NE-IF: RADREC

01.01.2009 - 31.12.2010
Research funding project
The aim of the project RADREC is the development of concepts for radiant heat recovery which is produced while the milling products are cooled down to reduce the primary energy demand in three Austrian steel companies (tube-, wire- and concrete reinforcement steel company). At present the Austrian steel industry uses about 32.239.489 GJ oil, 46.675.484 GJ petroleum gas und 0.93 GJ electricity. In the last year studies by the authors have shown that in theory the steel companies can supply the energy demand of side processes (for example: heating system for premises, pickling tanks, hydraulic fluid heating) by energy from radiant heat recovery. These radiant heat flows contain about 30 ¿ 50 % of the energy input for heating up the billets. For that reason in the steel industry the usage of the radiant heat flow contains a big potential for the future. In the steel industry the billets produced in strand casting are heated and processed in rotary heath furnaces or walking-beam furnaces. At the end of the production process the milling products contain still a big fraction of the inserted primary energy. The milling products are cooled down by air (cooling bed, hook conveyor), but nowadays the parts of used energy is dissipated to the environment unused as radiant heat or hot air. Approaches to use these radiant heat flows from cooling beds and hook conveyor are presently neither used in the Austrian or in the international steel industry. The approach to use these heat flows have been rarely discussed in the technical literature of the last 30 years so far. Existing patents for radiant heat recovering on cooling beds are inapplicable in those companies because they are not corresponding to the general company specific conditions (for example: safety, maintainability, no negative effect on the product quality). The chosen method for achieving the aim of RADREC is an experimental identification of the realistic potential of heat recovery on cooling beds and hook conveyors with a pilot plant in two steel companies. Based on the test results a mathematical model will be developed for the transfer of the recovery approach to other steel companies. Further more a model for the radiant heat recovery is developed which is applicable in the companies and which integrates the recovered energy into the company specific energy supply unit. In the context of RADREC the developed mathematical model and the technical concept for the radiant heat recovery will be tested in a third steel producing company and if it is necessary adapted on the companies specific conditions. The final goal is to carry out a cost effective analysis regarding the payback period of necessary investments for realizable, risk less technologies corresponding to the general company specific conditions and with regard to future developments of energy cost and the future development of CO2 emission trading.

People

Project leader

Sub project leader

Project personnel

Institute

Contract/collaboration

  • STENUM GmbH Unternehmensberatung und Forschungsgesellschaft für Umweltfragen

Grant funds

  • FFG - Österr. Forschungsförderungs- gesellschaft mbH (National) Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG)

Research focus

  • Cognitive and adaptive Automation and Robotics: 20%
  • Sustainable Production and Technologies: 50%
  • Modeling and Simulation: 30%

Keywords

GermanEnglish
Wärmerückgewinnungheat recovery
Messtechnikmeasurement

Publications