Power from waste heat cuts costs and emissions
Monday, June 11, 2012 - 10:31
in Physics & Chemistry
A new development from Siemens makes it possible for operators of electric arc furnaces to obtain electricity from hot exhaust gases. Around 20 percent of the electricity required to melt steel scrap could be recovered with the method, according to a report in the latest issue of the research magazine "Pictures of the Future". Up until now, it has been very difficult to carry out such a process because of temperature and gas-volume fluctuations. Siemens therefore developed a salt storage unit that acts as an energy buffer between a steel furnace and a turbine. The first pilot facility for the system went into operation in the German state of Thuringia in mid-April 2012; the first system product is scheduled to be manufactured in 2013.