OREANDA-NEWS. June 21, 2013. ArcelorMittal Belval and Differdange has started the modernised electric arc furnace at the Esch-Belval steelworks, as planned.

The upper and lower vessels were replaced during two weeks of conversion work and a new fin-type bottom electrode was installed. Investments – within the framework of the Lux2016 plan for maintaining the competitiveness of Luxembourg’s steel industry – are running at EUR6m.
 
Roland Bastian, CEO of ArcelorMittal Belval, said: “The startup of the electric arc furnace in mid-April was a complete success.” The old furnace’s production record of 30 batches per day was equalled in May following a short test phase. Thanks to the modernisation, the plant’s production capacity has been increased to one million tonnes of crude steel per year.
 
The new plant will make a significant contribution to reducing the transformation costs which include all the energy, material and labour costs involved in smelting the scrap metal. A 15%  saving in natural gas has been achieved after just one month of operating the new furnace; it has been possible during this period to reduce the overall energy consumption by around 3%. Energy costs alone already account for 40% of the costs of steel production in Belval.
 
The new electrode technology improves the flow of electricity in the furnace, thus increasing productivity. A smaller furnace diameter has also increased the thermal utilisation factor. The new furnace can now yield 160 tonnes of crude steel per batch, compared with155 tonnes previously. In addition to this, maintenance costs have been reduced as the new bottom vessel can process twice as many batches as its predecessor, before it has to be changed.

For more information on ArcelorMittal in Luxembourg, go to http://luxembourg.arcelormittal.com