Past AIST Committee Activities
Current Activities
The Oxygen Steelmaking Technology Committee (OSTC) held their winter meeting on Feb. 3–4 in Southgate, Mich. The event began with the attendees touring the BOF steelmaking facilities at Severstal NA Dearborn. Ron Baskerville, BOF melting operations area manager, Ted Maciejewski, operations technology manager, and Joe Ryan, manager — utilities, greeted the group and provided an introduction to the facility. Included in the introduction was information on the two BOF vessels, the ancillary equipment supporting the steelmaking process, and information on the upstream and downstream facilities. A tour of the facility included the charge floor area, operating pulpits, ladle make-up areas, desulfurization stations and the tap addition systems. During and after the tour, opportunities were provided for the attendees to ask questions regarding the specifics of the Dearborn BOF facility. After the tour, the group met for an informal dinner, where they could engage in additional networking.
On Feb. 4, the OSTC held a business meeting and technical exchange. A round table discussion on safety was held, where individuals could note safety incidents that have occurred recently and what corrective action was taken. The AIST Safety & Health Technology Committee Steel Industry Fatalities Report was also reviewed. The group then discussed the status of the AIST/VDEh BOF Benchmarking Project. The report generated by the VDEh and members of the OSTC was reviewed. The report had been sent to eight BOF facilities in North America for completion by March 15. The summarized report will be presented at AISTech 2010, as will the VDEh summarized report, to provide information on how BOF facilities operate in North America and Europe. Further discussions on the criteria monitored by the BOF Benchmarking Project will take place during AISTech.
The committee also discussed the status of the other OSTC technical sessions to be held at AISTech 2010. Chairs for each session were identified, and additional papers were noted as needed. The technical discussion of the meeting included two presentations and a question-and-answer round table. Hank Wilson of Tube City IMS presented information on the global scrap industry and the factors affecting scrap availability. Some of the factors were supply and demand, freight, contract types, credit availability, currency valuations and emotion. He also highlighted some of the programs at Tube City IMS that help to maximize the efficiency of scrap usage for BOF steelmaking. The second presentation, entitled, “Maintaining Refractory Integrity During Reduced BOF Operations,” was provided by Bill Wagstaff, manager — iron and steelmaking, and Shyam Miglani, senior market manager, both of North American Refractories. Highlights of the presentation were tools and practices that a BOF manager could utilize to ensure that the BOF refractory and ladle refractory life are maximized when steel operations have been interrupted for extended periods of time. Following the presentations, a question-and-answer round table was held to discuss 10 questions posed by the steel producers on such items as hot metal chemistry, steel conditioning, hood design and maintenance, and emission control practices.
The next OSTC meeting will take place at AISTech 2010. The committee will then hold its fall meeting in Hamilton, Ont., Canada. A tour of ArcelorMittal Dofasco Inc. is being arranged, and the technical discussion topic will focus on yield improvement.
The Oxygen Steelmaking Technology Committee (OSTC) met on May 4, 2009, at AISTech. Following introductions, the committee welcomed the oxygen steelmaking delegation from Usiminas in Brazil. The committee reaffirmed their plans to organize a technology exchange with the oxygen steelmakers of Brazil, similar to the exchange that has been taking place with the oxygen steelmakers of Germany. A review was provided regarding the previous OSTC meeting, which occurred via Internet and conference call. The format was worthwhile, and technical ideas were exchanged as well as resolving committee business, but the OSTC members maintain that the best committee meetings include face-to-face meetings with tours, safety discussions and technical presentations. Officers were nominated and elected for 2009–2010, and the OSTC mission statement was reaffirmed by a positive vote. The meeting concluded with the presentation of the Charles Herty Award to the authors of the paper entitled, “Development of an Offgas/Model Technology to Replace Sublance Operation for KOBM Endpoint Carbon Control at Dofasco.” Dongsheng Liao and Stanley Sun of ArcelorMittal Dofasco received the award on behalf of all the authors. The next meeting will be held in September 2009 at AK Steel in Middletown, Ohio. Recent staffing and production experience in a reduced global economy will be the focus of the round table discussion, and energy efficiency and charge material flexibility will be the technical subject for the meeting.
The Oxygen Steelmaking Technology Committee (OSTC) held a meeting on Feb. 17. The meeting, hosted by the U. S. Steel Research and Technology Center, was held via the Internet and conference call to increase member participation during the difficult economic times. Thirty-six members were involved in the meeting, many members getting together in centralized geographic locations to participate. After introductions, a review of the AIST Antitrust Guidelines and a brief discussion on safety incidents, the current status of the OSTC technical sessions for AISTech 2009 was reviewed. Papers were rearranged to coordinate session times, and additional session chairs were identified to assist in contacting authors. An e-mail was circulated to all session chairs as a model to send to the authors in their session, reminding the authors of their responsibilities for paper submittal and registration. The members then reviewed the OSTC topics for the AISTech 2010 Call for Papers. As a group, they agreed that a strong focus for next year’s BOF papers should be practices and procedures for shutting down and starting up BOF vessels for extended outages. The Benchmarking and Operations Reporting Database was then discussed. A small group of members will be reviewing the current BOF criteria for the database and adjusting the criteria according to industry needs. The business portion of the meeting concluded with a discussion regarding OSTC officer nominations. Elections for these positions will occur at the next OSTC meeting during AISTech 2009. The members then held their technical discussion on “How to Effectively Run Operations at Reduced Capacity.” ArcelorMittal Dofasco Inc., ArcelorMittal Indiana Harbor, Dillinger Hutte, AK Steel–Middletown, Severstal Dearborn and Severstal Warren, United States Steel Corporation and Essar Algoma all had questions and concerns regarding how each facility was handling reduced operations or extended outages at their faciltities. Many ideas were exchanged, and everyone hoped to weather the current economic conditions as best as possible. At the meeting’s conclusion, AK Steel–Middletown offered to host the September 2009 OSTC meeting in Middletown, Ohio, and the meeting would include a tour of both the AK Steel–Middletown facility and the Air Liquide oxygen separation facility.
The AIST Oxygen Steelmaking Technology Committee (OSTC) held their fall meeting on Sept. 17–18 in Baltimore, Md. The technical focus of the meeting was secondary emissions control and MACT standards for BOFs. The members gathered on Sept. 17 for a tour of the BOF steelmaking facility and the continuous caster at Severstal Sparrows Point. A significant portion of the tour was reserved to view the recently installed secondary offgas system at the BOF. Following the tour, the committee gathered for a group reception, dinner and networking event. Many ideas, issues, opportunities and stories were exchanged. On Sept. 18, the committee gathered for a technical discussion and business meeting. As they do at each meeting, the OSTC members exchanged safety incidents of which they were aware, whether at their facility or another facility. The open safety discussion provides immediate benefit to each member, as it gives everyone something to take back to their facility to prevent future injuries or incidents. The committee also discussed the integration of the AIST and AISI oxygen steelmaking committees earlier this year. A subcommittee of producers was formed to evaluate the current BOF benchmarking criteria of the Benchmarking Database. The goal of the subcommittee will be to develop 20–25 specific BOF criteria that will be used to compare BOF facilities across North America and Europe. The committee then began their technical presentations on BOF secondary emissions control. Stu Herman of Severstal Sparrows Point discussed BOF scrubber enhancement and secondary emissions capture. Sam Matson and Eduardo Cordova of Worely-Parsons presented a supplier’s perspective on BOF secondary emissions systems. Mark Presley of Severstal Warren spoke about the 2003 EPA MACT baghouse at the Warren, Ohio, plant. Michael Dauterman of U. S. Steel Gary Works gave a presentation on the steel cycle emissions control at Gary Works. Ron Bannister of ArcelorMittal Dofasco also provided a few notes on the secondary emissions systems at their facility in Hamilton, Ont., Canada. Following the presentations, the OSTC began their business meeting. Mike Strelbisky provided an update on the European Oxygen Steelmaking Conference in Stockholm, Sweden, to be held May 31–June 5, 2009. Out of the 84 papers being presented, the OSTC submitted 10% of them. On May 31, the producers will have a round table discussion between the OSTC and the VDEh Oxygen Steelmaking Committee. There will be paper presentations Monday through Wednesday, and a tour of the SSAB Oxelünd steelmaking facility. On Friday, the committee will travel to the voestalpine GmbH Linz BOF facility for a tour. The location of the next meeting has yet to be determined. The technical subject for the meeting will be variation in hot metal chemistry. In September 2009, AK Steel–Middletown and Air Liquide will host a tour of both the BOF facility and the oxygen generation facility in Middletown, Ohio. The technical discussion for the meeting will be scrap practices and the control of residual elements. Following the discussion of these upcoming meetings, an update was given on the status of the oxygen steelmaking sessions for AISTech 2009. Five sessions are being organized: Environmental and Emissions, Maintenance and Equipment, BOF Productivity, Modeling and Logistics, and Residual Control. Session organizers selected additional papers to complete their sessions. Randy Stone, Mike Dunn, Greg Meszaros and Marshall Smith will evaluate the AISTech 2008 Oxygen Steelmaking Best of Session papers for the 2009 Herty Award. Their nominations will be sent to Greg Meszaros prior to the January 2009 meeting. The BOF Roundup was also updated and included in the November 2008 issue of Iron & Steel Technology. Prior to the meeting’s conclusion, Juergen Cappel of RHI AG presented, “The Results of Bottom Stirring in No. 60 Furnace of ArcelorMittal Steel Indiana Harbor No. 4 Steel Shop.”
On May 6, 2008, the Oxygen Steelmaking Operating Committee (OSOC) held a lunch meeting during AISTech in Pittsburgh, Pa. The chair welcomed everyone in attendance and noted the attendance of steelmakers from Brazil, Austria and Germany. The meeting began with a review of safety incidents of note in the steel industry, followed by a review of the integration of the AISI Manufacturing Committees and the AIST Operating Committees. The new structure of the AIST Technology Committees created an AIST Oxygen Steelmaking Technology Committee (OSTC), whose membership is comprised of the former OSOC and the AISI Manufacturing Committee on Primary and Secondary Oxygen Steelmaking. Dr. Ralf Bruckhaus and Dr. Helmut Lachmund were then presented with the 2008 Charles Herty Award for their paper entitled, “Stirring Strategies to Meet Highest Metallurgical Requirements in the BOF Process.” An election of officers was conducted, and the committee looked to revise their mission statement to showcase its interaction with the global oxgyen steelmaking industry. Members then volunteered to participate in the organization of the technical sessions for AISTech 2009, to be held in St. Louis, Mo., on May 4–7, 2009. The Papers Subcommittee of the OSOC met again on Wednesday, May 7, to determine session topics and organizers for AISTech 2009 sessions. The next meeting is scheduled for Sept. 16–17, 2008, in Baltimore, Md., with a tour of SeverStal Sparrows Point. The meeting concluded with an appreciation plaque given to Mike Strelbisky as the outgoing chair of the OSOC.
