New transport logistics for greater efficiency: Number of heavy vehicles increased for EAF operations
Supply secured with the scrap basket transporter
Smooth operation of the electric arc furnace requires an annual supply of roughly 925,000 tons of scrap to the EAF scrap charging bay. From there the scrap is charged by means of an overhead crane to the EAF. The new transports are made possible by a state-of-the-art scrap bucket transporter. The transporter picks up a scrap bucket and pallet from a precisely defined position at the scrap storage location and transports it safely to the specified position in the EAF scrap loading bay. The vehicle, including the scrap bucket, have enormous dimensions. The transport height is around nine and a half meters, while the width is almost eight meters and the vehicle length roughly 15 meters. The total weight of the vehicle amounts to 330 tons.
At intervals of around 45 minutes, up to 145 tons of scrap will be delivered to the electric furnace with the correct timing over a transport distance of about 1000 meters. On each return journey, an empty scrap basket is picked up and again made available at the scrap yard for subsequent loading. In order to maintain the strict time schedule, five scrap buckets with a capacity of 190 cubic meters each will be in operation along with one scrap basket transporter.
New dimensions in materials management: slag transporter
Safe removal of the EAF slag and disposal in the slag pit is just as important as scrap delivery. This will be accomplished by a slag transporter with a slag bucket of a new dimension. The capacity of the new EAF slag bucket is 30 cubic meters and can weigh up to 95 tons when loaded. The motto here is also bigger and stronger. Because the current slag transporters are not designed for such dimensions, the company is investing in a new and larger vehicle category. The dimensions of the new vehicle are enormous: 13 meters long, five and a half meters wide and just under five meters high.
Based on the EAF work cycle, the slag bucket is picked up directly in the EAF hall and is immediately replaced in front of the bay with an empty bucket for the next EAF heat. This must be completed in a period of only ten minutes and is has a very high priority. Transports over a distance of around 800 meters can be ensured with only one vehicle. Each year, approximately 180,000 tons of EAF liquid slag will be transported from the EAF to the slag pit for additional processing. The daily distance covered by the vehicle will be about 40 kilometers, which corresponds to approximately four daily circumnavigations of the voestalpine production site in Linz.
Stay connected: infrastructure and digitalization
In order to ensure that the transports are carried out in a reliable manner, adaptations to the road infrastructure have been planned and some of them have already been carried out. For example, utility bridges have been raised, turning radii planned and road sections lowered to create the required conditions for the new transports.
The IT systems of the scrap storage area, EAF and the TESS transport system of LogServ are being connected to each other for control of the vehicles. State-of-the-art IoT (Internet of Things) boxes, accurate data such as vehicle positions, angular positions, payload and other vehicle information can be exchanged with system operators. The technology controls traffic lights for the scrap bucket transporter and informs the control center for emergency services, the railway interlocking technology and other road vehicles of the position of the scrap bucket transporter. This means that transports can be adapted to EAF operations and carried out efficiently.
Procurement process The countdown has begun
A fundamental component of the successful procurement of the new heavy vehicles is close cooperation between the respective departments. Based on their expertise a detailed specification of requirements has been developed beginning with operations and vehicle procurement and going all the way to purchasing and the workshop. In addition to the care given to the technical parameters, great attention was paid to ensuring that employees are able to switch from the existing to the new vehicles as easily and quickly as possible. This will increase the level of safety and efficiency in operations.
Transport logistics at its finest
Supply and disposal are of the utmost importance. The right choice of vehicles is crucial for transport logistics that run smoothly. Based on the specified fundamentals and requirements, potential suppliers were invited to make a bid. Following intense technical and commercial negotiations, the contract was finally awarded at the beginning of December to Techne Kirow GmbH, a company that is headquartered in Germany. The new heavy-weight vehicles will be ready for use before the EAF is put into operation.
Go to greentec steel
The greentec steel project of voestalpine is an ambitious step-by-step plan that makes a valuable contribution to the achievement of the climate goals. As a first step, the voestalpine Group plans to replace two blast furnaces with two electric arc furnaces (EAFs) by the year 2027. The investment volume amounts to roughly 1.5 billion euros.
Mit dem teilweisen Umstieg von der Hochofen- auf die Elektrostahlroute können bereits bis 2029 die CO2-Emissionen um rund 30 % reduziert werden. Das entspricht einer Einsparung von knapp 4 Mio. t CO2 pro Jahr – das sind fast 5 % der CO2-Emissionen Österreichs. greentec steel ist damit das größte Klimaschutzprogramm in Österreich.
Mit den beiden Elektrolichtbogenöfen kann die voestalpine ab 2027 jährlich ca. 2,5 Mio. Tonnen CO2-reduzierten Stahl produzieren, davon 1,6 Mio. Tonnen in Linz und 850.000 Tonnen in Donawitz. Mehr über greentec steel erfahren Sie hier.