India's leading steel producer banks on ELGi Sauer's air compressors for an uninterrupted supply of high-pressure and high-quality compressed air for various applications across production plants.
Building the Future
Steel is one of the world's most essential materials in engineering and construction. Steel components are utilised in almost everything- from vehicles to domestic appliances to surgical scalpels!
The vast applications of the metal are attributed to its durability and flexibility. The World Steel Association forecasted that steel demand will increase by 2.2% in 2023 to reach 1,881.4 million tonnes (MT).
India is currently the world’s 2nd largest producer of crude steel in January - December 2021, producing 118.20 Million tonnes (MT) crude steel with growth rate 17.9% over the corresponding period last year (CPLY). Source
A leading steel manufacturer
Our customer is a leading steel manufacturer, which began operations in 1998. Ranked as one of the top in India, the organization is also recognized as the second largest value creator in the world.
The diversified portfolio of steel products comprises steel plates and coils, angles and channels, wire rods, round bars, rails, parallel flange beams, and fabricated sections. The product line is in high demand across 22+ countries owing to its durability and quality.
From Scrap to Steel
Steel is a sturdy iron alloy with chromium, manganese, and nickel elements. Our customer’s production process typically involves these steps:
- Raw material sourcing: Iron ore, coal, and lime are the primary raw materials used to produce steel. The company owns coal and iron-ore mines to source the raw materials.
- Sinter plant: The raw material is subjected to an agglomeration process in the sinter plant. The fine mineral particles are combusted into a porous mass known as sinter.
- Blast furnace: The sinter contains 70% to 80% of the iron. The charge is transferred from the sinter plant to the blast furnace, which is melted to produce hot metal or liquid iron.
- SMS: Refractory lined vessels called LD Converters are used to produce steel from the liquid iron. Impurities such as carbon, silicon, phosphorus, and sulphur are removed by blowing oxygen through a hot metal bath. The molten steel is continuously cast at the radial type continuous casting machines.
- The finished product: Steel is moulded into slab, strip, billet, bloom, and beam blanket as the final product. These are descaled, tested for quality, sorted by weight, and stored for shipment.
Chinks in the Armour
Steel manufacturing plants need high-pressure and high-quality air to descale the final products. The hydro-mechanical descaling process eliminates impurities from the product. Special descaling nozzles form jets arranged on spray headers in the steel mill. The finished products are then subject to a working pressure ranging from 80 to 300 bar for descaling application.
The process involves converting sheets into heat-rolled slabs. Iron oxide or mill scale is deposited on the sheets and must be removed repeatedly to clean them. The challenge was deploying an air system that could descale the sheets properly. The highest quality of high-pressure compressed air was required to ensure the best surface finish was achieved, as it directly impacts the product quality.
Making Things Right
Our customer switched to an ELGi Sauer high-pressure air compressor in 2017.
A unit of the Hurricane Series Model WP4341L was installed for the descaling application process at the rolling mill. The Hurricane Series high-pressure compressors are renowned for engineering superiority and production expertise. Founded on outstanding military design experience and continuous innovation, this is one of the most cost-effective and reliable air-cooled industrial compressors in the market ranging from 115 to 400 bar.
The installation of the ELGi Sauer air compressor came with so many benefits:
- Descaling the final product: Descaling to deliver high-quality finished products with maximum shine.
- Heavy duty performance: Delivering performance even under extreme environmental conditions.
- Minimal downtime: The reliable compressor performance, low downtime, and swift maintenance by the ELGi Sauer service team ensured high availability of the compressor to deliver high-quality products consistently.
"ELGi Sauer's high-pressure compressor satisfies our needs and helps us deliver high-quality products consistently. It is durable and reliable, and we are happy with its performance. It is easy to operate, and we can use this machine for our heavy-duty applications with full confidence. Partnering with ELGi Sauer was the best decision for our business."
Our customer feedback
The trouble-free performance, ease of maintenance of the compressor package and lower operating cost has won the user's confidence. Repeat orders in 2019 reflected customer satisfaction. To provide the complete trouble-free availability of the compressor considering criticality in the plant, ELGi Sauer has taken the compressors under maintenance ensuring they are attended to by qualified service engineers conforming to prompt and timely periodic service ensuring superior performance.
"At ELGi Sauer, we understand the customer and application needs very well and consistently deliver the best-performing and most suitable equipment. Our products are built with reliability and lower life cycle cost, making them the most preferred choice of the customers. With prompt product support through service contracts, we keep our customers stress-free, enabling them to focus on enhancing their business growth," said Satish Kini, Chief Executive Officer of ELGi Sauer Compressors Limited.
Technology and innovation in focus for ELGi Sauer
The latest in-built technology with ELGi Sauer compressors makes them future-ready and the most preferred by customers. Advanced control systems, compressed-air treatment systems, and accessories are available to meet the customer's specific needs.
ELGi Sauer has significantly expanded its business portfolio in the past decade and has become the most preferred choice across major industry segments in India. Delivering state-of-the-art products and customized solutions to steel, auto, power, general engineering and oil & gas segments, ELGi Sauer helps its customers achieve high productivity at low maintenance cost.
Speak to our experts for customised solutions for your industry applications. Share your requirement here.
Sources:
World-Steel-in-Figures-2022.pdf (worldsteel.org)