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Date: Thu, 20 Nov 1997 22:10:20 GMT
Last-modified: Thu, 20 Feb 1997 21:42:01 GMT
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Coke Plant
Turning coal into coke is necessary in making steel because coal does not
burn hot enough to melt iron ore. Coal in its origional state is mostly
carbon, however there are impurities in coal such as tar, ammonia etc. These
impurities keep coal from burning hot enough to reduce and melt iron ore,
therefore they must be removed through the coking process.
Oven size - 43 feet long, 13 to 15 inches wide (tapered), 11
feet tall
# of Ovens - 252 original, 182 in operation today
Charging - The coal is dumped into the ovens from a larry car on
top of the battery.
Cycle - The coal will bake at 2,400 degrees F. for 18 hours
Quenching - The coke is pushed out of the oven and quenched with
4,000 gal of water. (1,000 gal will be vaporized
Capacity - The ovens will hold 14 tons of coal which will be turned
into 11 tons of coke
By-Products - The volatile gasses driven off in the process are
cooled and refined into tar, fertilizer, oils etc. Products made from coal
by-products include plastics, perfume, aspirin, nylon, cosmetics etc.
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Blast Furnace
The blast furnaces make cast iron from iron ore, coke and limestone. Its
functions are both reducing the iron ore or removing the oxygen and melting
it into molten cast iron.
# of blast furnaces - We have three blast furnaces
B.F. raw materials consumption (per furnace) - Iron ore 3,750 coke
1,100 tons
Iron Production - 2,300 tons per furnace, per day.
Summary - Air is heated to 1,800 degrees f. and blown into the bottom
of the furnace at 500 mph. The hot air helps the coke to burn which reduces
and melts the iron ore. Temperatures in the BF reach 3,800 degrees.
The iron ore and limestone melt and drips into the trough. The limestone
makes slag which floats on top of the iron and is later skimmed off. The
trough is drilled every 2.5 hours and the iron runs through ditches to the
ladles.
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Cupola Furnace
The plasma cupola makes molten cast iron from scrap steel or a scrap substitute.
The fuel for this furnace is coke and 18 megawatts of plasma electiricity.
Geneva has one cupola
Cupola raw materials consumption -
Iron Production - The cupola produces approximately 2,300 tons of
iron per day.
Summary - The furnace is charged with coke and scrap steel or a scrap
substutite. Heated air is boosted in temperature with a plasma torch and
blown into the bottom of the cupola. The coke is burned creating more heat
which melts the iron. The iron then exits the furnace and runs through a
trough to an iron ladle.
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Q-BOP
# of Q-BOP's - Two vessels
Capacity - The average heat size is 240 tons
Temperature - The steel is approximately 3,000 degrees when it is
tapped
Alloys - Alloy additions include carbon, aluminum, manganese, silicon,
molybdenum, titanium, chrome, nickel, etc. At Geneva we make over 2,000
kinds of steel.
Cycle - The Q-BOP's are run 24 hours a day. The cycle takes approximately
35 minutes, including charging and tapping
Environmental info - During the process, oxygen is used as the fuel
to remove carbon from the iron. The oxygen turns into carbon monoxide.
After being quenched and scrubbed to remove the particulate, the carbon
monoxide is flared at the top of the stack turning it into carbon dioxide.
The secondary emission control system consists of a baghouse which will
filter the particulate from the off gasses when the vessel is not in blow.
Summary - The Q-BOP process turns iron into steel. Cast iron from
the blast furnace is approximately 4 percent carbon. In the Q-BOP, the carbon
is taken down to .02 percent carbon. (One percent carbon is the cut off
point between cast iron and steel.)
Scrap is charged into the vessel first. (approx 40 tons) Two ladles pour
100 tons of hot metal into the vessel with the scrap. The vessel is turned
into an upright position and oxygen is blown into the bath through 12 tuyeres.
(holes in the bottom of the vessel) After approximately 18 minutes in blow,
the vessel is turned on its side and a sample is taken to verify the chemistry
is accurate.
If the test results are correct, the vessel will be turned 180 degrees to
pour the steel out through a small tap hole into the steel ladle. The ladle
is then transported by carrier to the LMF for further chemistry refinement.
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Continuous Caster
The continuous caster was a major part of our modernization. In this process,
molten steel is turned into a solid slab of steel. The caster was built
in line with our rolling mill to help reduce the energy cost of re-heating
steel.
Slab sizes - This caster is the worlds widest single (126")
and twin (62") caster. Slab thickness can range from 2" to 10".
To date we have only cast 8.6" thick slabs.
Temperatures - Liquid steel going into the caster is approximately
2,800 degrees. Solid steel coming out of the caster is approximately 1,800
degrees.
Cast Speed - The speed of the caster depends on the size of the
slab made. The average speed is 50 inches per-minute.
Cost - $157 million.
Summary - The steel is brought to the caster from the Q-BOP via rubber
tired transporter. The steel is taken to the ladle metallurgy furnace (LMF)
where the temperature and chemistry are adjusted.
The steel is then lifted onto the turret and poured into a tundish. From
the tundish the steel flows into the mold of the caster. At this point the
outer edges of the steel begins to solidify. After passing through the mold,
the steel travels through the various segments of the caster, all the while
being sprayed with a water and air mixture. When the steel exits the segments
the steel is solid.
The slab is then cut by an oxygen torch that travels with the steel. The
average slab size is between 20 to 30 tons.
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Rolling Mill
Geneva's rolling mill is the worlds widest six-stand finishing mill. The
mill was originally built as a four-stand plate mill. Two additional finishing
stands were added shortly after USX purchased the plant.
Because of the unique nature of our mill coupled with our modernization,
we are now able to produce plate products like most steel mills produce
coil products. For example, we now can make steel slabs 126" wide.
Wide slabs
Heating capacity - Steel slabs are heated in either the soaking
pits or the re-heat furnaces. In the fall we will start our induction furnace
which will take slabs directly out of the caster and bump the temperature
up to 2,400 degrees and send it directly into the rolling mill.
Reversing - The finishing end of the rolling mill consists of two
reversing roughers, one rated at 22,000 horse-power, the other rated at
7,500 h.p. In combination with the main (large) reversing mill are hydraulic
vertical edgers.
Coilbox - The coilbox coils the steel after the reversing process
and before the finishing process to keep the steel an even temperature
and protect from heat loss. The steel is then un-coiled and rolled through
the finishing stands.
Finishing Stands - Geneva has six 132" finishing stands. This
is what makes us unique in the steel industry. These mills can finish either
plate steel or coil products. The steel comes into the finishing stands
at approximately 1 inch thick and 2,000 degrees F. The finishing stands
roll the steel to the customers specifications, varying in thickness from
1" thick to .070".
Cooling Beds and Down Coilers - The steel travels through a laminar
flow cooling bed to the coilers where the steel is coiled for the final
time. Large coils will weigh over 30 tons.
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Finishing
Customers use steel for many different applications. To accommodate some
of those demands, we have several finishing facilities that process different
kinds of steel.
Coil Products - Some of the steel is sold in a coil. These coils
are called hot-bands, coils and strip. Many of these coils will be processed
further by the customer. These processes include pickling and oiling, cold
rolling, galvanizing, annealing and tin-plating.
126" Cut-Up Line - This line handles coiled plate products.
The steel is allowed to cool and is un-rolled, side trimmed, cut to length
and then leveled. This line can uncoil steel up to 1 inch thick and 10.5
feet wide.
Heavy Gauge - The Heavy Gauge line processes plate steel from .134
inches to .5 inches thick and 72 inches wide. The steel is uncoiled, leveled,
side trimmed, and cut to length. This line also handles diamond floor plate.
Sheet Mill - The sheet mill processes strip products into sheet
steel. This line handles light guage steel between .059 to .134 inches
thick, and up to 72 inches wide. The steel is uncoiled, side trimmed, leveled
and cut to length. This line also handles diamond floor plate.
Temper Mill - Tempering steel means to work the steel in a rolling
process without reducing the thickness. The steel is uncoiled, worked through
a rolling process, the sides are sheared and the steel is coiled.
Pipe Mill - The pipe mill takes coils and forms them into small
diameter pipe products ranging from 8" in diameter to 16". The
steel is uncoiled, leveled, welded to the end of the previous coil, side
trimmed, run through the forming rolls to make it into a pipe and electric
resistance welded (ERW). The pipe is then cut to length and tested.
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Shipping
Most of our products are shipped by rail. The Union Pacific and the Southern
Pacific or Denver Rio Grand's main lines meet on the south side of the plant.
We also ship by truck.
Tonnage - Traditionally Geneva has produced 1.5 million tons
of finished product. With our modernization and increasing yields, production
is planned to increase to the 2.5 million ton level.
Products - Because we have a unique rolling mill, we are able to
produce either plate or coils on the same mill. The product mix varies
from year to year depending on the margins of various products. The objective
for the company is fill the niche in the market for wide heavy gauge plate.
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