Linde Awarded Major Contract to Supply REBOX HLL Oxy-Fuel System to SSAB
The installation will represent the world’s largest oxy-fuel combustion system in a reheat furnace.
Posted: October 13, 2010
Linde Gases, a division of The Linde Group (Munich, Germany), announced its agreement with Swedish steel manufacturer, SSAB, for the installation of an extensive REBOX HLL oxy-fuel system at its steel mill in Borlange, Sweden. Combined with a similar but smaller system implemented at the plant by Linde in early 2009, the installation will represent the world's largest oxy-fuel combustion system in a reheat furnace and is scheduled for completion January 2011. SSAB is a leading global producer of high-strength steels, with a production capacity of more than six million tons.
The first REBOX HLL system, with 25 megawatts (MW) of power, was installed in one of two zones within one of the 300 tons per hour walking beam furnaces at the Borl ange mill. Following its successful operation, the technology will now be extended to that furnace's second zone and to both zones within the other furnace. The combined oxy-fuel installation will allow the Borlange plant to operate at 60-70 MW and will deliver operational improvements including a 10-percent increase in throughput capacity, a reduction of fuel consumption by 15 percent, in addition to helping to decrease CO2 and NOx emissions by as much as 15 and 25 percent respectively.
"SSAB continuously aims to make its operations more efficient and decrease environmental impact. We are committed to use technologies that decrease fuel consumption and CO2 and NOX emissions. Working in close cooperation with Linde's steel reheating specialists, through laboratory tests and stepwise full-scale implementation, has created the trust and experience needed when taking on a new technology. REBOX HLL has already been proven to be successful in Borlange, and we are now taking a further step to gain additional benefits," said Ronnie Hogberg, production and site manager at, SSAB's strip mill in Borlange.
Linde's patented REBOX HLL technology creates a type of flameless oxy-fuel without the need to replace existing air-fuel burners. By reducing the airflow within the combustion process and substituting the majority of the air with oxygen, which is delivered via high-velocity injection, combustion is greatly improved. Additionally, the flue-gas volume produced from this oxygen-enhanced mixture is less than 55 percent of that of air-fuel alone. The benefits for the end user include increased throughput capacity, improved temperature uniformity, decreased fuel consumption and reduction of NOx and CO2 emissions. As no alternative or additional burners are required, which minimizes the installation downtime, the legacy air-fuel system can also be re-instated at any time. This mitigates potential risk associated with the implementation and allows for optimal and flexible operations in order to respond to fluctuating fuel costs and production requirements.
"The agreement with SSAB for a second, larger installation of REBOX HLL is an important milestone for Linde," said Joachim von Schéele, marketing manager metals and glass, Linde Gases. "SSAB's decision validates the use of this particular type of oxy-fuel technology in large steel reheating furnaces and we believe it can make a significant impact on reducing fuel consumption and emissions of greenhouse gases not only for SSAB but for other steel manufacturers globally over the next few years."
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