The analysis of harmonic currents in distribution networks of industrial facilities and the associated filtering stages is essential to optimize the production of these installations. Dry-type air-core reactors are one of the main elements of harmonic filter banks. A thermal analysis of these reactors in conventional steel plants and an evaluation of the criteria used to adjust the corresponding thermal protections are proposed in this paper. Accordingly, harmonic currents through the different filter branches are assessed. The proposed methodology builds a thermal magnetic model using the finite element method (FEM) whereby electromagnetic fields, currents and losses are emulated, to allow for recreating the actual coil temperature. The study aims at increasing the reliability of filtering systems by lowering the number of unscheduled shutdowns due to conservative adjustments of thermal protections.

This paper presents an algorithm for modeling electricity and natural gas consumption in a walking furnace with the use of artificial intelligence and simulation methods, depending on the length of the rolling campaign and the established rolling program. This algorithm is the basis for the development of a proposal for a set of minimum requirements characterizing the Best Available Techniques (BAT) for beam furnaces intended for hot rolling, taking into account the requirements set out in national regulations and the recommendations described in the BREF reference documents. This information should be taken into account when drawing up an application for an integrated permit, as well as when setting emission limit values. Based on the constructed algorithm, it was shown that depending on their type and technical specification, the analyzed projects will offer measurable economic benefits in the form of reducing the amount of energy consumed by 1,076,400 kWh during the implementation o... [more]

Hydrogen is a versatile feedstock for various chemical and industrial processes, as well as an energy carrier. Dedicated hydrogen infrastructure is envisioned to conceptualize in hydrogen valleys, which link together the suppliers and consumers of hydrogen, heat, oxygen, and electricity. One potential hydrogen valley is the Bay of Bothnia, located in the northern part of the Baltic Sea between Finland and Sweden. The region is characterized as having excellent wind power potential, a strong forest cluster with numerous pulp and paper mills, and significant iron ore and steel production. The study investigates the hydrogen-related opportunities in the region, focusing on infrastructural requirements, flexibility, and co-operation of different sectors. The study found that local wind power capacity is rapidly increasing and will eventually enable the decarbonization of the steel sector in the area, along with moderate Power-to-X implementation. In such case, the heat obtained as a by-pro... [more]

To solve a number of technological issues, it is advisable to use mathematical modeling, which will allow us to obtain the dependences of the influence of the technological parameters of chemical and thermal treatment processes on forming the depth of the diffusion layers of steels and alloys. The paper presents mathematical modeling of diffusion processes based on the existing chemical and thermal treatment of steel parts. Mathematical modeling is considered on the example of 38Cr2MoAl steel after gas nitriding. The gas nitriding technology was carried out at different temperatures for a duration of 20, 50, and 80 h in the SSHAM-12.12/7 electric furnace. When modeling the diffusion processes of surface hardening of parts in general, providing a specifically given distribution of nitrogen concentration over the diffusion layer’s depth from the product’s surface was solved. The model of the diffusion stage is used under the following assumptions: The diffusion coefficient of the saturat... [more]

Static immersion tests of potential injection pipe steels 42CrMo4, X20Cr13, X46Cr13, X35CrMo4, and X5CrNiCuNb16-4 at T = 60 °C and ambient pressure, as well as p = 100 bar were performed for 700−8000 h in a CO2-saturated synthetic aquifer environment similar to CCS sites in the Northern German Basin (NGB). Corrosion rates at 100 bar are generally lower than at ambient pressure. The main corrosion products are FeCO3 and FeOOH with surface and local corrosion phenomena directly related to the alloy composition and microstructure. The appropriate heat treatment enhances corrosion resistance. The lifetime reduction of X46Cr13, X5CrNiCuNb16-4, and duplex stainless steel X2CrNiMoN22-5-3 in a CCS environment is demonstrated in the in situ corrosion fatigue CF experiments (axial push-pull and rotation bending load, 60 °C, brine: Stuttgart Aquifer and NGB, flowing CO2: 30 L/h, +/− applied potential). Insulating the test setup is necessary to gain reliable data. S-N plots, micrographic-, phase-,... [more]

Carbon capture, transport, and storage (CCS) is an essential technology to mitigate global CO2 emissions from power and industry sectors. Despite the increasing recognition and interest in both the scientific community and stakeholders, current CCS deployment is far behind targeted ambitions. A key reason is that CCS is often perceived as too expensive to reduce CO2 emissions. The costs of CCS have however traditionally been looked at from the industrial plant point of view which does not necessarily reflect the end-user’s perspective. This paper addresses the incomplete view by investigating the impact of implementing CCS in industrial facilities on the overall costs and CO2 emissions of end-user products and services. As an example, this work examines the extent to which an increase in costs of raw materials (cement and steel) due to CCS impact the costs of building a bridge. Our results show that although CCS significantly increases the cost of cement and steel, the subsequent incre... [more]

This is supplemental data for a paper submitted to the PSE 2021+ conference. It includes values used to calculate emissions reductions and financial value of biomass pyrolysis by-product utilization.

As part of efforts to reduce carbon emissions in the iron and steel industry, which are especially pertinent in Canada due to rising carbon taxes, Canadian producers have been investigating the effects of replacing coal used in pulverized coal injection with biochar. Although there has been research into the economic value and effect on net life cycle emissions of using the biochar product itself, there are no comprehensive techno-economic analyses which investigate the value and potential uses of the by-products of biomass pyrolysis. These by-products include volatile organic compounds, known collectively as tar or bio-oil, and light gases, which are mainly hydrogen, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and methane. Since only 20-30% of the mass of pyrolyzed biomass is actually converted to char, with the rest converted to the by-products, [1] usage of these by-products is likely the key to increasing the value of biochar to a degree that makes up for the market price of biochar currently... [more]

Natural extracts have been widely used to protect metal materials from corrosion. The efficiency of these extracts as corrosion inhibitors is commonly evaluated through electrochemical tests, which include techniques such as potentiodynamic polarization, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, and weight loss measurement. The inhibition efficiency of different extract concentrations is a valuable indicator to obtain a clear outlook to choose an extract for a particular purpose. A complementary vision of the effectiveness of green extracts to inhibit the corrosion of metals is obtained by means of surface characterizations; atomic force microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis are experimental techniques widely used for this purpose. Moreover, theoretical studies are usually addressed to elucidate the nature of the corrosion inhibitor—metal surface interactions. In addition, calculations have been employed to predict how other organic subst... [more]

Globally, wind power is growing fast and in Sweden alone more than 3000 turbines have been installed since the mid-1990s. Although the number of decommissioned turbines so far is few, the high installation rate suggests that a similarly high decommissioning rate can be expected at some point in the future. If the waste material from these turbines is not handled sustainably the whole concept of wind power as a clean energy alternative is challenged. This study presents a generally applicable method and quantification based on statistics of the waste amounts from wind turbines in Sweden. The expected annual mean growth is 12% until 2026, followed by a mean increase of 41% until 2034. By then, annual waste amounts are estimated to 240,000 tonnes steel and iron (16% of currently recycled materials), 2300 tonnes aluminium (4%), 3300 tonnes copper (5%), 340 tonnes electronics (<1%) and 28,000 tonnes blade materials (barely recycled today). Three studied scenarios suggest that a well-func... [more]