Economic Benefit of Aluminum Silicate Fiber Blanket
for Steel Rolling Reheating Furnace

For steel rolling heating furnace, the promotion of the use of aluminum silicate fiber
blanket, to prolong the service life of masonry, saving energy consumption, improve
product yield and quality, can get good results. Aluminum silicate refractory fiber,
developed in recent years, a new generation of fiber light refractory material,it has
low thermal conductivity, high fire resistance, good thermal insulation properties and
so on. At the same time, it also has a good thermal shock resistance and high radiation
rate. It is proved that the high temperature thermal stability is good. It is a kind of
reliable energy saving refractory material.

The heating furnace is the key equipment in steel rolling production, but also
energy-hungry, its operation will directly affect the normal production of high speed
wire plant. It plays an important role in the energy consumption of the whole plant.
For a long time, due to the ingot type limit,the square billet of the billet mill is short
and over proportioned,usually accounted for more than 25%.Under its influence, it
caused each billet rolling rhythm fast, lead to insufficient heating time of steel billet
in the furnace. In order to pursue production, only improve the furnace temperature,
often heating section and soaking section of the furnace temperature is up to 1300
DEG C. Combined with the reasons for the short billet,part of the furnace top and
bottom in the ‘empty burning’ state, greatly shorten the service life of the furnace top.
Has repeatedly occurred due to roof burned red, even burnt on the fire, and was
forced to stop production repair, seriously affected the normal operation of production,
causing unnecessary economic losses.

In order to solve the problem of short service life of the top work, using heating
furnace repair, use aluminum silicate fiber blanket to bond  on the high temperature
surface zone of the heating furnace.The fiber paste thickness is 50mm, covering the
entire roof area of about 100 square meters. The concrete construction method is to
clean the top surface of the ash and slag before the paste. It should be noted that
the working quality of this method directly affect the quality of the pasted fiber,then
coats the supporting high temperature binder to the surface of the furnace top and
the aluminum silicate fiber blanket, combinating both by gently squeezing.

Significant results have been achieved in improving furnace life, reducing energy
consumption, improving working conditions and operating environment. Mainly in
the following aspects:

1, improve furnace life:In the past, the top of the heating furnace refractory layer,
use ordinary clay castable, because the top part of the "empty burn" the local
temperature is too high,it results in refractory layer powder, cracking off more serious,
service life is generally not more than half a year. After the aluminum silicate fiber
blanket is pasted, the flame proof layer is not directly contacted with the flame, and
the working conditions are improved. No need to overhaul, thus saving a top overhaul
of the material and construction cost of about 300 thousand yuan.

2, reduce energy consumption: Before and after the paste aluminum silicate fiber
blanket for a couple of years in the same period, the average ton of steel
consumption is difference, 0.264GJ/T energy saving per ton, energy saving rate of
14.86%, total energy saving 76134.5 GJ (Maanshan, according to the year energy
price of 9 yuan per meter GJ) equivalent to 685 thousand and 200 yuan, the economic
benefit is very considerable.

3, improve the working environment:The use of aluminum silicate fiber blanket on
top surface temperature changes before and after, the temperature in the same
conditions, the results are different, after measuring 20 points on the top surface
temperature,the top furnace temperature bonded with aluminium silicate fiber blanket
is about 30 degrees Celsius average, it brings great convenience to the heating work
on-site inspection operation,also the maintenance work labor intensity greatly reduce,
welcomey by front-line workers.

4, holding time shortened:

     As the proportion of the production of short ribs is too large, the heating rhythm
often can not keep up with the rolling rhythm, in the past 1-2 hours each rolling steel
insulation can be about 10 minutes, viscose silicate fiber blanket, due to enhance the
furnace radiation intensity, Heating and holding time from the original 10 minutes to
5 minutes, not only improve the production and mill operating rate, but also reduce the
oxidation loss, so that billet heating quality has been improved.