Steam of hot flue gases saves energy at steel mills
A new solution from Siemens takes advantage of hot flue gases from arc furnaces to generate steam. This steam can then be used for other steel mill processes or for generating electricity. In the past, flue gases were usually not utilized, so the energy they carried was lost. The system consists of steam boilers, pipes, water tanks, and pumps and can be directly integrated into the existing flue gas cooling system. Theoretically, the system could entirely replace conventional cooling. A feasibility study carried out at a steel mill in Turkey revealed potential savings of 44.5 kilowatt hours of electricity per ton of steel produced. That corresponds to around ten percent of the electrical energy that is normally required. If the steam were used to preheat the feed water for the steel mill's power plant, for example, the mill would save 45,000 tons of coal per year.