2021 Nashville AISTech

Implementation of the Tiltable Sidewall Burner at Nucor Steel Tuscaloosa Inc.: Dynamically Adjustable Burner Angle to Optimize Scrap Melting and Reduce Refractory Wear (Room 204)

29 Jun 21
10:00 AM - 10:30 AM

Tracks: Electric Steelmaking: EAF Energy

Speaker(s): Justin Novotny, Nucor Steel Tuscaloosa Inc.; Michael Mayhall, Nucor Steel Tuscaloosa Inc.; Patrick Hansert, Badische Stahl-Engineering GmbH; Ryan Junkin, Nucor Steel Tuscaloosa Inc.; Jake Franks, Nucor Steel Tuscaloosa Inc.; Fatih Goekce, BSE; Phil Baker, Meltshop Dayshift Supervisor, Nucor Steel Tuscaloosa, Inc.

As the second chemical energy package has been operating at Nucor’s B-furnace in Tuscaloosa for almost 2 years, it is time to review the project. It represented phase two of a partnership that started with its first electric arc furnace (EAF) back in 2016. When the decision was made to upgrade the EAF with the latest chemical energy package, Nucor decided to replace all sidewall burners with a Tiltable Virtual Lance Burner (T-VLB). The main benefits were reduced electrical energy consumption and better power-on times. Additionally, the simplistic and lightweight design of the burners made maintenance and replacement much easier than traditional burners.