Energy Balance and Offgas Utilization of Ilmenite Smelting in a 30 MVA Direct Current Electric Arc Furnace
Energy balance and offgas utilization of ilmenite smelting in 30 MVA direct current electric arc furnace (DC furnace) of a Yunnan company were investigated to make sure safety production, and to save energy and reduce pollution. The total input energy in the DC furnace was 2,000 kWh per ton of ilmenite, in which 1,003.31 kWh per ton of ilmenite was used to carbothermic reduction and other energy was consumed as heatloss. Based on energy conservation, the whole system heatloss in physical production should be controlled at 1,000 kWh per ton of ilmenite. With high combustion heat, the offgas discharged from furnace after treatment could be used to ilmenite drying, anthracite drying, titanium slag drying, and casting ladle baking. The offgas design flow ranged from 5,000 to 8,000 Nm3/h with the mean of 6,500 Nm3/h. The combustion heat quantity of offgas in the plant was 82,160 MJ per hour, which could save 480,276.8 kWh of electrical energy per day, and thus lower carbon emission of the whole production line.