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INFUB - 11th European Conference on Industrial Furnaces and Boilers, INFUB-11

INFUB - 11th European Conference on Industrial Furnaces and Boilers, INFUB-11
Industrial Furnaces - Status and Research Challenges
Industrial Furnaces - Status and Research Challenges
The 15th International Symposium on District Heating and Cooling
Herbert Pfeifer *
Herbert Pfeifer *
Assessing the feasibility of using the heat demand-outdoor
Department for Industrial Furnaces and Heat Engineering, RWTH Aachen University; Kopernikusstraße 10, D-52074 Aachen, Germany.
Department for Industrial Furnaces and Heat Engineering, RWTH Aachen University; Kopernikusstraße 10, D-52074 Aachen, Germany.
temperature function for a long-term district heat demand forecast
a,b,c a a b c c
Abstract I. Andrić *, A. Pina , P. Ferrão , J. Fournier ., B. Lacarrière , O. Le Corre
Abstract
a
IN+ Center
The modern for Innovation,
Industrial Furnace Technology
Technology and Policy Research - Instituto
is characterized SuperiorofTécnico,
by the design Av. Rovisco
new furnaces for Pais
high1,strength
1049-001metals
Lisbon,and
Portugal
carbon
b
The
fibersmodern
for theIndustrial
light Furnace
weight Veolia Recherche
Technology
construction & Innovation,
is
concepts characterized
in 291 by
automotive Avenue Dreyfous
the design
industry. TheofDaniel,
furnaces78520
new furnaces
for Limay,
thefor France
high
annealingstrength
of metalshigh
modern andstrength
carbon
c
fibers
metalsfor (steel, Département
the light
Al), weight Systèmes
are characterized Énergétiques
construction byconcepts et Environnement
innovative in automotive -industry.
IMT Atlantique,
cooling sections, Thehigh
with 4 rue
furnacesAlfred
cooling Kastler,
forrates
the and44300
annealing Nantes, France
of modern
a concomitant high strength
homogeneity,
metals
which are (steel, Al), are for
controllable characterized by innovative
different steel or aluminum cooling
grades,sections,
variablewith high
widths andcooling rates for
thicknesses andhigh
a concomitant
productivityhomogeneity,
strips plants
which are controllable
for products for different
used in automotive steel or
industry. aluminum
Resulting fromgrades, variable research
this intensive widths and andthicknesses
development forconcerning
high productivity strips plants
the improvement of
for
the products
local heatused in automotive
transfer knowledgeindustry. Resulting
for extremely highfrom
heat this intensive
fluxes research
with gas, and development
mist and/or water cooling concerning the improvement
is necessary. This research ofis
Abstract
the local
driven byheat transfer knowledge
a competitive for extremely
situation between steel high heat fluxesand
and aluminum with gas,amist
since few and/or water
years also cooling
carbon is necessary.
fiber reinforced This research
plastic (CFRP).is
driven
On the by a competitive
other hand steels situation between
with a cheap steelconcept
alloying and aluminum
are usedand since a few
successfully years also carbon
in combination fiberpress
with the reinforced plastic
hardening (CFRP).
technology.
District heating networks are commonly addressed in the literature as one of the most effective solutions for decreasing the
On
Thethe other hand
furnaces for thesteels with aapplications
different cheap alloying concept
in light weightaredesign
used successfully in combination
are very different between the withmaterials
the press(steel,
hardening technology.
Al, CFRP) due to
greenhouse gas emissions from the building sector. These systems require high investments which are returned through the heat
The furnaces
different for the different
temperature applications
ranges, principles in light
of heat weight
transfer and design
thermalareoperations.
very different between the materials (steel, Al, CFRP) due to
sales. Due to the changed climate conditions and building renovation policies, heat demand in the future could decrease,
different temperature
The environmental ranges,
aspect principles furnaces
of industrial of heat transfer
requiresandthethermal
reductionoperations.
of the specific CO 2-Emissions which can be realized with
prolonging the investment return period.
The environmental
advanced technologies aspect of industrial
improving furnaces
the energy requiresofthe
efficiency reduction
fuel of the specific
heated furnaces CO 2-Emissions
(high temperature which canwith
air preheating be realized with
recuperative
The main scope of this paper is to assess the feasibility of using the heat demand – outdoor temperature function for heat demand
advanced
and technologies
regenerative burnerimproving
concepts).theForenergy efficiency
the overall of fuel heated
CO2-emission furnaces
reduction of 90(high
% uptemperature air preheating
to 2050 related with recuperative
to 1990 actually no proved
forecast. The district of Alvalade, located in Lisbon (Portugal), was used as a case study. The district is consisted of 665
and regenerative
concepts burner concepts). For the overall CO2-emission reduction of 90 % up to 2050 related to 1990 actually no proved
are available.
buildings that vary in both construction period and typology. Three weather scenarios (low, medium, high) and three district
concepts are available.
renovation scenarios were developed (shallow, intermediate, deep). To estimate the error, obtained heat demand values were
© 2017 Thewith Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
©compared
2017 The Authors. results from a dynamic
Published by ElsevierheatLtd.
demand model, previously developed and validated by the authors.
© 2017 The under
Peer-review Authors. Published by
responsibility of Elsevier
the Ltd. committee of INFUB-11.
organizing
Peer-review under responsibility of the
The results showed that when only weather change organizing committee of INFUB-11
is considered, the margin of error could be acceptable for some applications
Peer-review under responsibility of the organizing committee of INFUB-11.
(the error in annual demand was lower than 20% for all weather scenarios considered). However, after introducing renovation
Keywords: Industrial furnaces; High strength steels; Press hardening; High strength aluminum; Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastics; RFCP;
scenarios, the error value increased up to 59.5% (depending on the weather and renovation scenarios combination considered).
Keywords:
Reduction of Industrial furnaces;Electrification
CO2-emissions; High strengthofsteels;
large Press hardening;
industrial furnacesHigh strength aluminum; Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastics; RFCP;
The value of slope coefficient increased on average within the range of 3.8% up to 8% per decade, that corresponds to the
Reduction of CO2-emissions; Electrification of large industrial furnaces
decrease in the number of heating hours of 22-139h during the heating season (depending on the combination of weather and
renovation scenarios considered). On the other hand, function intercept increased for 7.8-12.7% per decade (depending on the
coupled scenarios). The values suggested could be used to modify the function parameters for the scenarios considered, and
improve the accuracy of heat demand estimations.

© 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

* Corresponding
Peer-review author.
under Tel.: +49 241
responsibility of 8025935; fax: +49
the Scientific 241 8022289.
Committee of The 15th International Symposium on District Heating and
* Corresponding
E-mail address:author.
Cooling. Tel.: +49 241 8025935; fax: +49 241 8022289.
pfeifer@iob.rwth-aachen.de
E-mail address: pfeifer@iob.rwth-aachen.de
1876-6102
Keywords:©Heat
2017demand;
The Authors. Published
Forecast; Climatebychange
Elsevier Ltd.
1876-6102
Peer-review©under
2017responsibility
The Authors. of
Published by Elsevier
the organizing Ltd. of INFUB-11.
committee
Peer-review under responsibility of the organizing committee of INFUB-11.

1876-6102 © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Peer-review under responsibility of the Scientific Committee of The 15th International Symposium on District Heating and Cooling.
1876-6102 © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Peer-review under responsibility of the organizing committee of INFUB-11
10.1016/j.egypro.2017.07.153
 Herbert Pfeifer / Energy Procedia 120 (2017) 28–40 29
2 Author name / Energy Procedia 00 (2017) 000–000

1. Introduction

Process and plant technology, which can be classified as a part of thermo-process technologies, spans a wide arch
covering the different materials with temperatures from low to very high temperatures. Figure 1 shows by trend the
energy consumption and process temperatures for the most important fields of the extractive industry and the basic
primary industry. The maxima are in the temperature range of up to 400 °C and from 900 °C to 1500 °C. The
industry sectors chemistry, textile, and sugar are to be found in the lower temperature range. Typically, the energy
intensive branches, such as non-ferrous metals, iron and steel, glass, refractories and ceramics, are to be found in the
temperature range T  600 °C. All these industry sectors need the exact adjustment of the necessary process
parameters (e. g. temperature, time and atmosphere) for the thermal treatment of the materials in order to achieve a
production of goods with high quality properties.

Fig. 1. Energy consumption and process temperatures for industrial sectors, acc. to [1].

For the generalized term Thermo-process Technology, the definition can be: „Process- and plant-technology for
the thermo-chemical and the thermo-physical treatment of materials in such a way, that the perfect product quality
will be reached by the targeted adjustment and control of loads temperature and the process atmosphere under
economical boundary conditions” [2].
The main topics at present of the “Industrial Furnace” community are shown in Figure 2 and separated in
• Technology,
• Environment and
• Society.

Fig. 2. Arc of suspense „Thermo-process Technology”.

30 Herbert Pfeifer / Energy Procedia 120 (2017) 28–40
Author name / Energy Procedia 00 (2017) 000–000 3

2. New materials in automotive industry

With the previous definition of the generalized term Thermo-process Technology one present topic is the
processing of new materials and the competition between different materials for the same application (e. g.
automotive industry). The example is dealing with high strength steels vs. high strength aluminum alloys as well as
carbon fibers, Figure 3. For automotive applications this competition is driven by the philosophy of light weight
construction as a challenge between modern high strength steels, the press hardening technology and high strength
aluminum flat products from the 6xxx group, which are driven in US by the Ford light weight concept and the
decision of Ford to use this Al group for the F 150 model. On the other hand BMW starts with the application of
carbon fibers in the purely electricity driven I3 model and the hybrid I8 model. These trends are highly connected
with improved and new furnace technologies concerning heating (higher temperatures, process window for press
hardening steels) and cooling (faster controlled cooling with higher specifications related to microstructure and
flatness of strips and save operation for wide, thin strips) and completely different furnaces for the production of
carbon fibers.

Fig. 3. Light weight construction - materials design: new high strength steels, Al-alloys and C-fiber-composites.

2.1 Steel
2.1.1 High strength steels
The portfolio of high strength steels with the characteristic data concerning elongation and tensile strength is
shown in Figure 4. Soft steel grades are annealed after cold rolling in bell-type furnaces with a 100 % H2-
atmosphere [3]. The heat treatment processing of high strength austenitic manganese steels is characterized by the
embrittling intergranular carbides in manganese steels formed during slow cooling or reheating through the 400 to
800 °C range. They are removed by solution annealing above 1000 °C followed by rapid quenching. The kinetics of
carbide formation follows the typical C-curve of an isothermal transformation diagram, with the fastest growth
(carbide nose) occurring at 600 to 650 °C [4].
How are 3rd Gen AHSS (Advanced High Strength Steels) produced? The process of making HF1050 steel grade
involves a number of steps. In a nutshell [6]:
• Casting of the HF steel (slab)
• Hot rolling and cold rolling to fine tune its properties (coil)
• Continuously annealing in a process that provides the precise control needed to obtain the final
microstructure of the grade
• Optional: electro-galvanization
• Optional: additional treatment to remove hydrogen and eliminate brittleness before delivery to the customer
The production of the new high strength steel grades requires modern continuous casting technologies, strong
tandem rolling mills for cold rolling and annealing lines which allows very high heating temperatures and ultra-fast
controlled cooling. For existing continuous annealing lines a revamping of the existing cooling sections, Figure 5, is
 Herbert Pfeifer / Energy Procedia 120 (2017) 28–40 31
4 Author name / Energy Procedia 00 (2017) 000–000

necessary considering the hard conditions concerning the height and homogeneity of the heat transfer coefficient of
nozzle fields, the interaction of flow and strip and at least the flatness and quality of the strip.

Fig. 4. High-strength steels, acc. to [5].

Fig. 5. Continuous strip annealing line, acc. to [7].

The requirement of fast resp. ultra-fast cooling ( T  100 K/s) in continuous annealing lines for the processing of
steel strips needs further research activities in cooling technologies based on gas, water or mist (water/gas) cooling.
The comparison of different cooling technologies is shown in Figure 6. Raick [8] noted a specific cooling rate of 80
K/(s.mm) for N2-rich gas and 100 K/(s.mm) for H2-rich cooling gas. Actually values of 150 K/(s.mm) are
communicated for the cooling with N2-rich gases [7] for steels up to 980 MPa (TRIP and DP) with the advantage of
saving alloying and operational costs. With ultra-fast water cooling systems more than 1000 K/(s.mm) is possible for
UHSS up to 1500 MPa (MS).
32 Herbert Pfeifer / Energy Procedia 120 (2017) 28–40
Author name / Energy Procedia 00 (2017) 000–000 5

For H2-based systems 200 K/(s.mm) [9] are published. The high heat transfer coefficient and the homogeneity of
the heat transfer coefficient must be considered and additionally the tendency of fast shrinking of the strip, which is
a source to produce strip buckles, the vibration of the strip from the fluid structure interaction of fluid flow and strip
and at least the surface scratches from the contact of the strip with the nozzle system, which in the worst case results
in a strip fracture. The advanced potential of hydrogen with the low density and the high thermal conductivity
compared to nitrogen has the potential of a cooling gradient T  200 K/(mm.s) but needs all safety requirements of
a combustible fluid. The published results are [9]:
• Up to 200 K/(mm.s) cooling rate in the quench
• Homogenous cooling over the width of the strip
• Good flatness
• Controllable quenche (for steel grades UHSS/AHSS; AHSS of the next generation)
• 580 up to 1700 MPa tensile strength
The H2-technology is a proved technology in the field of ferritic and austenitic stainless steel strips with a bright
annealed surface finish (surface type 2B, 2R) in vertical annealing lines (BAL: Bright Annealing Line) with a muffle
separating the oxygen containing combustion atmosphere from the very pure hydrogen atmosphere with dew point
in the range of -70 °C.
A first vertical continuous annealing plant with hydrogen technology for carbon steels is installed at HyCal Corp.
(USA) for steel grades up to 100 % martensitic (MS steel grades), dual phase, TRIP and complex phase steels [10].
The highest temperature in the furnace is 980 °C, which is approx. 100 K higher than in conventional continuous
annealing lines, realized with 155 single ended radiant tubes. Various controlled cooling rates can be realized with
the H2-quench with quality issues as clean strip and good flatness.

Fig. 6. Arrangement of operating rapid cooling systems and their most important characteristics [8].

For the increase of the fundamental knowledge some test stands are installed at the Department of Industrial
Furnaces at RWTH Aachen University for the investigation of the local heat transfer (HT) of real nozzle systems,
Figure 7a/b, the fluid structure interaction of gas flow from nozzle systems with the strip for horizontal and vertical
installations, Figure 7c, and also in a separate unit for H2-cooling. On one hand side the results of this experiments
are used in the design period for the layout of the plant and in the operating period for the optimization of the
cooling sections, for example of changing demands during the life cycle of an annealing line concerning new steel
 Herbert Pfeifer / Energy Procedia 120 (2017) 28–40 33
6 Author name / Energy Procedia 00 (2017) 000–000

grades, decreasing strip thickness and increasing strip width and at least increasing of productivity (higher line
speeds). On the other hand side the results are used for the verification of numerical simulation concerning the local
heat transfer coefficient, fluid flow pattern between nozzle system and strip (FSI: Fluid Structure Interaction),
Figure 7d, strip deformation resulting from thermal and mechanical stress, strip vibration and transient deformation
with different process parameters as specific strip tension, strip width and thickness, type of nozzle system and flow
parameters.
The development of new materials with improved technologies and the relevant process and plant technology,
either for steel, aluminum or carbon fibers has the risk of technology innovations and management decisions
concerning the different realization of light-weight philosophies as shown in Figure 3. Two examples are the
development of the press hardening technology from steels with a cheap alloying concept and the announcement of
Ford to use 6xxx Aluminum grades for the light-weight construction of the Ford F150.

a) Heat transfer test stand b) Measured local HT-coefficient

c) Nozzle test stand d) Flow pattern and strip contour

Fig. 7. Test stands for heat transfer of complex nozzle systems and fluid strip interaction with exemplary results at RWTH Aachen University.

2.1.2 Press hardening

The press hardening technology, as a new application in automotive production requires innovative specialized
protective gas atmosphere furnaces with a rate of parts/time which allows a direct coupling with the press as the
dominating module in the production chain. The most important technical solution in this field is the roller hearth
furnace indirectly heated by radiant tubes. One of the fundamental problems was the pickling of the Al-surface with
the ceramic roller materials. There are roundabout 300 installations worldwide in the automotive industry done in
the last 10 years.
34 Herbert Pfeifer / Energy Procedia 120 (2017) 28–40
Author name / Energy Procedia 00 (2017) 000–000 7

2.2 Aluminum
The announcement of Ford to use 6xxx high strength Aluminum grades for the light-weight construction of the
Ford F150, Figure 8. The Al 6xxx series contain 0.5 to 1 % silicon and 0.4 to 1 % magnesium approximately in the
proportions required for formulation of magnesium silicide (Mg2Si). Although not as strong as most 2xxx and 7xxx
alloys, 6xxx alloys have good formability, weldability, machinability, and corrosion resistance, with medium
strength. The demand for the Ford F150 is announced of > 275,000,000 kg/yr, [11]. This results in an increasing of
the rolling and heat treatment capacities of the global players in Aluminum production. The investment was in the
range of 3 to 4 billion € in USA and Europe in the last years.
Heat treatment to increase strength of aluminum alloys is a three-step process:
 Solution heat treatment: dissolution of soluble phases
 Quenching: development of supersaturation
 Age hardening: precipitation of solute atoms either at room temperature (natural aging) or elevated
temperature (artificial aging or precipitation heat treatment).

Fig. 8. Ford F 150 light-weight design [12].

Industrial requirements for the cooling technology of continuous annealing lines for Al 6xxx alloys for strips are
 Water-quench (controllable): Cooling rates T  25 to 100 K/s
 Temperature range: T = 480 to 250 °C
 Strip thickness: 0.5 to 5 mm
 Homogeneous cooling over strip width and length
 Flatness
 Process parameters / model based
The technical challenges are also focused on intensive, homogeneous cooling strategies for flexible continuous
heat treatment lines, e. g. water quenches. The complex relations between cooling, thermal stress in the strip and
deformation (flatness) after the quench can be investigated by using experimental and numerical simulations,
Figure 9. The presented cooling rate is in the range of 60 K/s, Figure 9a.
With the resulting temperature distribution the Mises stress and the related strip deformation was calculated and
verified with measured data from quench experiments.
The investigation of the basic heat transfer principles of the water quench [13] and the interaction of gaseous
fluid and strip [14] are covered by different research and development projects of the German Federal Ministry of
Economic Affairs and Energy and research institutes in a pre-competitive manner considering the problems of the
industry by involving the stakeholders in so called “project work meetings”.
 Herbert Pfeifer / Energy Procedia 120 (2017) 28–40 35
8 Author name / Energy Procedia 00 (2017) 000–000

a) Experimental cooling rate b) Temperature distribution

d) Measurement of deformation (flatness) c) von Mises stress and deformation

Fig. 9. Combined experimental (cooling rate a) and strip deformation d)) and numerical investigation of a water quench.

2.3 Carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP)

A totally new philosophy of light-weight car body design based on CFRP is initiated from BMW in the i3 and i8
models. In 2013, BMW Group is planning the series production of the BMW i3, an electric-powered light motor
vehicle. The novel passenger compartment of the BMW i3 is made entirely of carbon fiber-reinforced synthetic
material, Figure 3. This means less weight, a better cruising range, and greater safety. It marks the first time in
automotive history that carbon fiber-reinforced plastic will be used to such an extent in a production vehicle [15].
The CFRP-technology was developed and applied intensively in the air plane technology. The industrial
furnaces, Figure 10, used for the production of carbon fibers have two main tasks:
 Stabilization and oxidation of the PAN-precursor (Polyacrylnitril) in the low temperature range (approx.
200 to 300 °C) with an air-atmosphere and a characteristic process time of 90 min
 Carbonizing in the temperature range from 1000 °C up to 1500 °C with an N 2/Ar-atmosphere and a
characteristic process time of 90 s
The preferred furnace principle for the stabilization and oxidation of the PAN-fibers is the so called mass flow
principle (vertical-down-flow, horizontal-cross-flow and/or center-to-end flow), where high volumes flow rates
driven from internal radial fans results in high heat transfer coefficients. Keeping the flow temperature constant this
technology avoids overheating of the fibers by exothermic reactions. The furnaces are supplied with electric
resistance heaters. The installation of carbon fiber plant requires cheap electricity, so that such areas are preferred.
36 Herbert Pfeifer / Energy Procedia 120 (2017) 28–40
Author name / Energy Procedia 00 (2017) 000–000 9

Fig. 10. Carbon fiber thermal production line with oxidation/stabilization and high temperature carbonization furnaces, acc. to [16, 17].

The annual production capacities of small- and large-tow carbon fibers was approx. 110 000 t/yr in 2014 [17].
This capacity is small compared to the production of steel and aluminum for automotive applications. The
apportionment of the capacity is 20 % to air plane applications, 15 % customers and 65 % for industry. For
automotive applications the large-tow carbon fibers (lower costs, higher productivity and medium mechanical
properties) are preferred.
A final resume for the application of steel, aluminum and CFRP for automotive parts indicates a potential
compared to standard steel grades of 5 to 15 % of high strength steels, 40 to 50 % of aluminum and 55 to 75 % for
CFRP, Figure 11. On the other hand the specific costs of parts are higher. Finally the advantages are in the lower
specific CO2-emissions over the life cycle of the car.

Fig. 11. Comparison of specific weight and cost per part for an automotive structure element [18].

3 Environment
The CO2-emissions reduction target of 40 % of Germany from 1990 to 2020 seems to be failed from the
viewpoint of the actual situation. Furthermore the target for 2050 (-80 to -95 %) is extremely ambitious. For the
steelmaking technology the philosophy of the “Energiewende Philosophy” is described in the study
“Treibhausgasneutrales Deutschland im Jahr 2050” [19] as:
“For the use of renewable energies and renewable electricity it’s necessary to change in many branches of the
industry the processes fundamentally and to use suitable plant technologies. For examples the authors of the study
acts on the assumption that the Blast Furnace - Basic Oxygen process route for the primary steelmaking not further
 Herbert Pfeifer / Energy Procedia 120 (2017) 28–40 37
10 Author name / Energy Procedia 00 (2017) 000–000

exists in the future. For it the electric arc furnace based on steel scrap and direct reduced iron (DRI) will be massive
strengthen. As energy source for the direct reduction of ore only renewable methane will be used and the reheating
furnaces for the hot rolling mills will be heated exclusively with renewable electricity.”
This philosophy is driven by the idea of electrification of industry with renewable electricity. Generally the
economic decision weather fuel or electrical heating of midsize and large industrial furnaces depends from the local
situation of energy prices and the available technical solutions.
The idea of 100 % furnaces heated with renewable electricity for the hot rolling mills of steel plant, which are
classified in hot rolling mills for flat and long products, will be checked by a technical comparison of both
principles. The yearly production of rolled steel was 43 Mio. t in 2000 and 40.4 Mio. t in 2015 in Germany. The
semi-final products after hot rolling are hot rolled strip and long products as wire and steel rods. The products from
the continuous casting process (slabs, billets and blooms) are reheated in walking beam furnaces, pusher type
furnaces and rotary hearth furnaces on the hot rolling temperature which is in the range of 1060 to 1260 °C [20]. For
the production of long products for civil engineering (e. g. rolled wire) and high quality automotive and construction
steels (e. g. steel grades for further heat treatment - hardening, nitriding, roller ball steels) usually pusher or walking
beam furnaces are used to supply the hot rolling mills. The productivity is linked with that of the rolling mill, which
means, that the furnace is usually not operating with the nominal productivity (lower efficiency compared to
nominal productivity). Figure 12 shows an exemplary Sankey diagram of the specific energies for a pusher type
furnace of a hot strip rolling mill. The specific energy consumption is approx. 1.25 GJ/t from coke oven and natural
gas. The utilization ratio of energy (averaged thermal efficiency) is 65 % and represents the state of the art. Also the
noted air preheating temperature is a typical value for air preheating with central recuperators. The use of the off-gas
enthalpy for the steam production depends from the consumers of steam and the available infrastructure. The cost
effectiveness for using the excess off-gas for steam production (supporting the available steam system, heating of
pickling lines etc.) or the generation of electricity by steam turbines or ORC-systems is not given in any cases yet.
The wall and cooling water losses in the exemplary case are approx. 13 %.

Fig. 12. Energy flow diagram of a pusher type furnace [21].

The principle question is, if a technical solution of an electric heated furnace for this application is possible. If
generally fuel based and electric solutions for the same task are available, which is not the case for this type of
furnace and application, the decision for the technology depends from the local relation of costs for fuel to
electricity. For the feasibility study of a resistance heated reheating furnace for a hot rolling mill a ferritic Fe-Cr-Al
resistance heating material is necessary, because the application temperature is up to 1300 °C and it can also applied
in an oxidizing atmosphere as air. Figure 13 shows that the recommended surface load decreases with increasing
furnace temperature.
38 AuthorHerbert
name / Energy
Pfeifer /Procedia 00 (2017)120
Energy Procedia 000–000
(2017) 28–40 11

Fig. 13. Maximum recommended surface loads for ferritic Fe-Cr-Al resistance heating materials and radiant tubes, acc. to [22].

Typical temperatures for the last zone of reheating furnaces are in the range of 1200 to 1300 °C. The maximum
specific surface load for this temperature range is approx. 3 W/cm² (30 kW/m²). This value is comparable to the
maximum surface load of metallic radiant tubes and half of the value for ceramic radiant tubes.
The approximatively calculation of the electricity used for the electrification of the reheating furnaces in the
German steel plants is 11 TWhel/yr and the comparison with the electricity from wind or photovoltaic (PV) shows,
that 12.5 % of the electricity from the wind or 28.2 % for the PV is necessary for this step in steelmaking industry,
Table 1. Additional electricity is e. g. necessary for the annealing of cold rolled strip (approx. 4.5 TWh el/yr) and
numerous other applications. The total consumption of electricity in the steel industry was 22.4 TWh el in 2014. A
rough estimation results in a doubling up to 45 TWhel/yr based on todays data. This more than actually installed PV
in Germany and half of the wind power.

Table 1. Scenario for the replacement existing fuel based technology with electric heated furnaces.

Hot rolled steel, Germany 2015

 Production 40.4.106 t (23.8.106 t/yr flat steel)
Reheating in gas fired pusher type and walking beam furnaces
 Enthalpy difference load 225 kWh/t
 Spec. fuel consumption 1,25 to 1,4 GJ/t (350 to 390 kWh/t)
 Efficiency: 58 to 65 %
 Spec. Fuel consumption 14.1 to 15.8 TWhfuel/yr
Reheating in resistance heated pusher type and walking beam furnaces
 Efficiency el. furnace 0.85 % (13 % wall and skid losses, 2 % others)
 Electricity 11 TWhel/yr
Consumption of renewable electricity
 Electricity from wind (2015) 88 TWhel/yr (Percentage for steel preheating for HR: 12.5 %)
 Electricity from PV (2015) 39 TWhel/yr (Percentage for steel preheating for HR: 28.2 %)

In a last step it is checked, if the available space is sufficient for the installation of the resistance heaters. The
check is based on the data for a 180 t/h (cold charging) pusher-type furnace for the reheating of billet for a hot
rolling wire mill, Table 2. For the installed thermal power of 78.7 MW (7700 m³ NG/h) an equivalent electric power
of 60 MW is necessary considering a thermal efficiency of th,g  0.65 for the gas heated furnace and an thermal
efficiency of th,el  0.80 for the electrically heated furnace.
The furnace temperature is in the range of 1000 to 1250 °C. Acc. to Figure 13 the permissible surface load of the
resistance heating elements is 60 to 35 kW/m². For the estimated power of P = 60 MW is the necessary area
A = 60,000 kW/47.5 kW/m²  1250 m². For the upper furnace only a roof surface of 290 m² an 80 m² for the side are
 Herbert Pfeifer / Energy Procedia 120 (2017) 28–40 39
12 Author name / Energy Procedia 00 (2017) 000–000

available. This simple estimation demonstrates that the available surface in the upper surface (370 m²) is not high
enough compared to the required surface area of approx. 625 m².
Additionally to the problem of space there are another other critical issues:
 The resistance heating from the lower side is not possible, since scale is build up in the furnace and a part
of it drops down on the bottom.
 The life time of the resistance elements must be checked for long periods with high oxygen in the furnace
atmosphere and especially other components, e. g. from casting powders.
 The amount and type of scale resulting from the high O2-content in the furnace atmosphere is relevant for
the yield of the process and for the behavior of scale in the descaling units after the furnace and in front of
the rolling mill.
 Energy management of the furnace in a complex, on renewable energies based electrical power supply.

Table 2. Basic data of the pusher-type furnace of BSW (Badische Stahlwerke), Kehl (Germany), acc. to [24].

Manufacturer Techint Italimpianti Germany GmbH

Furnace productivity 180 t/h (cold charging)
220 t/h (hot charging)
Furnace dimensions Length: 19.5 m; Width: 14.8 m
Fuels Natural gas: Hi,n = 10.54 kWh/m³
or substitute gas from butane and air
Installed th. power 7700 m³/h natural gas
Thermal power 78.7 MW
Burners Preheating zone: upper furnace 4 high speed -side wall burners
lower furnace 6 high speed -side wall burners
Heating zone: upper furnace 10 radiant roof burners
8 longitudinal burners
Homogenizing zone: 30 radiant roof burners
Fans (combustion air) Vstp = 2 x 43,000 m³/h; Motor power: 2 x 250 kW
Energy consumption: 300 kWh/t for cold charging
Discharging temperature: 1130 °C
Load Billets: Cross section: 130 mm x 130 mm; Length: 14 m; Weight: 1835 kg
Recuperators No. 3; Peiler (Krefeld)
Off-gas entry temperature: 990 °C
Off-gas exit temperature: 500 °C
Air preheating temperature: 490 °C
Specific hearth load 625 kg/m²

4 Summary and Outlook

The major task of an industrial furnace is by definition the thermal treatment of materials in such a way, that the
properties of the materials reach the required properties (mechanical properties, strip surface, flatness etc.). The
modern Industrial Furnace Technology for is characterized by the design of new furnaces for high strength metals
and carbon fibers for the materials needed for the light weight construction concepts in automotive industry. The
furnaces for the annealing of modern high strength metals (steel, Al), are characterized by innovative cooling
sections, with high cooling rates and a concomitant homogeneity, which are controllable for different steel or
aluminum grades, variable widths and thicknesses for high productivity strips plants for products used in automotive
industry. Resulting from this intensive research and development concerning the improvement of the local heat
transfer knowledge for extremely high heat fluxes with gas, mist and/or water cooling is necessary. This research is
driven by a competitive situation between steel and aluminum and since a few years also carbon fiber reinforced
plastic (CFRP).
The furnaces for the different applications in light weight design are very different between the materials (steel,
Al, CFRP) due to different temperature ranges, principles of heat transfer and thermal operations. The relevant
40 Herbert Pfeifer / Energy Procedia 120 (2017) 28–40
Author name / Energy Procedia 00 (2017) 000–000 13

furnaces are running in limit ranges concerning temperatures for the available technical principles and furnace
design materials for HSS and CFRP and the cooling mechanisms (gas cooling with H 2, water/air mist cooling).
Based on the future environmental targets an electrification of industrial furnaces is under discussion. A first
check for reheating furnaces in the steel industry shows the amount of electric energy used for this task in
comparison with the available energy produced from wind and solar power plants in Germany.
A rough estimation results in a doubling of electricity up to 45 TWh el/yr based on actual data for the German
steel industry. This more than actually installed PV in Germany and half of the wind power.

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