Refractory Header 2013  
September 2014                                                                                                           Issue 28
LATEST NEWS
ArcelorMittal Tubarão
IMFA Installation
Safety First
Welcome back to the team, Joy!

__________________ 

INFORMATION

Join Our Mailing List

Envelope Image 1

Upcoming Events in

2014

MS&T 14
October 12-16
Pittsburg, PA
  
Sulphur 2014
November 3-6
Paris, France
  
Indo Metal
December 11-13
Kemayoran, Jakarta
__________________
 Newsletter Archive
Chinese Flag 2
Read Newsletter #28 in Mandarin Chinese

Russian Flag 

Read Newsletter #28 in 
Russian

  

Spanish Flag

Read Newsletter #28 in
Spanish


German Flag

 Read Newsletter #28 in

German  

 French Flag

 Read Newsletter #28 in
French

Dear Newsletter Reader,

The summer flew by and fall is already upon us. GrafTech has enjoyed an exciting year and we hope you have as well.

With the last quarter of the year approaching, we will be wrapping many things up as well as preparing for upcoming projects and opportunities!

In this issue of our newsletter, we would like to tell you about AcelorMittal Tubarão, our Refractory System at work in India, some safety highlights and our team member, Joy LaCroix.

ArcelorMittal Tubarão

ArcelorMittal Tubarão is a large integrated steel plant, located in the State of Espirito Santo, with an estimated capacity of 7.5 million tons per year. Their main focus is on flat steel products for the Brazilian as well as the export market.

 

The Plant has 3 Blast Furnaces: BF1 and BF3 are big units, with a rated capacity of 10,000t/d and 8,000t/d, respectively. BF2 is a 3,400/day unit.

 

Until 2008, all 3 BF's had traditionally used similar hearth lining designs, with big carbon blocks for the bottom pad and sidewalls. At that time, the excessive wear in BF2 triggered a decision for a major hearth wall repair and GrafTech was awarded the supply of HotPressed™ bricks for that job.

 

In 2013, upon analyzing the wear of BF3 lining, AM Tubarão decided for a revamp. This time, again, after thorough analysis by the ArcelorMittal Teams in Brazil and in the USA, they elected GrafTech to supply the entire hearth lining materials, from the bottom pad all the way to the tuyere band. Our proposal was based on the UCAR® ChillKote™ lining technology.

 

The installation was concluded last June and the blow-in occurred in early July. 

Another UCAR® Refractory Systems Breakthrough in India
  

Indian Metal Ferro Alloys (IMFA) has installed UCAR® Refractory Systems into one of their Ferrochrome Submerged Arc Furnaces at the Choudwar plant in Odisha.

 

This is the third Submerged Arc Furnace in India using UCAR ChillKote™ Lining technology. The first 2 units, located at Jindal Stainless Ltd., Jajpur, Odisha, have been in operation since 2008. IMFA is India's largest, fully integrated producer of ferrochrome with six furnaces and a total transformer rating of 187 MVA. The IMFA plants are located in Therubali (Rayagada District) and Choudwar (Cuttack District), Odisha. IMFA has 258 MW of captive power generation and extensive chrome ore mining tracts to support its smelting operations.

 

The recently relined furnace was first started in 2005 at a nominal 21 MW. The furnace was lined with a conventional insulating system using ceramic bricks and carbon paste. This lining lasted 9 years, but sometimes had to be operated at reduced power in order to extend the lining life. IMFA's innovative and long-sighted management team decided to incorporate the UCAR ChillKote Lining after being introduced to the benefits.

 

We sincerely thank the IMFA operation team for their assistance and cooperation during installation of the UCAR lining technology. We strongly believe that UCAR technology will not only provide long refractory lining life to IMFA, but also stable furnace operation and higher productivity.
 
Safety Highlight
  
Safety is always an important topic, particularly in our industry.

In this newsletter issue we'd like to briefly highlight some different safety reminders that you can take into consideration every day.
  
1. Review your safety policies and procedures often. This allows
     you to be aware of proper techniques to use and it also
     prepares you for dealing with a safety hazard if one should
     occur.
2. Always remember to assess risks. By identifying risks, you can
     identify preventative measures and put them in place.
3. To better ensure safety gets the attention it deserves, start
     each meeting with a safety moment. This gives you and your   
     colleagues an opportunity to share risks you might have
     experienced and how you dealt with them.
Welcome to the Refractory Team, Joy LaCroix!

 

We are excited to welcome Joy LaCroix back to the team!

 

In February 2014, Joy LaCroix rejoined the Refractory Systems team as a Customer Service Representative.  She returns after a few years away, having been employed as Operations Manager for Porter-Walker LLC in Columbia, TN.  Joy is approaching 30 years of service with GrafTech, with 21 years in Purchasing and 9 years in Refractory Systems.  Joy can be reached at joy.lacroix@graftech.com. 

 

Redefining Limits


GrafTech, HotPressed and ChillKote are all trademarks of GrafTech International Holdings Inc.  UCAR® is a registered trademark used under license by GrafTech International Holdings Inc.  The information contained in or referred to in this newsletter is based on data believed to be reliable but GrafTech makes no warranties, express or implied, as to its accuracy and assumes no liability arising out of its use.  GrafTech's liability to purchasers is expressly limited to its terms and conditions of sale. ©2014 GrafTech International Holdings Inc.