October 8, 2013 — Steel heating processes require high volumes of fuel. So any practical advances that dramatically reduce fuel usage and associated costs are always of interest across the industry. MST’s reduced fuel usage and costs were recently highlighted at length in an issue of Industrial Heating Magazine.
When MST retrofitted the rotary-hearth furnace with “flameless” REBOX® oxyfuel technology from Linde North America, specific fuel consumption in the billet reheating operation achieved a 63% reduction. This solution also greatly improved the cold-drawn seamless tube and pipe manufacturer’s reheating capacity and eliminated the need for a walking-beam furnace.