Computation of Chemical Exergy Potential in an Industrial AC Electric ARC Furnace

Chemical exergy is equal to the maximum amount of work obtainable when the substance is brought from the environmental state to the dead state by a process involving heat transfer and exchange of substances only with the environment. As it is well known the iron and steel industry is the largest industrial energy consumer. After the employee costs, energy costs (about 30% of the total) represent the second highest cost element in integrated steel works. In this study, the chemical exergy potential in an electric arc furnace (EAF) is calculated and these potentials are distributed depending on production materials, emphasizing the chemical exergy concept.