Cost and energy effective management of EAF with flexible charge material mix (Flexcharge) : final report

The project aims to set up a methodology to manage the electric arc furnace(EAF) charged with the variable materials mix guaranteeing the required steel quality, minimising the cost to produce crude steel and the environmental impact, having in mind the volatility of scrap quality/price ratio and the pressures arising from CO2 trading legislation. Comprehensive data sets obtained, by historical data and dedicated tests, at four different EAFs (one DC and three AC), together with results of laboratory test campaigns (35 kg induction furnace and 1 tonne EAF pilot plant) have been evaluated by statistical methods to derive information on scrap properties like yield, chemical composition and specific meltdown energy requirements. The elaboration of optimisation tools has allowed robust charge mix tools to be set up to determine the scrap mix for a given steel quality and quantity while minimising cost and energy consumption. In parallel, dynamic mass and energy balances have been adapted to electrical arc furnaces, taking into account the measurement of the off-gas composition and the mass flow rate and temperature at fourth hole evaluated by virtual (SW) sensors developed in the project. The developed methodologies have been implemented on-site and online at the industrial partners' EAFs.