NEW ECONOMICS OF STEEL - MORE STEEL WITH LESS CAPACITY.

Additional steelmaking capacity can be achieved with a new technology involving the application of oxy-fuel burners to electric furnaces. This method is being applied in a Japanese plant on a routine basis. Through the application of large amounts of oxygen, combined with a carbon brick lining, which includes a water jacket inside the furnace for cooling purposes, heats have been produced on a regular basis in approximately 1 hr-10 minutes. The furnace with its present technology has been in operation for almost two years, and the results over this period have been consistent. The 1 hr-10 minute tap-to-tap time represents a sharp reduction from that recorded by most furnaces in the U. S. A survey of a number of shops in the U. S. indicates that an average of more than three hr is required for a heat. These short-time heats are exceptional in U. S. electric-furnace practice.