Improvement of Energy Efficiency of Emissions Capture in Steel Melt Shops through a Robust Simulation Framework

Improvement of Energy Efficiency of Emissions Capture in Steel Melt Shops through a Robust Simulation Framework

Iron and steel manufacturing are highly energy-intensive processes, with an energy consumption of about 5 to 6 Gcal/tonne of crude steel produced. In the USA, it contributes to ~ 1.5% of total country-wide energy consumption and ~ 6% of the total energy consumption of the manufacturing sector. The steel industry also accounts for ~7% to 9% of the total annual anthropogenic CO2 emissions – emitting an about 1.9 to 2.1 tonnes of CO2 / tonne of crude steel produced.

In the present day, the goals of improving the efficiency of steelmaking processes through various innovations and process improvements are unmet without conforming to the tightening emission norms. A typical steelmaking furnace gives off emissions during operations such as charging, tapping, melting and blowing. Given that the steelmaking processes are of the batch type, a sealed capture of emissions is not possible and therefore presents various challenges for their efficient capture.

The present work presents the CFD framework development and highlights the simulations carried out at Dastur Innovation Labs with regards to the energy-efficient capture of secondary emissions in selected industrial BOF and EAF configurations