Baosteel Zhanjiang Chooses Fives Furnace For Automotive Steel Production
Baosteel, the largest automotive steel producer in China, continues to expand its Zhanjiang integrated steel production complex in southeastern Guangdong province. The expansion project comprises the installation of the cold rolling mill N3, aiming to meet demand for automotive grade steel in the South China and Southeast Asia markets. Fives, a historical and strategical partner of Baosteel, has again been contracted to supply the complete thermal part for the continuous annealing line (CAL) with a production capacity of 630,000 tons per year. The line aims to produce both standard steel grades and advanced high-strength steels. The first coil will be produced by the end of 2021. Fives’ scope of supply will include detailed design, supply and installation supervision of a Stein Digiflex® furnace and CELES induction heaters.
The Stein Digiflex® furnace includes
The compact and efficient jet preheating furnace
Advantek® combustion system
FlashCooling® system for rapid cooling
Waste gas system
Virtuo® thermal optimization solution
The Fives’ offer is unique in that it consists of two metallurgical paths to rapid cooling
Dry FlashCooling® with high hydrogen content for high cooling rates
Wet FlashCooling® for ultra-rapid cooling rates to produce martensitic grades
FlashCooling® is a proprietary technology that gives steelmakers total flexibility to reach the optimum cooling pattern.
Given the importance of environmental responsibility among steelmakers in China, the high energy efficiency and low NOx emissions delivered by the AdvanTek® combustion system are a real boon to Baosteel Zhanjiang. This is further enhanced by the Virtuo®, thermal optimization solution, which optimizes strip temperature control stability, helps to reduce gas consumption, eliminates production faults that lead to downgraded coils and improves productivity.
The line will be also equipped with CELES induction heaters, serving as in-furnace heating boosters to perform the most stringent thermal cycle required. CELES induction heaters are a versatile, compact and economical solution to reduce energy consumption, which in turn brings down costs and harmful emissions.
Part of Fives’ equipment will be engineered and manufactured in China under the close supervision of Fives’ subsidiary in Shanghai.
In 2017, Fives designed and supplied an annealing line furnace and a galvanizing line furnace for the 1550 mm cold rolling mill at the Zhanjiang complex, while in 2013 Fives delivered an annealing line furnace for the cold rolling mill N1 at the same complex.
Source : Strategic Research Institute