A new lance design is blasting its way to improved steelmaking.
Oxygen is used in steelmaking to remove carbon from hot metal produced in the blast furnace. Lances are used to blow the oxygen, but the gradual build-up of solid material (skulling) can affect production and damage the lance as it is removed from the furnace.
Skulling on the lance can also cause high ferrous (iron) content in the slag the material build-up can lead to poor metal recovery from the BOS vessel.
Tackling this issue, the BOS team revamped the lance design with secondary oxygen ports to help release heat energy and prevent skulling. The new design also features high-speed oxygen ports which has resulted in better performance and efficiency of the lance and improved cooling which reduces wear.
It is expected that the new lance will result in a benefit of $2 million per year in increased yield and delays from deskulling.