Electric Steelmaking Committee Activities

ESTC chair Alyssa van Delden (left) presented a plaque of appreciation to Ashley Gravely (right) for hosting the committee’s tour of Levy Brandenburg Mill Services.

The ESTC met 7 February 2024, Louisville, Ky., USA.
The ESTC had its meeting co-located with Modern Electric Furnace Steelmaking — A Practical Training Seminar. The group met to discuss committee business, which included an extensive safety discussion on recent injuries and fatalities, particularly those related to contractor safety and new equipment installations. They also discussed the plans for upcoming EAF Study Tour to Japan in late fall 2024. The group invited Dan Bourlotos and Greg Brasel of Carbide Industries to give an overview of calcium carbide production as well as its use in the EAF.
After the meeting, the ESTC members participated in a tour of Levy Brandenburg Mill Services, touring both the slag processing and scrap handling operations. Following the tour, the group participated in a roundtable discussion and reception with the attendees of the training course.

The ESTC met 28 September 2023, Orlando, Fla., USA
The ESTC met in Orlando, Fla., before the AIST Globe-Trotters Member Chapter annual meeting. The meeting spotlighted key presentations on meltshop safety improvements over the years and novel uses of fiber optics, alongside a discussion on electric arc furnace key performance indicators.
The committee was able to plan for their upcoming events including Modern Electric Steelmaking — A Practical Training Seminar, which will be held 5–9 February 2024 in Louisville, Ky., USA. The ESTC also gauged interest from the group on holding a study tour in Japan in March 2024.

Alyssa Van Delden (left) and Justin Zwick (right) presented the ESTC service plaque to Kyle Vanover (center).

The ESTC met 8 May 2023, Detroit, MI, USA.
The following officers were elected:

  • Chair: Kyle Vanover - Steel Dynamics Inc. – Flat Roll Group Butler Division

  • Vice Chair: Alyssa Van Delden - California Steel Industries

  • Papers Chair: Justin Zwick - CMC Steel Arizona

  • Membership Chair: Robert Scalise - OnPoint – A Koch Engineered Solutions Co.

  • Education Co-Chairs: Brett McGee - Mid-Continent Coal & Coke Co., and Alex England - Tokai Carbon GE LLC

  • Roundup Chair: Paul Thibodeau - Magneco/Metrel Inc.

  • Young Professional Chair: Mike Diana - Berry Metal Co.

  • Decarbonization Liaison: Sara Hornby - Global Strategic Solutions Inc.

The ESTC met 22 February 2023, San Antonio Texas, USA.
The ESTC had its meeting co-located with Modern Electric Furnace Steelmaking — A Practical Training seminar. The group met to discuss committee business, including measures around the industry to engineer tasks to remove hazards to those that work on the meltshop floor. The group invited Charles Ochola, president of the National Slag Association, and Kelly Cook, the technical marketing director at Levy, to discuss the current regulatory environment and the challenges faced with the traditional uses of slags. 
After the meeting, the ESTC participated in a roundtable discussion and reception with the attendees of the training conference.

Brandon Kaminski, CMC Steel Arizona, presented “Overview of Scrap Market in Western USA,” at the ESTC’s meeting in Texas.

The ESTC met 27 August 2022, Corpus Christi, Texas, USA
The ESTC had an excellent meeting which included an extended discussion on raw materials supply. There was an extensive safety discussion focused on scrap handling and scrap inspection both at the mill level and upstream at the scrap suppliers. The discussion moved from scrap sorting machines to how mills have educated scrap suppliers on the dangers associated with poor scrap. The meeting had 25 participants.
The ESTC also gave updates on other various committee activities. The AISTech 2023 technical program for the ESTC currently has 32 abstracts. The group also discussed the next Modern Electric Steelmaking — A Practical Training Seminar, which will take place in San Antonio, Texas, USA, on 20–24 February 2023 with a tour of CMC Steel Texas.
Presentations:

  • “Scrap and Iron Unit Supply to Feed Current Industry Demand,” by Madhu Ranade, Steel Dynamics Inc. – Flat Roll Group Columbus Division.

  • “Overview of Scrap Market in Western USA,” by Brandon Kaminski, CMC Steel Arizona.

Alyssa Van Delden (left) and Kyle Vanover (right) presented
the ESTC service plaque to Gilbert Hutton (center).

The ESTC met 16 May 2022, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
The following officers were elected:

  • Chair: Kyle Vanover  /  Steel Dynamics Inc. – Flat Roll Group Butler Division

  • Vice Chair: Alyssa Van Delden  /  Nucor Steel Kankakee Inc.

  • Papers Chair: Justin Zwick  /  Commercial Metals Company

  • Membership Chair: Robert Scalise  /  Koch/OnPoint

  • Education Co-Chairs: Brett McGee  /  Mid-Continent Coal & Coke Co., and Alex England  /  Tokai Carbon GE LLC

  • Roundup Chair: Paul Thibodeau  /  Magneco/Metrel Inc.

  • Young Professional Chair: Mike Diana  /  Berry Metal Co.

  • Decarbonization Liaison: Britt MacKinnon  /  Hatch Associates Ltd.

The ESTC met 9 February 2022, Orlando, Fla., USA

The Electric Steelmaking Technology Committee met in Orlando, Fla., USA, on 9 February 2022.

The ESTC meeting was held in conjunction with Modern Electric Furnace Steelmaking — A Practical Training Seminar (see page 200 for a conference recap). Committee chair Gilbert Hutton welcomed members to the meeting. The first half of the meeting focused on committee business, including AISTech session building, award planning and nominations for officers for next year. ESTC membership chair Alex England noted that next year’s training course will be in San Antonio, Texas, USA, with a tour of CMC Steel Texas. He also discussed the upcoming Young Professional events and webinars. Sam Matson gave an update on the efforts of the AIST Foundation to choose quality scholarship candidates. Stephan Ferenczy gave an update from the AIST Board of Directors and Awards and Recognition Program Committee. 
The rest of the meeting was an in-depth safety discussion on maintaining focus with new construction, seasonal and new workforce and high production times, and during upset conditions or unplanned outages. Following a tour of Nucor Steel Florida Inc., the ESTC then participated in a panel discussion as part of the Modern Electric Furnace Steelmaking training conference.

The ESTC met 28 August 2021, Fernandina Beach, Fla., USA, co-located with the Globe-Trotters Member Chapter annual meeting
The ESTC had a very productive meeting, which included a lengthy safety discussion focused around furnace washouts — this included a roundtable discussion as well as an exercise where the 24 committee members present brainstormed a list of 36 reasons why there could be a loss of containment.
The committee also gave updates on numerous other tasks. The AISTech 2022 technical program for the ESTC currently has 20 abstracts. There was also discussion on holding an “ESTC — Greatest Hits” session where the past few years’ best papers are re-presented, along with an EAF roundtable discussion.
The group also discussed the next Modern Electric Steelmaking — A Practical Training Seminar, which will take place in Orlando, Fla., USA, on 7–11 February 2022 with a tour of Nucor Steel Florida. There are plans to rework some of the content of the program and include additional presentations on decarbonization and process control and automation.
Presentations:

  • “Heel Control and Bath Weight Measurement,” by Justin Zwick, CMC Steel Arizona.

  • “No Man on the Floor Technologies,” by Kyle Shoop, Tenova.

  • “Raw Materials and Technology Considerations for Low-C EAF Steelmaking,” by Jeremy Jones, CIX Inc.

  • “Moving Toward Green Steelmaking,” by Bill Emling, SMS group Inc.

Justin Zwick of CMC Steel Arizona gave a presentation titled “Heel Control and Bath Weight Measurement.”
There were 24 attendees at the ESTC meeting in Fernandina Beach, Fla., USA.
Gilbert Hutton was presented with the ESTC service plaque (left to right): Kyle Vanover, Lauren Jellison, Hutton and Alyssa Van Delden.

The ESTC met 29 June 2021, Nashville, TN USA.

The following officers were elected:

  • Chair: Gilbert Hutton, CMC Steel California

  • Vice Chair: Kyle Vanover, Steel Dynamics Inc. – Flat Roll Group Butler Division

  • Papers Chair: Alyssa Van Delden, Nucor Steel Kankakee Inc.

  • Membership Chair: Alex England, Tokai Carbon GE LLC

  • Education Chair: Brett McGee, Mid-Continent Coal & Coke Co.

  • Roundup Chair: Rob Strain, Primetals Technologies 

  • USA LLC

  • Young Professional Chair: Aaron Strelbisky, Tallman Technologies Inc.

The ESTC held a virtual meeting 3 February 2021.
Gilbert Hutton, ESTC chair, opened the committee’s winter meeting and welcomed the attendees.
Following a review of committee membership and AIST staff announcements, the members reviewed the status of the ESTC sessions currently scheduled for AISTech 2021. The ESTC has 34 papers scheduled.
Alyssa Van Delden, ESTC papers chair, encouraged the session chairs to begin reaching out to the authors regarding upcoming deadlines.
Members then discussed nominations for 2021–2022 committee officers as well as its 2021 awards, including the Charles W. Briggs Award and the John Bell Award.
The group then reviewed upcoming ESTC-sponsored webinars and the 2021 Modern Electric Furnace Steelmaking Training Seminar.
The ESTC also heard reports from AIST Digital Transformation Subcommittee activities and the Young Professional Recruitment Subcommittee.
The meeting then broke into a roundtable discussion on a variety of issues such as carbon footprint reduction, metal oxidation issues prior to slag foaming, and the use of predictive analysis for refractory life.
Presentations: 

  • “EAF Laser Scanning,” by Louis Valentas, The Systems Group.

  • “EAF Stirring Technologies,” by Joakim Andersson, ABB.

  • “EAF Refractory Technologies,” by Bill Porter, PRCO Americas.

The ESTC held a virtual meeting 20 October 2020
The ESTC’s fall meeting kicked off with a safety discussion inspired by the latest Steel Industry Fatalities report.
The ESTC then reviewed their 2021 committee award planning, including the Charles W. Briggs Award and the John Bell Award. Nominations for AIST Board of Directors Awards, including the Tadeusz Sendzimir Memorial Medal, were also solicited.
The committee then moved on to updates to the 2021 AIST Electric Arc Furnace Roundup. A number of new facilities and furnaces have come on-line since the 2020 edition was published, and committee members should contact ESTC roundup chair Rob Strain to assist with gathering this information.
Presentations: 

  • “Q-SYM² and Q-ASC: ABS Scrap Yard Management, Assisted Scrap Classification and Digital Integration Into the Steel Process,” by Luca Argiolas, Danieli.

  • “Numerical Investigation of DC Electric Arc Behavior Under the Consideration of Electrode Movement,” by Yuchao Chen, Center for Innovation Through Visualization and Stimulation, Purdue University Northwest.

The ESTC had a virtual meeting 4 May 2020
The ESTC meeting began with a review of the committee’s objectives for the coming year. It was decided that the committee’s meeting at AISTech 2020 will serve as the ESTC’s fall meeting. The group then reviewed the status of Modern Electric Furnace Steelmaking — A Practical Training Seminar, which will be held in Nashville, Tenn., USA, in February 2021.
Committee officer elections for the 2020–2021 term were held. The 2020–2021 ESTC officers are:

  • Chair: Gilbert Hutton, CMC Steel California.

  • Vice chair: Kyle Vanover, Steel Dynamics Inc.

  • Papers chair: Alyssa Van Delden, Nucor Steel Kankakee Inc.

  • Membership chair: Alex England, Tokai Carbon.

  • Education chair: Brett McGee, Mid Continent Coal & Coke.

  • Roundup chair: Rob Strain, Primetals Technologies USA LLC.

The ESTC concluded their meeting with a roundtable discussion about COVID-19 safety measures, operational issues that have developed from the coronavirus pandemic, and community outreach and support efforts.