Modern Electric Furnace Steelmaking — A Practical Training Seminar

Conference Details: 1–5 February 2016, Jacksonville, Fla., USA
Conference Highlights: There were 109 participants at the 22nd annual electric steelmaking conference. Bill Rider, meltshop manager, Gerdau Long Steel North America Jacksonville Mill, was the keynote speaker. He provided an overview of the Gerdau Jacksonville operations and addressed meltshop safety improvements completed in the past two years.
John Panconi of Bisco Refractories Inc. presented, “Safety — Past/Present/Future,” which discussed safety cultures from the past and what changes have been made today in the steel industry. Next, Larry Heaslip of Interflow Techserv Inc. showcased the chemistry of steelmaking and ladle metallurgy in the modern EAF meltshop. The last presentation for the first day was from Sam Matson, CMC Americas, who discussed chemical and electrical energy inputs and EAF performance. Energy balances are critical to achieve optimum performance.
The second day began with Jeremy Jones of Continuous Improvement Experts (CIX LLC), who discussed EAF designs and operations. He highlighted maximizing energy inputs, recognizing energy requirements, various types of EAF operations and recent furnace innovations. Next, Helmut Oltmann of Nucor Steel–Berkeley discussed LMF processing of steel from the EAF. He explained the challenges faced by the ladle metallurgy furnace in meeting casting demands. LMF process in relation to time constraints provides the biggest challenge between steelmaking and casting processes.
Following a plant tour to Gerdau Long Steel North America Jacksonville Mill’s steelmaking operations, the Electric Steelmaking Technology Committee panel discussion was held with the following panelists: Jeremy Jones; Eugene Pretorius, Nucor Steel; Harriet Dutka, Magnesita Refractories; and Sam Matson. Stephan Ferenczy, ESTC chair, and Brett McGee, ESTC education chair, served as moderators.
The third day of the training seminar started with Dennis Rodal of ELG Haniel Metals Corp., who presented, “Importance of Scrap Residual Controls.” Purchased scrap usually has a 90-day cycle time in most meltshops. Sam Matson discussed environmental operations for the EAF, which covered air-related pollutants as well as air pollution control equipment. Michael Grant of Air Liquide Global Management Services GmbH presented, “Gas/Carbon Injection Systems.” He pointed out the importance of oxygen safety, oxygen injection devices, carbon injection and offgas analysis systems.
Raymond Monroe of the Steel Founders’ Society of America discussed EAF production and economics. He provided an historical perspective on steel melting, which was started in 1730 in the United States. Next, Fernando Martinez of AMI GE presented electrical engineering applied to EAFs. He addressed the principles of electricity, power concepts, three phase systems, transformers and typical strategies of EAF operations. The last presentation of the day was from Harriet Dutka, who presented, “Tap-to-Cast Operations.” She provided an operator’s viewpoint for the EAF process. Furnace guidelines, raw material sources, metallization, electrode and ladle performance, and basic chemistry were covered.
The last day of the seminar started with Reinzi Santiago of Tenova Core, who presented EAF regulation basics. He discussed the control concept for electrode regulation and power regulation. Next, Theodore Kurela of GrafTech International Holdings Inc. presented graphite electrode manufacture and use. The general usage of an electrode was explained along with the graphitizing process and pitch impregnation. Tomas Richter of HarbisonWalker International presented an overview of the refractory technology from the mini-mill application perspective. He addressed the various types of refractories, the manufacturing of refractories, wear mechanisms, and EAF and ladle lining considerations. The last presentation was from Doug Zuliani from Tenova Goodfellow about offgas technology. He discussed mass and energy balance, increasing EAF energy efficiency, and how to use offgas to optimize EAF performance.

The 2017 Modern Electric Furnace Steelmaking — A Practical Training Seminar will be held on 6–10 February 2017 in Memphis, Tenn., USA, with Nucor Steel Memphis Inc. serving as host plant. 

1. Bill Rider (center), Gerdau Long Steel North Ameria Jacksonville Mill, accepted the keynote speaker plaque from Brett McGee (left), ESTC education chair, and Stephan Ferenczy (right), ESTC chair. 2. Presenters on the first day of the Modern Electric Furnace Steelmaking seminar included (left to right): Brett McGee, Stephan Ferenczy, Larry Heaslip, John Panconi and Sam Matson. 3. Presenters on the third day of the conference included (left to right): Brett McGee, Raymond Monroe, Sam Matson and Stephan Ferenczy. 4. The two original presenters of the EAF training seminar, celebrating 22 years of continuous participation, are Jeremy Jones (left), CIX LLC, and Larry Heaslip (right), Interflow Techserv Inc.
5. Stephan Ferenczy (left) and Brett McGee (right) recognized Mike Grant (center), Air Liquide Global Management GmbH, who has been a seminar presenter for 20 years. 6. Presenters on the fourth day of the seminar included (left to right): Brett McGee, Reinzi Santiago, Theo Kurela and Stephan Ferenczy. 7. Attendees toured Gerdau Long Steel North America Jacksonville Mill.