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A Closer Look at Clean Steel-Making Solutions

Clean, sustainable energy is a priority in 2020 and beyond, so it is no surprise that the steel-making industry is attempting to play a significant role in the global net-zero emissions targets by 2050.

By some global estimates, steel is responsible for eight percent of the world’s carbon emissions today. In order to combat these high numbers, the steel-making industry will need to create alternatives to primary steel processes as well as new technologies that will boost recycled steel initiatives.

Energy transitions, however, are on completely different timelines around the world in 2020. What is happening right now in Europe may not happen here in the United States for a few more years as each country’s emissions strategies differ. China, for example, has set its net-zero emissions targets for 2060.

MagnaDrive’s Role in Steel-Making Applications

So how can MagnaDrive play a role in clean, sustainable steel-making today? In bag house and blast furnace fan applications, the company is already providing component alternatives that can lead to an increase in energy savings.

Bag house fans are used to filter exhaust gas from their processes. These are often seen in steel and cement plants. Blast furnace fans are another example in steel production where speed control can lead to energy savings.

These fans rely on the energy of the impellers or the rotating blade to increase the pressure of the air/gas stream. Therefore, the bearings, motors, belts, couplings, etc. must be high quality to ensure reliable service, noise reduction and the ability to operate under a variety of different operating conditions.

“Prior to using MagnaDrive products, many of these companies were not using speed control to help save energy on these applications” says Field Service Engineer Gilberto Ramirez at MagnaDrive.

To enhance these centrifugal fan applications, MagnaDrive suggested upgrades to the equipment with their ASDs and Emax FGC products. The slip offered by fixed speed couplings helped to reduce energy consumption. Additionally, a reduction in fan speed resulted in long-term energy savings and less demand on the motor.

With the addition of a MagnaDrive ASD, some customers were able to eliminate vibration and turbulence, minimizing stress cracks in the equipment. Thanks to no sensitive electronic parts in the ASD, the equipment could run in the dusty environment typically found in bag house fans without maintenance issues. This all but eliminated the need to utilize highly skilled technicians to maintain the equipment.

Furthermore, the ASD installation allows customers in these areas to apply similar components to systems that require variable outputs/changing load patterns. Compressors, pumps, blowers, conveyors etc. could be reexamined to determine if MagnaDrive upgrades would also benefit these applications.

The MagnaDrive Emax series provides up to a 30% energy savings on variable torque pump and fan applications. It is suitable for high inertia systems, ideal for mining and cement, HVAC, pulp and paper, and manufacturing applications subject to tight space constraints.  

The MagnaDrive ASD provides the energy savings of speed control without the problems often associated with Variable Frequency Drives. System complexity is reduced, vibration is minimized and alignment problems disappear. Motor systems can be resized for lower cost and more efficient operation. Learn more about these and other products at www.magnadrive.com.

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