Founded in 2002, Langxi County Hongtai Steel manufactures a wide array of steel-production components including bushings and rolling mill rolls, and also produces construction steel, for example rebar, coiled rebar, wire rod, and more. The Anhui province is located in the eastern part of China.

In 2018, Primetals Technologies was awarded a contract, which includes a 120t “EAF Quantum”, a 120t twin ladle furnace, as well as level 1 and 2 automation systems for both the “EAF” and the twin ladle furnace. Basic engineering and supply of key equipment for the dedusting system were also included in the order.

The electric steelmaking plant produced its first heat early in 2022. Since then, it has achieved heats with record-breaking figures on a consistent basis. As an example, the power consumption was below 300 kilowatts per hour at a power-on time of about 30 minutes. At the same time, the oxygen consumption was minimal, at less than 23 cubic meters per ton. The performance of the “EAF Quantum” has resulted in productivity figures exceeding the expectations of Hongtai Steel.

The excellent performance figures are made possible by several special features of the “EAF Quantum”. As an example, it uses a scrap preheating system that shortens the power-on times. In a conventional electric arc furnace, the scrap is cold when charged. With the “EAF Quantum”, scrap is preheated with off-gas from the production process. Therefore, less energy is needed to melt the scrap, which results in lower operating costs and reduced CO2 emissions.

Primetals Technologies holds five patents for the highly innovative “EAF Quantum” technology – among them the shaft design and the automatic tap-hole sand-filling system. Furthermore, this furnace is fully automated and features advanced dust removal systems. As a result, the dust emission is reduced by 50 percent compared with standard electric arc furnaces.

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