PRINCIPLES AND STRATEGY OF EAF POST-COMBUSTION

Michael G. Grant
Air Liquide America Corporation
5230 South East Avenue
Countryside, IL, 60525
USA
708-579-7859
mike.grant@airliquide.com

Key Words: Electric Arc Furnace, Post Combustion, Chemical Energy, Oxygen in EAF

INTRODUCTION
The electric arc furnace (EAF) has been continuously improving for the last 30 years. It has emerged as
the steelmaking method of choice when new steelmaking capacity is being considered for a particular plant or
when greenfield steel plants are being constructed. In recent years, EAF steelmaking has been producing high
quality steel, at high production rates in facilities that require much lower capital investment than integrated
mills. Of all the factors contributing to the success of the modern EAF operation, including ultra-high powered
furnaces and foamy slag practices, one of the greatest contributions has been the increased use of oxygen. The
use of oxygen in the EAF has been steadily increasing over the last 20 years. Energy input into the EAF
operation from chemical reactions involving oxygen has contributed to the production rate of the steelmaking
operation. Such tools as oxy-fuel burners, O2 lancing and post-combustion have effectively increased the power
contribution of chemical reactions into the EAF. Of these tools, post-combustion remains the tool that is least
widely used by steelmakers for boosting the productivity of their EAF.
Post-combustion is a method where CO and H2 evolved from the steelmaking charge during melting are
combusted to produce heat that is utilized in the melting process. A typical EAF operation results in the
evolution of significant quantities of these gases. Typically, these gases are burned in the gas collections
system en route to the baghouse. The intent of post-combustion is to capture the heat evolved from the
oxidation of these gases for utilization in the melting process. However, the effectiveness of any postcombustion system depends on the operating conditions of a specific EAF. Therefore, thorough examination of
any operation should be made prior to installing any post-combustion system to estimate the benefits that can be
expected. This paper describes post-combustion theory and practice and it shows how different operations can
result in a variety of post-combustion performance results.

58th Electric Furnace Conference Orlando (USA) November 12-15th, 2000

DESCRIPTION OF POST-COMBUSTION
Reactions
Post-combustion is a process for utilizing the chemical energy in the off-gas of the EAF process. In the
EAF, it consists of burning the CO and H2 evolving off the steel bath. Potential sources of CO and H2 in the
steelmaking process are listed below:
CO originates from:
Hydrocarbons present in the scrap during melt down.
Combustion of charge and foamy slag carbon.
Partial oxidation of carbon during lancing.
Reduction of FeO during slag foaming via:
FeO + C ( s )

Fe + CO( g )

(1)

H2 originates from:
The cracking of hydrocarbons present in the scrap.
The reduction of water from the atmosphere, panel leaks and spray rings via:

H 2 O( g )
H 2 O( g )

+ CO( g )

H 2(g)

+ CO2 ( g )

(2)

+ C( s )

H 2(g)

+ CO( g )

(3)

During the oxidation of carbon, the reaction CO to CO2 produces twice as much energy as the reaction of C
to CO when represented based on the volume of oxygen used. These reactions are listed in Table I.
Table I. Heats of Reaction at 3000F for the Oxidation of Carbon and Hydrogen
Reaction
C + O2 CO
CO + O2 CO2
C + O2 CO2
H2 + O2 H2O

DH
(kWh/scf O2)
-0.079
-0.180
-0.130
-0.167

The majority of the combustible gases produced during melting (CO and H2) are combusted after they exit
the furnace by air drawn into the duct through the break flange. Therefore, most of the potential chemical
energy produced from the complete oxidation of carbon is contained in the off-gases of an EAF. This energy is
wasted in the gas collection system after these gases leave the furnace because that is where CO is oxidized to
CO2. A post-combustion system is designed to capture a significant amount of this potential chemical energy
and transfer it to the process.
Post-Combustion in the EAF
Post-combustion occurs in almost every EAF operation even if there is no post-combustion system
installed on the furnace. Air drawn into the furnace by the baghouse fans provides the oxidant for burning a
portion of the CO and H2 generated during steelmaking. While this generates a significant amount of heat for
58th Electric Furnace Conference Orlando (USA) November 12-15th, 2000

melting, the heating of nitrogen (79% of the air) absorbs as much as 50 % of this natural post-combustion heat.
Nitrogen gas is inert in the EAF process and does not participate in any reactions that generate heat.
Many EAF operations worldwide have installed post-combustion systems that utilize pure oxygen to
combust the CO and H2 generated by the steelmaking process. By using pure oxygen to post-combust CO and
H2, the inefficiency of heating nitrogen is reduced because there is less nitrogen in the EAF atmosphere due to
the addition of post-combustion oxygen above the bath, which displaces the cold air ingress to the furnace. As a
result, the higher concentration of oxygen enables more combustion of the furnace gases to take place in the
furnace where the energy is needed.
Methods of Post-Combustion
There are many different systems of post-combustion being used on EAFs worldwide. Many of these are
derivatives of the same basic principle: to burn the CO and H2 above the bath when solid scrap is still high in
the furnace. This is when heat transfer between the hot combustion gases and the scrap is most efficient
because the scrap is cold and the large surface area of the scrap promotes convective heat transfer (the most
prominent mode of heat transfer from burners and post-combustion). As the charge melts down, it has a lower
surface area and the temperature difference between the hot combustion gases and the scrap is lower.
Therefore, the driving-force for heat-transfer decreases. This contrasts post-combustion in bath smelting
processes where heat is transferred to the molten metal. However, successful use of post-combustion in bath
smelting processes depends on delicate control of slag layer thickness, bottom stirring intensity and the location
and velocity of the post-combustion oxygen1.
Many EAF operators have attempted to perform post-combustion in their furnaces by using superstoichiometric ratios of oxygen to fuel in their burners. Success using this technique is limited because it is
difficult to perform post-combustion during periods when it is advantageous to use burners at their full power
and at a stoichiometric oxygen to fuel ratio. There are periods during most heats, when it is most efficient to
use both the burner and post-combustion systems at their full power at the same time. Performing postcombustion using the burners does not allow this to occur. Also, the velocity of the oxygen coming out of the
burners is often very high which can interfere with adequate mixing between the oxygen and the furnace
atmosphere. In addition to these, high velocity oxygen from burners has been known to attack the electrodes
and the furnace delta.
For these reasons, Air Liquide decided that it was more effective to use a post-combustion system that is
separate from the burners that delivers low velocity oxygen from multiple locations counter current to the flow
of furnace gases to the fourth hole. By using multiple injectors, adequate volumes of oxygen can be delivered
at low velocity to destroy the large volumes of CO and H2 evolving from the scrap. Furthermore, a furnace
atmosphere analyzer is usually used to control the Air Liquide post-combustion system to deliver appropriate
volumes of oxygen to achieve maximum O2 efficiency. A schematic of the Air Liquide post-combustion
system is presented in Figure 1. In this example, six (6) injectors are used to deliver the post-combustion
oxygen to the steelmaking process. The injectors are angled so the direction of flow can be directed against the
flow of the furnace gases toward the fourth hole.
STRATEGY FOR IMPLEMENTING EAF POST-COMBUSTION
The effectiveness of a post-combustion system will vary depending on the state of many operating
conditions. Examples of factors that will determine the performance of post-combustion are as follows:
Cleanliness of the scrap. Scrap that contains considerable amounts of oil and grease will generate a lot of
CO and H2 during the early stages of melting due to the cracking of hydrocarbons. This will affect the
concentration of CO and H2 in the furnace atmosphere.
58th Electric Furnace Conference Orlando (USA) November 12-15th, 2000

Amount of charge and foamy slag carbon. Most of the carbon charged to the heat, whether it is charge
carbon dissolved in the bath or foamy slag carbon, will eventually be oxidized to form CO inside the
furnace.

INJECTOR

INJECTOR

ALARC-ASTM

INJECTOR

INJECTOR

Sampling
probe

Off-gas sample
conditioning

Analysis
system

To bag house
ALARC-PCTM
injectors

ALARCTM
control system

Oxygen
valve stand
INJECTOR
INJECTOR

Furnace
computer

Figure 1 Schematic of the Air Liquide Post-Combustion System with Fourth Hole Analysis2

Rate of melting. The speed of steelmaking (rate of O2 injection) will influence the rate of CO evolution and
can therefore affect the performance of the post-combustion system. This necessitates a thorough study of
the furnace practice and conditions of any given operation before an effective post-combustion system can
be designed.

Analysis of EAF Atmosphere

Before designing a post-combustion system for a particular operation, a firm understanding of the furnace
conditions is required. To gain this understanding, it is necessary to have knowledge of the composition of the
EAF atmosphere. Furthermore, this information along with data describing the material and energy inputs and
outputs must be used in a complete mass and energy balance of the operation so that the appropriate volumes of
post-combustion oxygen can be calculated. Mass and energy balance calculations also predict the benefits a
post-combustion system can provide the EAF operation in question.
Figure 2 illustrates the configuration of the sampling probe for capturing samples of the furnace
atmosphere. A specially designed water cooled probe must be placed as close to the gap as possible and it must
extend into the duct to a point where samples representative of the EAF atmosphere can be extracted. The
furnace gases must then be filtered for dust and cooled to condense the water vapor that is present in the fourth
hole gases. After this treatment, the gases travel to the analyzer. An example of the variation in gas
composition over an entire heat is illustrated in the graph in Figure 2.
Mass and Energy Balance
Before a post-combustion system can be designed for a particular operation, the measured EAF gas
composition must be incorporated into a mass and energy balance model along with other data describing the
EAF operation. Results from the model estimate the benefits that can be expected from using post-combustion.
In addition, required oxygen flow rates for destroying CO and H2 formed during steelmaking are calculated.
The following data is entered into the model to perform the mass and energy balance:

58th Electric Furnace Conference Orlando (USA) November 12-15th, 2000

Scrap, DRI, pig iron, etc. weight and composition.

Tap weight, temperature and composition.
Weight and compositions of charge and foamy slag carbon.
Electrical energy consumption.
Electrode consumption.
Natural gas usage (scf/heat).
Oxygen usage (scf/heat).
Flue (fourth hole) gas analysis for the heat.
Tap-to-tap time and power-on-time.
Based on these inputs, the mass and energy balance will provide the following information:
Energy Balance.
Carbon and oxygen balance.
Total flue gas volume in scf/ton and scfm.
Volume of air ingress into the furnace is scf/ton and scfm.
Water (steam) volume produced and leaving the fourth hole.
Make predictions of future operational changes (scenario development).
% O2
% H2
% CO 2
% CO

35

30

20

15

15
10

10
O2

1:04:41

1:01:45

0:58:49

0:55:52

0:52:56

0:50:00

0:47:03

0:44:07

0:41:11

0:38:14

0:35:18

0:32:22

0:29:25

0:26:29

0
0:23:33

0:20:36

0:17:40

0:11:47

Projections
accumulation

20

0:08:51

Combustion area
Sampling point
Unoxidized area

25

H2

0:05:54

Elbow
Roof

30

25

0:02:58

Air

0:00:02

Electrode

35

CO 2

CO

Probe

% CO, % H2, % CO2, % CO

Air inlet

0:14:43

T im e

Figure 2. Probe Arrangement for Sampling EAF furnace gases and Example of Furnace Gas
Composition2.
Figure 3 contains example results of calculations using the EAF mass and energy balance program at Air
Liquide.
Calculation of Post-Combustion O2 Flow Rates
The mass and energy balance model has also been adapted to calculate post-combustion oxygen flow
profiles. For the operation producing the graph in Figure 2, the oxygen flow rate profile required for destroying
the CO and H2 is graphically presented in Figure 4. The calculation results displayed in Figure 4 demonstrate
how post-combustion oxygen volumes are determined when designing a post-combustion system for a
particular EAF shop.

58th Electric Furnace Conference Orlando (USA) November 12-15th, 2000

Mass Balance
Foamy
Slag
Carbon

0.535

ton

100

O 0

H 0

4765. scfm

Dry Flue Gas

(average composition)
6

1.07 ton Total Scrap Charged

20.0 lbs/ton
ton
119
0.8062%

1.7

0.252 %

H2O 2

%
%

-420.2

kWh/ton

Air Ingress

48.9 kWh/ton

N2 = 46.9 kWh/ton O2 =2.0 kWh/ton

CO

15.82%

CO2

19.95%

H2

12.65%

N2

49.58%

O2

2.00%

-7.0 kWh/ton

scf

25000

233.64 scf/ton

Mass Balance

Steel

167756.5 scf

Cancel

0 scf/ton

PC OxygenON/OFF off

kWh/ton

Units

1567.82 scf/ton

135.9
kWh/ton

Slag Formation -2.8 kWh/ton

Assumptions

Oxygen

Foamy Slag Carbon

-11.6kWh/ton

354.4

Natural Gas

Dry Off Gas

Analysis:
C O 15.82%
C O 2 19.95%
H2
12.65%
O2
2.00%

Electrode oxidization

Burners
-61.1kWh/ton

7109. scf/ton

ton

-23.7 kWh/ton

Air/O2 Post-Combustion
-105.0kWh/ton

10138 scfm

lbs/ton

.1 % C

Charge
Carbon

Charge Carbon

1784 scf/ton

3341. scf/ton

Tons Tapped
107

Electrical Energy

Steam

Air Ingress

9.999 lbs/ton

Energy Balance

OK

Chemical Reactions (incl. Lancing)

Fe + 1/2 O2(g) = FeO

-82.2 kWh/ton

Si + O2(g) = SiO2

-22.2 kWh/ton

Mn + 1/2 O2(g) = MnO

-11.9 kWh/ton

C + 1/2 O2(g) = CO

-22.0 kWh/ton

Total

-138.3 kWh/ton

Assumptions

Slag
61.8 kWh/ton

Units
Cancel

Heat Losses Electrical +

Water Cooling
217.7

OK

kWh/ton

Figure 3. Example Mass and Energy Balance Results

3000

PC O2 injection

O2 FLOW RATE (scfm)

2500

2000

1500

1000

500

0
0:00:00

0:07:12

0:14:24

0:21:36

0:28:48

0:36:00

0:43:12

0:50:24

0:57:36

1:04:48

1:12:00

Time

Figure 4. Post-Combustion Oxygen Injection Profile Calculated for Gas composition profiles in Figure 2.
The EAF atmosphere profile shown in Figure 2 represents data from 15 heats of normal operation, which
includes the complete spectrum of steel grades produced by that shop using all the types of scrap normally
consumed. It is important to study the furnace under all (normal) conditions that it operates to be able to
understand the diversity of furnace atmospheres that can be generated at a particular shop. The information is
then used to generate O2 flow profiles such as the one in Figure 4 so that a post-combustion system can be
suitably designed.
Estimating the Impact of Potential Melting Practice Changes
Thus far in this report, the method for determining the post-combustion oxygen flow rate profiles for an
existing EAF practice has been presented. However, in many cases, a steel company may be considering postcombustion as one of several EAF productivity or quality improvements that are being planned for the future.
Therefore, any mass and energy balance model must be capable of including these potential changes to the
practice when formulating O2 flow profiles. The model must also be able to make predictions of the benefits
that post-combustion will bring for each practice change.
The Air Liquide model is capable of using current operational data to make projections of the effects of
different practice changes on the furnace performance. Examples of how different furnace practices affect the

58th Electric Furnace Conference Orlando (USA) November 12-15th, 2000

productivity of the furnace and how each of these cases will be benefited by installing post-combustion are
described below. These scenarios are based on the operation of the furnace where atmosphere profiles similar
to Figure 2 are generated. The following scenarios are examined in this paper:
Base Case: No charge or foamy slag carbon is charged and there are no burners being used. 618 scf lance
O2/ton. Scrap charge includes 12.5 % pig iron.
Case 2: 20 lbs/ton Charge Carbon added to Base Case and a total of 939 scf lance O2/ton.
Case 3: 10 lbs/ton foamy slag carbon added to Case 2 with a total of 1100 scf lance O2/ton.
Case 4: 25 % DRI added to Case 3 with a total of 810 scf lance O2/ton.
Case 5: Burners with an average firing rate of 5 MW (over the whole heat) added to Case 4.
Each of these scenarios is simulated with and without post-combustion to demonstrate how operating
practice affects the performance of a post-combustion system. Calculations were made assuming constant yield
of 90 percent. Therefore, as charge and foamy slag carbon are added, lance oxygen must be increased to
balance additional carbon. In the Case 4 where DRI is added, oxygen was removed because the oxygen present
in the 8 % FeO contained in the DRI is capable of performing significant amounts of decarburization.
Case 1 - Table II describes the Base Case scenario where there is no charge or foamy slag carbon used in
the operation. Additionally, the base case uses no burners. Approximately 39 % of the energy going into the
process is chemical energy. This chemical energy originates from the oxidation reactions occurring in the bath
(138.3 kWh/ton) and from natural post-combustion (146.8 kWh/ton). Natural post-combustion occurs in almost
every electric arc furnace by the oxidation of CO and H2 with air drawn into the furnace by the baghouse fans.
A small amount of energy is produced by the oxidation of electrodes and by slag forming reactions. Note also
that the unused air ingress (nitrogen from air ingress) consumes about 75 kWh/ton. The other off-gases (CO,
H2, CO2, H2O) leaving the furnace account for 59 kWh/ton.
Table II. CASE 1: Base Case No Carbon Added, 617 scf O2/ton
INPUTS
Electrical Energy
Bath Reactions
Charge Carbon
Foamy Slag Carbon
Electrode oxidization
Post combustion heat
Heat from burners
Heat of slag formation
Lance O2
Air Ingress into EAF
Total
OUTPUTS
Heat in Steel
Heat of N2 in Off-gas
Heat of O2 in Off-Gas
Heat of CO in Off-Gas
Heat of CO2 in Off-Gas
Heat of H2 in Off-Gas
Heat of H2O in Off-Gas
Slag at Tap Temperature
Losses
Tap to Tap Time (min)
Power on Time (min)
Total
Percent Chemical Energy

0.0
0.0
6.0
0.0
0.0

lbs/ton
lbs/ton
lbs/ton
scf/ton
MW

BASE CASE
-454.6
-138.3
0.0
0.0
-7.0
-146.8
0.0
-2.8

kWh/ton
kWh/ton
kWh/ton
kWh/ton
kWh/ton
kWh/ton
kWh/ton
kWh/ton

618 scf/ton
5369 scf/ton
-749.5 kWh/ton

59.0%
3.6%
0.0%
9.8%
0.0%
27.7%

354.4
75.4
4.8
0.0
20.4
0.0
33.4
61.8
199.3
80
61

BASE CASE WITH POST-COMBUSTION

-458.8 kWh/ton
-138.3 kWh/ton
0.0 lbs/ton
0.0 kWh/ton
0.0 lbs/ton
0.0 kWh/ton
6.0 lbs/ton
-7.0 kWh/ton
272 scf/ton
-146.8 kWh/ton
0.0 MW
0.0 kWh/ton
-2.8 kWh/ton
618 scf/ton
5319 scf/ton
-753.7 kWh/ton

kWh/ton
kWh/ton
kWh/ton
kWh/ton
kWh/ton
kWh/ton
kWh/ton
kWh/ton
kWh/ton

749.5 kWh/ton
39.3%

58th Electric Furnace Conference Orlando (USA) November 12-15th, 2000

56.7%
7.0%
0.0%
9.5%
0.0%
26.8%

354.4
74.7
9.7
0.0
20.4
0.0
33.4
61.8
199.3
80
61

kWh/ton
kWh/ton
kWh/ton
kWh/ton
kWh/ton
kWh/ton
kWh/ton
kWh/ton
kWh/ton

753.7 kWh/ton
39.1%

Table II also shows that in this case, where there is no charge carbon, there is enough air ingress to oxidize
all the CO and H2 formed during steelmaking. The lower left section of Table II shows that even without postcombustion, there is no CO and H2, formed during steelmaking, exiting the fourth hole. Therefore, there is no
need to add post-combustion oxygen because there is nothing to post-combust. Never the less, the model was
used to calculate the effect of adding a post-combustion system when it was not needed. The results show that
there is an energy penalty in this case. Electrical energy increases from 455 kWh/ton to 459 kWh/ton when
post-combustion is turned on. Post-combustion oxygen is added to the furnace where it simply heats up on its
way to the fourth hole. The heat lost by excess oxygen flowing out the fourth hole doubles. It is also
interesting to note that when post-combustion oxygen is injected into an EAF, the amount of air ingress into the
furnace drops. Also, it can be expected that electrode oxidation will increase when adding post-combustion to
Case 1, however, the model is incapable for accounting for this probable effect.
Case 1 is an example of an operation where post-combustion will not be viable because of the lack of CO
and H2 produced by the process. Examples like Case 1 demonstrate that the EAF operation must be
characterized and understood so that reliable estimates of return on investment of a post-combustion system can
be made.
Case 2 Charge carbon is commonly added to the electric arc furnace to provide additional heat and to
ensure that there will be sufficient carbon in the bath at melt-in. A portion of carbon that is charged with the
scrap will dissolve in the molten steel and the furnace atmosphere will oxidize the rest. An important
consideration when increasing the amount of carbon charged to an EAF is the amount of extra oxygen that must
be used to balance the carbon. This is the reason why the lance oxygen increased from 618 scf/ton with no
carbon charged in Case 1 to 940 scf/ton with 20 lbs/ton of charge carbon in Case 2.

INPUTS
Electrical Energy
Bath Reactions
Charge Carbon
Foamy Slag Carbon
Electrode oxidization
Post combustion heat
Heat from burners
Heat of slag formation
Lance O2
Air Ingress into EAF
Total
OUTPUTS
Heat in Steel
Heat of N2 in Off-gas
Heat of O2 in Off-Gas
Heat of CO in Off-Gas
Heat of CO2 in Off-Gas
Heat of H2 in Off-Gas
Heat of H2O in Off-Gas
Slag at Tap Temperature
Losses
Tap to Tap Time (min)
Power on Time (min)
Total
Percent Chemical Energy

20.0
0.0
6.0
0.0
0.0

lbs/ton
lbs/ton
lbs/ton
scf/ton
MW

CASE 2
-439.2
-138.3
-23.7
0.0
-7.0
-137.8
0.0
-2.8

kWh/ton
kWh/ton
kWh/ton
kWh/ton
kWh/ton
kWh/ton
kWh/ton
kWh/ton

939.6 scf/ton
4586.1 scf/ton
-748.8 kWh/ton

51.0%
2.1%
9.6%
9.4%
1.0%
27.0%

354.4
64.4
2.7
12.1
19.3
1.2
32.2
61.8
200.6
78
59

kWh/ton
kWh/ton
kWh/ton
kWh/ton
kWh/ton
kWh/ton
kWh/ton
kWh/ton
kWh/ton

748.8 kWh/ton
41.3%

CASE 2 WITH POST-COMBUSTION

-413.0 kWh/ton
-138.3 kWh/ton
20.0 lbs/ton
-23.7 kWh/ton
0.0 lbs/ton
0.0 kWh/ton
6.0 lbs/ton
-7.0 kWh/ton
483.1 scf/ton
-206.1 kWh/ton
0.0 MW
0.0 kWh/ton
-2.8 kWh/ton
939.6 scf/ton
4497.0 scf/ton
-790.9 kWh/ton

49.8%
3.3%
0.0%
18.9%
0.0%
27.9%

354.4
63.2
4.4
0.0
39.0
0.0
33.4
61.8
234.8
74
55

kWh/ton
kWh/ton
kWh/ton
kWh/ton
kWh/ton
kWh/ton
kWh/ton
kWh/ton
kWh/ton

790.9 kWh/ton
47.8%

Table III. CASE 2: 20 lbs/ton of Charge Carbon added to Case 1, 940 scf/ton Total Lance Oxygen.

58th Electric Furnace Conference Orlando (USA) November 12-15th, 2000

Table III shows that 20 lbs/ton of charge carbon (with oxygen to balance) produces enough energy to bring
the electrical energy consumption down from 455 kWh/ton to 439 kWh/ton. With this drop in electrical energy
consumption, there is an associated increase in furnace productivity. The tap-to-tap time drops from 80 minutes
in Case 1 to 78 minutes in Case 2. In addition, CO and CO2 formed from the oxidation of the charge carbon
displace enough air to reduce the cold air ingress to the furnace by almost 15 %. As a result, there is not enough
oxygen from air ingress to completely oxidize the CO and H2 in the furnace. There is now a significant
proportion of CO and H2 in the furnace atmosphere to consider using post-combustion.
Table III demonstrates that with 20 lbs/ton of charge carbon added to Case 1, installing post-combustion
results in electrical energy savings of approximately 26 kWh/ton (439 kWh/ton to 413 kWh/ton). Furthermore,
post-combustion is able to reduce the tap-to-tap time from 78 minutes to 74 minutes by increasing productivity
by more than 5 %. Almost half (48 %) of the energy needed for making steel is supplied by chemical energy.
Case 3 In Case 3, 10 lbs/ton of foamy slag carbon was added to the operation described in Case 2. This
extra carbon was balanced with an additional 160 scf/ton of oxygen to bring the total lance oxygen to 1100
scf/ton. The results are displayed in Table IV. The model predicts a decrease in electrical energy consumption
of only 2- kWh/ton. In reality, the production of a good foamy slag will induce much higher electrical energy
savings that those shown in Table IV. The model is unable to estimate the energy savings incurred by shielding
the arc with a highly foaming slag. The addition of foamy slag carbon further decreases the amount of cold air
ingress to the furnace by 8.5%.
Table IV. CASE 3:Case 2 with the Addition of 10 lbs/ton Foamy Slag Carbon, Total Oxygen is 1100
scf/ton.
INPUTS
Electrical Energy
Bath Reactions
Charge Carbon
Foamy Slag Carbon
Electrode oxidization
Post combustion heat
Heat from burners
Heat of slag formation
Lance O2
Air Ingress into EAF
Total
OUTPUTS
Heat in Steel
Heat of N2 in Off-gas
Heat of O2 in Off-Gas
Heat of CO in Off-Gas
Heat of CO2 in Off-Gas
Heat of H2 in Off-Gas
Heat of H2O in Off-Gas
Slag at Tap Temperature
Losses
Tap to Tap Time (min)
Power on Time (min)
Total
Percent Chemical Energy

20.0
10.0
6.0
0.0
0.0

lbs/ton
lbs/ton
lbs/ton
scf/ton
MW

CASE 3
-436.7
-138.3
-23.7
-11.6
-7.0
-128.9
0.0
-2.8

kWh/ton
kWh/ton
kWh/ton
kWh/ton
kWh/ton
kWh/ton
kWh/ton
kWh/ton

1100.3 scf/ton
4194.5 scf/ton
-749.0 kWh/ton

46.6%
1.9%
11.9%
11.7%
5.2%
22.8%

354.4
58.9
2.5
15.0
24.0
6.2
27.2
61.8
199.1
77
58

kWh/ton
kWh/ton
kWh/ton
kWh/ton
kWh/ton
kWh/ton
kWh/ton
kWh/ton
kWh/ton

749.0 kWh/ton
41.7%

CASE 3 WITH POST-COMBUSTION

-401.3 kWh/ton
-138.3 kWh/ton
20.0 lbs/ton
-23.7 kWh/ton
10.0 lbs/ton
-11.6 kWh/ton
6.0 lbs/ton
-7.0 kWh/ton
593.1 scf/ton
-213.2 kWh/ton
0.0 MW
0.0 kWh/ton
-2.8 kWh/ton
1100.3 scf/ton
4085.1 scf/ton
-797.9 kWh/ton

45.4%
3.1%
3.4%
20.1%
0.0%
28.0%

354.4
57.4
4.1
4.4
41.2
0.0
33.4
61.8
241.2
73
54

kWh/ton
kWh/ton
kWh/ton
kWh/ton
kWh/ton
kWh/ton
kWh/ton
kWh/ton
kWh/ton

797.9 kWh/ton
49.7%

Table IV demonstrates the benefits of post-combustion when added to Case 3. In this situation, postcombustion is expected to save the operation approximately 35 kWh/ton while reducing the tap-to-tap time by
approximately 4 minutes. These savings result from less air drawn into the furnace and more CO available for
post-combustion due to the additional 10 lbs/ton of foamy slag carbon. The addition of post-combustion to
Case 3 increases the chemical energy contribution to the process to approximately 50%. However, there is a
58th Electric Furnace Conference Orlando (USA) November 12-15th, 2000

significant increase in the heat losses going to the cooling water (42 kWh/ton) during the installation of postcombustion as shown in Table IV. This could create some problems for operations where the furnace cooling
system is already close to maximum capacity.
Case 4 In Case 4, 25 % DRI was included in the scrap mix while the total lance oxygen was reduced to
811 scf/ton. The lance O2 was reduced because there is 8 % FeO in the DRI. The FeO contains oxygen that
participates in the decarburization reactions. When 25% DRI is included in the scrap charge, the electrical
consumption increases by 12% to 489 kWh/ton (see Table V). This is the extra energy required for the
reduction of FeO in the DRI and the melting of the additional gangue material. This extra energy consumption
occurs despite the fact that there is a 9% drop in cold air ingress with the addition of DRI. In Case 4, the DRI
was assumed to contain 2 percent carbon, which was oxidized to CO to further displace the cold air ingress
from the Case 3 example.
Table V shows that the addition of post-combustion in Case 4 requires considerably more oxygen than the
previous example in Case 3. It takes 703.9 scf O2/ton to destroy the CO and H2 evolved from the Case 4
operation due to the large amount of carbon that is present in the DRI. Electrical energy savings are 43
kWh/ton with post-combustion and tap-to-tap time is reduced by 6 minutes. It is interesting to note that postcombustion has the potential to restore almost all of the productivity that would be lost by using DRI. However
this depends on how the DRI is added to the furnace. If DRI is continuously charged into a flat bath, it is
expected that heat transfer efficiency may not be as high as indicated in Table V because there will be less
surface area to heat the steel during flat bath continuous charging.
Table V. CASE 4:Case 3 with 25 % DRI in the Charge, 811 scf/ton total lance oxygen.
INPUTS
Electrical Energy
Bath Reactions
Charge Carbon
Foamy Slag Carbon
Electrode oxidization
Post combustion heat
Heat from burners
Heat of slag formation
Lance O2
Air Ingress into EAF
Total
OUTPUTS
Heat in Steel
Heat of N2 in Off-gas
Heat of O2 in Off-Gas
Heat of CO in Off-Gas
Heat of CO2 in Off-Gas
Heat of H2 in Off-Gas
Heat of H2O in Off-Gas
Slag at Tap Temperature
Losses
Tap to Tap Time (min)
Power on Time (min)
Total
Percent Chemical Energy

20.0
10.0
6.0
0.0
0.0

lbs/ton
lbs/ton
lbs/ton
scf/ton
MW

CASE 4
-488.5
-74.3
-23.7
-11.6
-7.0
-120.1
0.0
-7.1

kWh/ton
kWh/ton
kWh/ton
kWh/ton
kWh/ton
kWh/ton
kWh/ton
kWh/ton

810.6 scf/ton
3802.6 scf/ton
-732.2 kWh/ton

42.3%
1.7%
14.1%
13.9%
9.4%
18.6%

354.9
53.4
2.3
17.9
28.6
11.2
22.2
47.1
194.6
84
65

CASE 4 WITH POST-COMBUSTION

-445.4 kWh/ton
-74.3 kWh/ton
20.0 lbs/ton
-23.7 kWh/ton
10.0 lbs/ton
-11.6 kWh/ton
6.0 lbs/ton
-7.0 kWh/ton
703.9 scf/ton
-217.0 kWh/ton
0.0 MW
0.0 kWh/ton
-7.1 kWh/ton
810.6 scf/ton
3672.8 scf/ton
-786.1 kWh/ton

kWh/ton
kWh/ton
kWh/ton
kWh/ton
kWh/ton
kWh/ton
kWh/ton
kWh/ton
kWh/ton

732.2 kWh/ton
33.3%

40.8%
3.1%
7.4%
20.6%
0.0%
28.0%

354.9
51.6
4.2
9.4
42.4
0.0
33.4
47.1
243.1
78
59

kWh/ton
kWh/ton
kWh/ton
kWh/ton
kWh/ton
kWh/ton
kWh/ton
kWh/ton
kWh/ton

786.1 kWh/ton
43.3%

Case 5 - Table VI contains model calculations predicting the effect of adding burners to Case 4. In normal
EAF operations, the burners are operated at high power early in the heat when the scrap is high in the furnace
and then as the heat progresses toward flat bath conditions, the burners are fired at low power because heat
transfer efficiency is low3. For calculating the contribution of the burners to the operation, an average firing
rate of 5 MW was used. This is roughly equivalent to 234 scf/ton of natural gas use.
58th Electric Furnace Conference Orlando (USA) November 12-15th, 2000

10

The addition of burners reduces the electrical energy consumption by almost 17 kWh/ton, which reduces
the tap-to-tap time by 2 minutes. The hot gases produced by the burners displace the cold air ingress into the
furnace and reduce it by 22 %. Since there is less air drawn into the furnace, there is less natural postcombustion (post-combustion by air). The contribution of natural post-combustion to the operation drops from
120 kWh/ton to 96 kWh/ton (compare Table V and Table VI). Therefore, the combined proportion of CO and
H2 in the furnace atmosphere increases. The burners also increase the heat load to the walls as indicated by the
losses.
When post-combustion is added to Case 5, it reduces the electrical energy consumption by almost 50
kWh/ton and decreases the tap-to-tap time by 7 minutes. Post-combustion produces better results than other
cases because there is less post-combustion by air ingress taking place in the furnace while there is the same
amount of CO and H2 produced by the steelmaking process as in Case 4. The burners themselves do not
produce extra CO for post-combustion. They reduce the air ingress that concurrently participates in the postcombustion reactions.
Table VI. CASE 5: Case 4 with oxy-fuel burners averaging 5MW over the entire heat.
INPUTS
Electrical Energy
Bath Reactions
Charge Carbon
Foamy Slag Carbon
Electrode oxidization
Post combustion heat
Heat from burners
Heat of slag formation
Lance O2
Air Ingress into EAF
Total

20.0
10.0
6.0
0.0
5.1

lbs/ton
lbs/ton
lbs/ton
scf/ton
MW

CASE 5
-472.0
-74.3
-23.7
-11.6
-7.0
-96.1
-61.1
-7.1

kWh/ton
kWh/ton
kWh/ton
kWh/ton
kWh/ton
kWh/ton
kWh/ton
kWh/ton

810.6 scf/ton
2949.7 scf/ton

OUTPUTS
Heat in Steel
Heat of N2 in Off-gas
Heat of O2 in Off-Gas
Heat of CO in Off-Gas
Heat of CO2 in Off-Gas
Heat of H2 in Off-Gas
Heat of H2O in Off-Gas
Slag at Tap Temperature
Losses
Tap to Tap Time (min)
Power on Time (min)
Total
Percent Chemical Energy

-752.9 kWh/ton

32.8%
1.3%
14.1%
17.2%
13.7%
20.9%

354.9
41.4
1.8
17.9
35.3
16.3
24.9
47.1
213.2
82
63

kWh/ton
kWh/ton
kWh/ton
kWh/ton
kWh/ton
kWh/ton
kWh/ton
kWh/ton
kWh/ton

752.9 kWh/ton
37.3%

CASE 5 WITH POST-COMBUSTION

-423.0 kWh/ton
-74.3 kWh/ton
20.0 lbs/ton
-23.7 kWh/ton
10.0 lbs/ton
-11.6 kWh/ton
6.0 lbs/ton
-7.0 kWh/ton
784.5 scf/ton
-201.1 kWh/ton
5.1 MW
-61.1 kWh/ton
-7.1 kWh/ton
810.6 scf/ton
2805.0 scf/ton
-808.9 kWh/ton

31.2%
2.9%
9.8%
21.5%
0.0%
34.6%

354.9
39.4
3.9
12.5
44.2
0.0
41.2
47.1
265.7
75
56

kWh/ton
kWh/ton
kWh/ton
kWh/ton
kWh/ton
kWh/ton
kWh/ton
kWh/ton
kWh/ton

808.9 kWh/ton
47.7%

Design of a Post-Combustion System

The five cases presented above demonstrate how the operating conditions of an EAF will affect the results
of using post-combustion. For this reason, it is important to understand the operation of a furnace prior to
designing such a system. The EAF operation affects the amount of CO and H2 generated which in turn, affects
the amount of oxygen required for the destruction of those gases. These factors must be known before any
return on investment calculations can be made for justification of a post-combustion system.

58th Electric Furnace Conference Orlando (USA) November 12-15th, 2000

11

ACTUAL RESULTS FROM POST-COMBUSTION

Benefits of Post-Combustion.
The benefits realized by steelmakers that have used the Air Liquide Post-combustion system are as follows:
Utilization of the fuel (CO and H2) evolving from the process to produce heat for melting steel. This
reduces electrical energy requirements and increases the productivity of the electric arc furnace.
Reduction of baghouse CO emissions.
Heat from post-combustion is absorbed in the charge so that less combustion occurs in the off-gas system
which,
Reduces the temperature of the off-gas system,
Minimizes high temperature spikes associated with rapid CO evolution (cave-ins).
Figure 5 shows how CO emissions and baghouse temperatures are reduced when post-combustion is
installed on the EAF. CO emissions are lower when using post-combustion with pure oxygen because a greater
proportion of the CO is combusted in the furnace. Baghouse temperatures are reduced when using postcombustion because most of the CO and H2 generated by the steelmaking process is combusted inside the
furnace where that heat is transferred to the steel leaving less energy to heat the baghouse. In operations where
post-combustion is not being used, CO and H2 are oxidized in the gas collection system where the only heat
sink is the water-cooled duct. Therefore, much more heat travels to the baghouse.
WITHOUT PC

200
190
180

Tem perature ( F )

WITHOUT PC

PP M CO

WITH PC

170
160
150
140
WITH PC

130
120
110

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Tim e in He at (m in)

20

40

60

80

100

Tim e in Heat (m in)

Figure 5. CO emissions and baghouse temperature with and without post-combustion4.

Furnaces using ALARC-PC
Table VII contains data describing the benefits that were measured before and after the Air Liquide postcombustion system was installed on several selected furnaces2. These measurements were made on numerous
heats representative of the operations before and after the installation of post-combustion on each of these
furnaces. The benefits vary between furnaces. In these examples,
Electrical energy savings varied between 22 kWh/t and 59 kWh/ton,
Furnace productivity increased by 0.9 to 2.3 heats/day,
Tap-to-tap time was reduced by 1.9 to 9.7 minutes.
The variation in results between the six operations chosen as examples in Table VII is attributed to a large
variety in operating conditions. The wide variety of results explains the need for understanding the operation
and the benefits that a post-combustion installation will bring prior to its installation.

58th Electric Furnace Conference Orlando (USA) November 12-15th, 2000

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Table VII. Comparison of EAF Operations with and without Post-Combustion2.

BSW
78
50

Von Roll Valsabbia Cascade

Steel
70
70
95
45
36/28
45 - 60

Alfa
Acciai
80
63

Kisco

Tapping Weight (t)

Melting Power (MW)
REFERENCE PERIOD:
Power On (min)
Tap-to-Tap (min)
Electrical Consumption (kWh/t)
3
O2 Consumption (Nm /t)

65
35

40.5
51.5
372
35.6

46
64
447
14

51.3
64.5
398
26.3

53.7
85.6
515
28.3

40.2
56.6
414
36.3

41.5
54.6
393
57

ALARC-PC SAVINGS ON
Power On (min)
Tap-to-Tap (min)
Electrical Consumption (kWh/t)
Heats per day
O2 Consumption (Nm3/t) - ALARC-PC

-3.7
3.7
-25
2.1
12

-6
-6
-44
2.3
18

-3.9
-3.6
-22
1.4
12.7

-7.1
-9.7
-59
2.2
23.6

-3.9
-1.9
-33
0.9
13

-2.3
-4.7
-42
3
14.5

O2 Consumption (Nm3/t) - Total

45.6

32

34.1

49.1

33.7

55

SUMMARY
Post-combustion is a process for utilizing the chemical energy in the off-gas of the EAF process. The
chemical energy is evolved when CO and H2 are combusted by oxygen inside the EAF. This post-combustion
energy is used to assist in melting the steel scrap.
However, prior to making the decision to install a post-combustion system, an understanding of the EAF
operation in for which the system is being considered is important. This can be achieved by studying a
representative number of normal heats. The study must comprise of a complete furnace gas analysis for all
heats. In addition to this, an accurate accounting of all the raw material, fuel and oxygen inputs to the furnace
must be made. All product outputs and temperature must be recorded in order to be able to complete the mass
and energy balance of the furnace. Using a model that may incorporate anticipated strategic practice changes,
the benefits of using post-combustion can be estimated. Therefore, it can be decided whether or not a post
combustion system can be justified. Additionally, the aforementioned mass and energy balance study is needed
for calculating oxygen flow rates required for designing a post-combustion system.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The author wishes to thank the Air Liquide America Corporation for its moral and financial support throughout
this work.
REFERENCES
1.

Jones, J.A.T.; Oliver, J.F.; A Review of Post-Combustion in the EAF A Theoretical and Technical
Evaluation; 5th European Electric Steel Congress, June 19 23, 1995; Paris, France.

2.

Air Liquide America Corporation, Internal reports and presentations.

3.

R. Fruehan, Editor, The Making Shaping and Treating of Steel, 11th Edition, Steelmaking and Refining
Volume, 1998, Chapter 10 Electric Furnace Steelmaking.

58th Electric Furnace Conference Orlando (USA) November 12-15th, 2000

13

4.

Gregory, D.S.; Ferguson, D.K.; Slootman, F.; Viraize, F.; Luckhoff, J.; Results of ALARC-PC PostCombustion at Cascade Rolling Mills; 53rd Electric Furnace Conference Proceedings, Volume 53,
November 12-15, 1995, page 211.

58th Electric Furnace Conference Orlando (USA) November 12-15th, 2000

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