Coke oven gas injection into blast furnaces

Abstract

U.S. Steel has three major facilities remaining in Pennsylvania`s Mon Valley near Pittsburgh. The Clairton Coke Works operates 12 batteries which produce 4.7 million tons of coke annually. The Edgar Thomson Works in Braddock is a 2.7 million ton per year steel plant. Irvin Works in Dravosburg has a hot strip mill and a range of finishing facilities. The coke works produces 120 mmscfd of coke oven gas in excess of the battery heating requirements. This surplus gas is used primarily in steel re-heating furnaces and for boiler fuel to produce steam for plant use. In conjunction with blast furnace gas, it is also used for power generation of up to 90 MW. However, matching the consumption with the production of gas has proved to be difficult. Consequently, surplus gas has been flared at rates of up to 50 mmscfd, totaling 400 mmscf in several months. By 1993, several changes in key conditions provided the impetus to install equipment to inject coke oven gas into the blast furnaces. This paper describes the planning and implementation of a project to replace natural gas in the furnaces with coke oven gas. It involved replacement of 7 miles of pipeline between the cokingmore » plants and the blast furnaces, equipment capable of compressing coke oven gas from 10 to 50 psig, and installation of electrical and control systems to deliver gas as demanded.« less