Weirton Steel Corporation Plant-Wide Energy Assessment
The Weirton Steel Corporation began a plant-wide energy assessment of its steel mill plant in Weirton, West Virginia, in the fall of 2001 and continued assessment studies through most of 2002. The main objectives were to identify energy saving projects that would reduce the large expenses for fossil fuel and electricity. (In this case study, “fossil fuel” refers to a variable combination of blast furnace gas, natural gas, and fuel oil.) These resources are used in many applications to heat or dry steel, in producing steam, and in pumping water.
Weirton Steel recently pursued other efficiency enhancement programs in response to intense global competition; this plant-wide energy assessment continued the company’s
on-going pursuit of energy efficiency. Based on the assessment results, the company found strong economic justification for six projects that would reduce the use of fossil fuel, electrical energy, and water.
The continuous annealing (CA) lines have steel strip washers and strip dryers that consume large amounts of heated water and steam-heated air, respectively. Four of the six projects proposed alternatives for conserving these resources. Other projects seek to optimize furnace operation and reduce the cost of comfort heating for workers in the tin mill. All of the proposed projects would reduce fossil fuel requirements for heating steam or firing the furnace. This savings totals 108,000 million British thermal units (MMBtu) annually or nearly $1.3 million. Other yearly savings include 119 million gallons of water ($87,100) and 84,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) ($3,360) of electrical energy. All of the projects could be applied to other steel mills and possibly other industries using steam processes and furnaces.
Read the complete assessment online.
