Dedicated Industrial Solutions

16-10-2009

In steel processing the high temperatures required for the processing of metals puts the spotlight on the difficult problem of cooling sensitive components of the systems, such as transformers, oven heads etc, that are used for the circulation of cold water.

The circulation of cooling water is vital to preserve the integrity of the production plants that would be seriously compromised if the cooling fluid were to suddenly stop subtracting heat. The reliability of the circulating and cooling system allows for no shortcuts.

During the cooling process, water subtracts heat from the item that needs to be cooled and is fouled by contact with dirty surfaces (oil, suspended solids). To be used again, its necessary to be equipped with devices capable of restoring the water to the right conditions to subtract heat again efficiently. Recycling of cooling water permits, therefore, to limit the consumption of water as well as prevent the discharge of high temperature polluted wastewater that can alter ecosystems.

In this field BONO ARTES has recently been awarded an important "turnkey" supply by Nunky Steel, part of GIVA group with more than 40 years operation in the production, transformation and processing of steel at its plant in Porto Nogaro, Udine, Italy.

Scope of the supply is the complete process of water treatment, pumping and distribution to enable the cooling of the furnaces, transformers and all the utilities involved in the steel processing cycle.
The treatment plant consists essentially of a pre-treatment section consisting of a double softening system made up of two columns with a capacity of 100 m3 / h.

Scope of softening is to remove hardness up to residual values approaching zero. This is achieved through an ion exchange process by means of an exchanger with strong cationic resin for the removal of permanent hardness.

The plant is equipped with a system to remove suspended solids present in cooling water. To this end two self-washing gravity filters with a capacity of 170 m3/h are used.

BONO ARTES has developed a technical solution that combines sand filtration with the operation of self-cleaning. The result is very simple: high efficiency at a very low cost.

The filter is realized in three chambers. The central section contains the medium filter. The clarified water is collected in the upper chamber that is maintained independent of the central area by means of a dished head and the lower chamber is separated from the filtration section by a perforated nozzle plate that acts as a support for the filtration sand. The supply also includes twelve lifting stations and complete installation of the distribution network and relative supports, including a 35 meter long pillarless pipe-rack. The plant was designed for fully automatic operation. All the processes and the various phases that characterize a complete operation cycle are under the direct control of a PLC (Programmable Logic Controller) which, in accordance with the logic developed in the software, manages automatically all the utilities, valves, pumps and sensors. In this case operators act solely as supervisors controlling the operation of each section of the plant with the help of monitors and noting the various functional parameters.

In the steel industry as in all those other sectors where there is the need to ensure continuous production it’s essential to have available highly reliable and secure equipment avoiding thus unnecessary and costly waste of resources.

BONO ARTES considers reliability and safety as a major objective of its mission and as such it’s able to ensure processes and systems that meet the expectations of even the most demanding customers.

	Artes Commercial News Oct.09 (189 Kb)