Past AIST Committee Activities
Current Activities
The Energy & Utilities Technology Committee (EUTC) met May 3, 2010, at AISTech in Pittsburgh. Chris Birkbeck of Nucor Steel welcomed everyone and thanked them for attending. Matt Druciak of SECO/Warwick agreed to take the meeting minutes. The AIST Anti-Trust Guidelines were reviewed, and everyone agreed to follow them. The minutes from the Feb. 9 EUTC meeting were reviewed and approved as written. The committee elected their 2010–2011 officers as: Lee Rosen of Praxair, chair; Bruce Colburn of EPS, vice chair; and Mike Buettner of Alfa Laval, papers chair. The EUTC mission statement was reviewed and accepted without changes as: “To promote efficient, safe and environmentally responsible energy technology in the production and processing of iron and steel. We will accomplish this through the facilitation of training, technical presentations and the exchange of energy-related information.” Tony Fennell of Bloom Engineering presented an update of the Thermal Specialty Training Conference that is tentatively scheduled for fall 2011 in Nashville, Tenn. The scope of the conference will be broad, general and basic for the professionals newer to the energy side of the business. The next EUTC meeting is scheduled for Oct. 26–27 in Calumet, Ind., and will include a tour of Purdue Calumet’s Center for Innovation through Visualization and Simulation.
The Energy and Utilities Technology Committee (EUTC) met Feb. 9, 2010, at the Nucor Steel Memphis facility. The committee vice chair, Lee Rosen from Praxair, opened the meeting by welcoming everyone to Memphis, noting that a number of committee members were not able to make it due to the weather. The AIST Anti-Trust Guidelines were reviewed and agreed to. Eugene Arnold volunteered to take the meeting minutes. The meeting minutes from the Oct. 22–23, 2009, meeting in Carmel, Ind., were discussed and approved as written. The EUTC then reviewed the 2009 and 2010 Steel Industry Fatalities report, which led to a discussion on personal safety in a mill. The Technology Committee Center will be an area on the AISTech exhibit floor where committee members will be available to explain the benefits of being on a committee. A number of members expressed an interest in participating at the Technology Committee Center. The committee revised the 2011 EUTC Call for Abstracts to be: “New developments and applications that promote increased productivity, energy efficiency and carbon reduction in the generation, distribution or use of steel plant utilities. The topics of interest could include: carbon accounting and metering, purchased fuels, byproduct gases, steam, industrial gases, compressed air, hydrogen, oxygen, electricity, lighting, heat recovery systems, boilers, furnaces, power plant and water systems.” Next was an informative presentation by Carl Gagliardi entitled, “Federal Greenhouse Gas Legislation and Regulation: What They Could Mean for the U.S. Steel Industry.” The next meeting will be May 3, 2010, at AISTech in Pittsburgh, Pa.
The Energy & Utilities Technology Committee (EUTC) met in Carmel, Ind., on Oct. 22–23, 2009. The committee chair, Chris Birkbeck of Nucor Steel–Indiana, opened the meeting. Neil Macfadyen of Union Gas Ltd. volunteered to take the meeting minutes. Mr. Birkbeck reviewed the AIST Anti-Trust Guidelines. The 2009 Steel Mill Fatality Report was reviewed. The EUTC chose abstracts for AISTech 2010 and arranged them into sessions. The session titles were chosen, and volunteers were selected to chair each session. Mr. Macfadyen reviewed the Awards Subcommittee’s nominees for the 2010 Energy Achievement Award. Tony Fennell of Bloom Engineering led a discussion about when the next Thermal Specialty Training Conference should take place, which led to a lengthy discussion of broadcasting the course via different media, such as a Web-based seminar. The following day, the EUTC toured the Midwest ISO facility, which is an independent operator of the bulk power transmission system, along with Praxair Inc.’s thermal spray powders facility, which produces powdered metal and coating components. The next EUTC meeting is scheduled to be in Memphis, Tenn., on Feb. 9–10, 2010.
The Energy and Utilities Technology Committee (EUTC) met on Monday, May 4 at AISTech 2009 in St. Louis, Mo. There were 14 EUTC members in attendance. The committee chair, Peter Harschnitz of ArcelorMittal Dofasco Inc., opened the meeting by welcoming everyone and asked the participants to introduce themselves. Jim Feese of Hauck Manufacturing Co. agreed to take the meeting minutes. The previous meeting was held via conference call, and formal meeting minutes were forthcoming. The committee elected their new leadership, with Eugene Arnold of ArcelorMittal elected as chair, Chris Birkbeck of Nucor Indiana as vice chair, and Lee Rosen of Praxair as papers chair. The EUTC mission statement was reviewed and approved without changes. The mission statement reads, “To promote efficient, safe and environmentally responsible energy technology in the production and processing of iron and steel. We will accomplish this through the facilitation of training, technical presentations and the exchange of energy-related information.” The committee then discussed the Energy Achievement Award (EAA). The 2008 EAA was presented to Severstal Warren’s Bob Kane for the Coke Oven Gas Utilization Project, in recognition of their reheat furnace energy conservation through coke oven gas distribution improvements. The status of the Thermal Specialty Training Conference was reviewed, and it is tentatively planned for the fall of 2010. Various suggestions for the next meeting location were given, with a final decision to be determined. Mr. Harschnitz received a plaque recognizing his leadership for the past year as the committee chair. The next EUTC meeting date and location is to be determined.
The Energy and Utilities Technology Committee (EUTC) held a Webinar on March 18. Peter Harschnitz of ArcelorMittal Dofasco Inc. welcomed everyone and thanked them for participating. The attendees were asked to introduce themselves, and the AIST Antitrust Guidelines were reviewed. The Webinar began with a presentation by Betsy Dutrow of the U.S. EPA entitled, “Energy Management — A Valuable Resource for Your Business and Your Customers.” Her presentation showed how partnering with Energy Star can help improve a corporation’s bottom line while making the company an environmental leader. She explained how Energy Star can help to develop and refine a corporate energy management program. The AISTech 2009 EUTC sessions were then discussed. The EUTC sponsored two sessions at AISTech 2009, with 11 technical presentations. The paper order and session chairs were reviewed and adjusted as needed. The session chairs were encouraged to contact the authors within their sessions and discuss with them their responsibilities and deadlines for participation. EUTC leadership nominations were then discussed. Mr. Harschnitz has been elected to be the next representative for Technology Division VII — Energy and Control on the AIST board of directors for the 2009–2011 term, and will be stepping down as the committee chair. Eugene Arnold of ArcelorMittal has agreed to be the EUTC chair for 2009–2010. Chris Birkbeck of Nucor Steel–Indiana agreed to be the EUTC vice chair, and Lee Rosen of Praxair will be the papers chair. The next EUTC meeting was scheduled for May 4 during AISTech 2009 in St. Louis, Mo.
The Energy and Utilities Technology Committee (EUTC) met in Warren, Ohio, on Sept. 22–23. The committee chair, Peter Harschnitz of ArcelorMittal Dofasco Inc., welcomed everyone to the meeting and invited those present to introduce themselves. Jim Feese of Hauck Manufacturing volunteered to take the meeting minutes. The committee selected the abstracts for AISTech 2009 and organized them into two sessions. They assigned titles to the sessions and accepted members as session chairs. They also chose to hold an EUTC meeting on the Monday during AISTech 2009. The Energy Achievement Award subcommittee — which is comprised of Neil Macfadyen of Union Gas Ltd. as chair, Bob Kane of WCI, and Bruce Colburn of EPS — reviewed the current status of the 2009 award. The Energy Achievement Award is awarded each year to a company that has implemented and achieved energy conservation or a significant improvement in energy-related productivity through the application of new technology, practices, and/or engineered methods in the iron and steel producing sector. The winner for this year is Severstal Warren. The status of the Energy Specialty Training Conference was discussed. The subcommittee — made up of Eugene Arnold, Tony Fennell of Bloom Engineering, and Bob Kane — have decided on a preliminary format and proposed the conference to be held Oct. 14–16, 2009. The committee toured the new walking beam furnace at Severstal Warren on Sept. 23; the tour was hosted by Bob Kane. The next EUTC meeting, to be held in Portland, Ore., on Feb. 12–13, 2009, will focus on “Strategies for Dealing With Increased Energy Costs” and will include a tour of Evraz Oregon Steel Mill.
The Energy and Utilities Operating Committee (EUOC) met at AISTech 2008 on May 6. The committee chair, Chris Williams of Rad-Con Inc., welcomed everyone to the meeting and invited those present to introduce themselves. Matt Druciak of Tenova LOI Inc. volunteered to take the meeting minutes. The committee discussed the AISI/AIST committee integration. The EUOC was renamed the Energy and Utilities Technology Committee (EUTC) and is included in Technology Division VII: Energy and Control. The EUOC session chairs for AISTech 2008 were asked to remind session participants about the Energy Achievement Award, which the committee awards each year to a company that has implemented and achieved energy conservation or a significant improvement in energy-related productivity through the application of new technology, practices, and/or engineered methods in the iron and steel producing sector. The 2007 Energy Achievement Award was given to The Timken Co. for their “Rotary Furnace Regenerative Burner Retrofit Project.” The Energy Achievement Award Subcommittee is comprised of Neil Macfadyen of Union Gas Ltd. (chair), Bob Kane of WCI and Bruce Colburn of EPS. The deadline for 2008 applicants was June 30, 2008. The election of officers took place, with Peter Harschnitz of ArcelorMittal Dofasco being elected as chair, Eugene Arnold of ArcelorMittal as vice chair and Chris Birkbeck of Nucor Steel as papers chair. The EUOC reviewed and approved its mission statement without changes: “To promote efficient, safe, and environmentally responsible energy technology in the production and processing of iron and steel. We will accomplish this through the facilitation of training, technical presentations, and the exchange of energy-related information.” The committee discussed holding a mini-workshop on reheat furnaces during their next meeting. The details will be worked out during the summer via a subcommittee made up of Eugene Arnold, Tony Fennell of Bloom Engineering, and Bob Kane. Peter Harschnitz presented Chris Williams with a plaque for his exceptional service and dedication as committee chair for 2007–2008. The next meeting will be held in Warren, Ohio, on Sept. 22–23, 2008, and will include a tour of WCI’s new walking beam furnace that is now installed and operating. Look for additional information online at www.aist.org.
