FAST system is said by Siemens to help reduce the tap-to-tap time, increasing productivity by around 6%. The specific energy input reportedly falls by about 5 kW·h per tonne.
The furnace shaft will also be modernized and the off-gas ducting improved, which will minimize pressure loss. An integrated dust precipitation chamber below the furnace platform will reduce the cost of cleansing and make working safer. The scrap bucket will be positioned fully automatically in future. The project also includes upgrading the basic automation of the ladle furnace in the Singapore steel works from Simatic S5 to Simatic S7.
Siemens will be responsible for supervision services during installation and commissioning of all the new equipment.
NatSteel is a wholly owned subsidiary company of Tata Steel, and one of the leading steelmakers in the Asia-Pacific region. The company has 3000 employees at locations in Singapore, China, Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Australia, and produces over 2 million tonnes of steel products per annum, mainly for the region's construction industry.
The Siemens Industry Sector (Erlangen, Germany) is a leading supplier of innovative and environmentally friendly products and solutions for industrial customers. With end-to-end automation technology and industrial software, solid vertical-market expertise, and technology-based services, the Sector employs more than 100,000 people and comprises the divisions Industry Automation, Drive Technologies and Customer Services as well as the Business Unit Metals Technologies.
The Metals Technologies Business Unit (Linz, Austria), part of the Siemens Industry Sector, is one of the world’s leading suppliers of plant construction and engineering in the iron and steel industry as well as in the flat rolling segment of the aluminum industry. The business unit offers a comprehensive product and service portfolio for metallurgical plants and equipment as well as integrated automation and environmental solutions covering the entire lifecycle of plants.
