Repair work on Basic Oxygen Furnace #1 is underway in the Basic Oxygen Furnace Shop. The main task is the complete replacement of the refractory lining and the restoration of key mechanical units, repair interventions which are impossible during the operation of the unit.
Andriy Karzin
In terms of the scope of work and the scale of tasks, such repair are equated to a major overhaul. First of all, more than 800 tons of refractories, the service life of which has expired, will be replaced. Due to the responsible attitude of the technological personnel to the main equipment, the resistance of the refractory lining in the overhaul period reached the standard level of 4,000 heats and even exceeded this indicator. Work is also underway to restore the steel structures of the converter lining.
Among the key tasks is the repair of steel structures of the vertical path of bulk materials, the stable operation of which determines the quality of the supply of heat components to the basic oxygen furnace and steel ladles.
During the technological shutdown, the main contractors – repairmen of "METINVEST-PROMSERVICE", LLC and PJSC "ZAPOROZHOGNEUPOR" – also began repairing the waste heat boiler of converter gases. The boiler drum is opened for cleaning, fault detection and restoration of components and parts, replacement of pipelines, inspection and repair of pumping equipment. The necessary maintenance of the caisson and cleaning of the gas exhaust duct is carried out.
At the same time, a steel ladle car designed to transport a ladle with liquid steel and a slag car for removing slag from the converter have already been repaired.
"The main purpose of this repair is to increase the reliability of operation and extend the service life of Basic Oxygen Furnace No. 1, the efficiency of which depends on the stable operation of the high-quality steel production shop. Together with our repair colleagues, we do our best to cover as many important equipment as possible with repair activities. In particular, for the first time since the replacement of the waste heat boiler of converter gases in 2018, a sludge pipeline with a diameter of 630 mm and a length of almost 50 meters is being replaced. This will improve the operation of the equipment, its reliability, as well as reduce unproductive losses during operation," says Andriy KARZIN, Deputy Head of Basic Oxygen Furnace Shop for Engineering.
