Air Separation Unit in Steel Smelting

How do steel mills choose the Air Separation Unit that suits them? ​

●The core working principle of air separation equipment: gas separation through low-temperature distillation - compressed and purified air is cooled to below - 170℃ for liquefaction, and high-purity gas is separated in the distillation tower by using the boiling point differences of oxygen, nitrogen and argon. ​

●Matching production capacity scale: 1000-3000Nm³/h oxygen production equipment is selected for annual production below 1 million tons; 5000Nm³/h or more models are required for more than 3 million tons to avoid insufficient gas supply. ​
Adaptive smelting process: blast furnace ironmaking oxygen purity ≥ 99.5% model; special steel production focuses on argon purity ≥ 99.99% model; continuous casting requires nitrogen pressure fluctuation ≤ 0.1MPa equipment. ​

●Combined with energy consumption requirements: high environmental protection requirements can select energy-saving models with residual pressure recovery and variable frequency compression; equipment with load adjustment of 50%-110% is preferred for large production capacity fluctuations.​
Consider the site and expansion: choose modular equipment for the renovation of old factories (reducing the land area by 20%-30%); choose models that can be modularly expanded without stopping the machine when planning to expand production. ​

●Evaluate the adaptability of operation and maintenance: choose models with air purification ≥ 99.9% and easy replacement of filter materials in high-dust areas; choose equipment with remote monitoring if there is a lack of professional teams. ​

1. Will the fluctuation of oxygen purity of the equipment affect the quality of steelmaking? How to avoid it? ​
Yes. Oxygen purity below 99.5% will prolong steelmaking time and increase impurity residue. High-quality equipment can control fluctuations within ±0.1% through precision distillation tower design and real-time purity monitoring system. When purchasing, it is necessary to confirm that the equipment is equipped with an online laser analyzer to ensure stable purity. ​

2. How stable is the continuous operation of the equipment? How long is the maintenance cycle? ​
Mainstream equipment can run continuously for 8000-10000 hours before shutting down for maintenance. The filter element needs to be replaced every 3 months on a daily basis, and the sealing performance of the distillation tower needs to be checked every 6 months. In high-dust areas, it is recommended to shorten the filter element replacement cycle to 2 months to avoid impurities affecting separation efficiency.
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3. Can the equipment be expanded according to the increase in steel plant capacity? Is the expansion cost high? ​
Modular equipment supports expansion. By adding distillation tower modules and compressors, the production capacity can be increased by 20%-50%, and the expansion cost is about 60%-70% of the newly purchased equipment. The expansion can be carried out in sections without affecting the existing production. ​
 

4. Compared with traditional equipment, how much energy can energy-saving air separation equipment save? ​
Equipped with variable frequency compression and residual pressure recovery, energy consumption is reduced by 15%-20% compared with traditional equipment. Taking the 3000Nm³/h model as an example, the annual electricity saving is about 800,000-1 million kWh. Calculated at industrial electricity prices, the annual electricity bill saving is more than 600,000 yuan. ​

 

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