Maximize heat exchanger energy efficiency in steel production

The process of extracting aluminum requires energy-intensive procedures, including digestion, evaporation, and heating of the liquor. Manufacturers require a thorough know-how process that ensures highly reliable equipment involving heat exchangers to optimize performance, decrease downtime and increase profitability. 

Sustainable or low-carbon steel employs eco-friendly production methods, such as direct reduced iron (DRI) to reduce carbon emissions, unlike the traditional, energy-intensive blast furnace-basic oxygen furnace (BF-BOF) method, which heavily depends on coking coal and significantly increases CO2 emissions. Tranter’s plate heat exchangers play an essential part in reducing CO2 emissions from steel plants through post combustion carbon capture and to recover the waste heat from the steel production process.

Heat exchangers are utilized in electric arc furnaces (EAFs) and basic oxygen furnaces (BOFs), which are common methods for smelting and refining stainless steel scrap or raw materials such as iron ore, nickel, and chromium.

Steel production is crucial, transforming iron and carbon into steel with traces of manganese, chromium, nickel, and vanadium, all facilitated by heat exchangers.

Blast furnaces typically use regenerative stoves to preheat the blast air before it enters the furnace. Heat exchangers within these regenerative systems recover waste heat from the hot off-gases leaving the furnace and transfer it to incoming cold air, improving energy efficiency and reducing fuel consumption.