INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS TO PREVENT EROSION/CORROSION DEGRADATION IN WATER

COOLED DUCTS FOR EAF FUME EXTRACTION

Alejandro Sanz

Abstract

Water Cooled Ducts (WCD) in the fume Direct Extraction Systems (DES) are generally identified as erosion-prone
areas. The introduction of several contaminants in the scrap or during the operating practice have introduce corrosion to
the already erosive environment. The protection of the WCD components to erosion/corrosion conditions is essential to
minimize maintenance costs and the loss of available production time. Advanced protection solutions for fumes WCD
are a relatively new field. Several solutions applied or under study in the steel industry are reviewed and compared to
those used in the field of fuel boilers. Enhanced longevity and reliability are the main followed objectives aimed at
attaining a significant reduction of downtimes at the scheduled outages. New advanced steel production methods and
more rigorous operating conditions are also opening the possibilities for new coating techniques and materials.

Water Cooled Ducts environment and damaging mechanisms

The primary fumes are sucked from the 4th hole on the Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) roof through a water-cooled elbow
duct. The water-cooled duct is of tube-to-tube design and consists of flanged sections not exceeding 8 m so as to facilitate
the erection work.

A combustion chamber is installed near the furnace; it is fitted with water-cooled roof and refractories lined or water
cooled walls. All the non refractory parts (roof, access door and eventually the chambers walls) are made of water
cooled steel panels (tube-to-tube design) Cooling water is provided by the water cooled duct closed loop distribution
system Both the mobile duct and the connection pipe to the settling chamber are designed to prevent the accumulation
of slag and scrap possibly sucked from the EAF, which could involve a partial clogging of duct.

Case I

Eroded

Air

Fumes flow direction

Case II

Air

Fumes flow direction

Eroded

Figure 1: Most common distribution of the erosion areas in the WCD.

In the first section of the WCD and in the combustion chamber, the CO sucked from the furnace is completely burned
and it is at this time that the fumes reach their highest temperatures. The damage distribution in the WCD is
schematically shown in Figure 1.

Case I can be easily correlated with a typical erosion problem with an homogeneous thickness reduction of the tubes in
those areas mainly exposed to the fume stream. Case II cannot be explained by a pure erosion approach since the eroded
areas are in the gas stream shadow zones. In these low pressure areas deposits are formed due to the low internal wall
temperature that leads to the condensation of several acid compounds. Chemical analysis of the interstice deposits show
sulphate contents ranging from 2-10 % and chlorides contents varying from 0.2 -1 % which allow the formation of
sulfuric and/or hydrocloric acids. Much attention have been given to the H2SO4 dewpoint corrosion because its dewpoint temperature (just below 180C) is the highest temperarute at which acid condensation occurs. It also known that
the corrosion rates of plain-carbon steel can be increased (even at temperatures below 60C) when HCl is present in the
gas stream. In case II the surface degradation is locacalized mainly in the side wall panels of the completely water
cooled combustion chambers. Due to the highly turbulent fluidynamic conditions inside the chamber, the damage is not
only due to a chemical attack but to a synergistic erosive/corrosive action. A metallurgical analysis of several WCD
segments confirms that erosion and corrosion are taking place simultaneously (see Figure 2).

The average life of a water cooled duct is highly variable (2 8 years) depending very much on the composition of the
raw materials that are used, the operating practices and the geometrical characteristics of the fume plant and its
influence on the fluidynamics of the fumes stream.

Erosion, corrosion and erosion/corrosion material solutions.

Erosion: [Tucker, 1997] defines erosion as the loss of material from a solid surface due to relative motion in contact
with a fluid that contains solid particles. After [Zanmbelli and Vincent, 1998] and [Rabinowicz, 1995] the erosion
problem could be assumed, in a very simplified way, as a repetitive indentation process where:
d

HA( z)dz = 2 (mv )

2

V =

A( z)dz
0

mv 2
V =
2H

(if H is constant)

Where H is the penetration hardness of the solid surface to be eroded (equivalent to the indentation pressure of the
particles); A(z) is the contact surface between the surface and the impinging particle; z is the deepness of penetration of
the erosive particle on the surface at a moment t; d is the total indentation deepness; V is the final indentation volume ;
m and v are, respectively, the average mass and velocity of erosive particles. Erosive wear is proportional to the second
power of the velocity for speeds below 200m/s (also called low speed erosion). As can be seen the erosive phenomena
is highly dependent on the composition, hardness and microstructure of the surface to be eroded as well as on the
geometry (size and shape) and average mass of the impacting particles. In particular the erosion dependence on the
angle of attack of the impacting particles is summarized in Table1.

Table 1: Effect of the impact angle on material response to solid particle impact.
After [Bhushan and Gupta, 1997]
MATERIAL

Elastic (elastomer)
Ductile

ANGLE OF IMPINGEMENT
<20

45

90

No effect

No observable effect

Surface deformation

Maximum cutting wear

Mixed regime

Maximum deformation
wear

Hard (brittle)

Very little erosion

Intermediate erosion

Maximum erosion

It is quite common, in engineering, to refer the erosive available energy (E) as a function of the total weight of abrasive
particle (W) and the gravitational constant (g) instead of the average mass of the impinging particles. It also usual to

report erosion in terms of the ratio between the volume of abrasive material and the volume removed from the surface
(assuming that a fraction Ke of the eroded surface, with a density , is removed). The previously cited expressions can
be written as follows:

E=

Volumeremoved
K v2
= e
Volumeabrasive
gH

Wv
2g

As can be seen the solution of erosive problems in the WCD must be found by either modifying geometry of the system
(kinetic energy, angles of impacts, etc) or by choosing appropriated materials. No significant change of geometry can be
introduced in direct extraction systems of an EAF leaving the choice of appropriated materials as the only feasible way
to enhance the erosion resistance.

For the conditions existing in the WCD for primary fumes, the material selection must be focused on a hard material
able to absorb a significant amount of energy before plastic deformation and cracking (ultimate resilience). The ultimate
resilience of a given material can be expressed as:

Ultimate resilience =

y
2E

A second approach on material selection is just to increase the thickness of the tubes forming the WCD in order to
spread in longer time periods the scheduled outages. The use of refractories for erosion protection is limited (sidewalls
of the settling chamber and in some cases the mobile elbow) due to the resultant decrease in heat transfer.

Corrosion: The dew point a substance is a function of the concentration of the species present in the gas. When the
fumes contain several different species that can condense out at different temperatures, peaks in the corrosion rates are
observed. As previously noted, the corrosive problems faced by the water cooled ducts are due to the fact that their
surface remains always below the dew-point of several compounds leaving the possibility to some acidic attacks. This
study will be focused on the material selection where there could be contact with sulfuric acid (H2SO4) and hydrochloric
acid (HCl). This selection is based on the fact that sulfurs and chorides were found in the worn out tubes studied as well
as to the fact that the presence of HCl can accelerate the corrosion rate of low-carbon steels to at least three times the
high temperature maximum. The formation of a dilute sulfuric/hydrochloric acid solution is enhanced by the potential
water condensation during the cold periods in the furnace cycle (tapping/charging, maintenance, etc.) and by eventual
leaking from the WCD. The pitting attack (and eventually leaking and failure) is linked with the deposit formation,

which causes differential aeration and concentration cell. The interstice deposits will more readily retain moisture
during off-load periods, thereby increasing the duration to which the underlying substrate is exposed to an aggressive
wet environment. Finally, once a tube has been perforated, the water leaking will result in high humidities and will wet
the deposits on nearby tubes, increasing the corrosion rates.

If pitting is not present, the classical dew-point

conditions do not necessarily yield unacceptably high corrosion rates in practice.

Plain carbon steel is normally used in applications where concentrated H2SO4 solutions (more than 70 %) are found but
is not suitable in situations where more diluted solutions (less than 65% are found). Alternative engineering materials
for dilute concentrations and for the measured working temperatures are basically nickel base alloys. Stainless steels are
not generally used for being in contact with sulfuric acid. [Fontana, 1998]

Since it is well know that a material is inert against dew-point corrosion if the it is kept above the condensation
temperature, a secondary approach followed to solve the corrosion problem consisted in considering the possibility of
rising the cooling water temperature and to analyze the effective increase in the internal wall temperature. The analysis
focused on the settling chamber and in the WCD leaving the chamber (two corrosion-prone areas). The possibility of
using two different tube thicknesses based in erosion considerations (as above stated) was included. In all cases the
maximum temperature variation in the water circuit is kept at 15-20C. The results of this computing simulation are
shown in Table 2.

Cooling water
inlet
temperature
35 C
50 C
85 C
100 C

WATER COOLING DUCT INTERNAL TEMPERATURE RANGE

Settling chamber
WCD leaving the settling
chamber
5.6 mm thick
11 mm thick
5.6 mm thick
11 mm thick
tube
tube
tube
tube
71 - 82
86 97
121 131
135 - 145

75 89
90 104
124 138
139 - 152

70 85
85 99
119 132
134 147

75 94
89 108
124 141
138 - 156

Any increase in both the water inlet temperature or in the thickness of the tubes wont allow the WCD to be protected
against pure H2SO4 dew-point corrosion and could be a deleterious factor by increasing the corrosion and erosion rates.
In this particular case, the only viable technical solution is to change the chemical nature of the surface of the tubes by
either choosing a different bulk material or an appropriated coating. However, the approach of rising the WCD cooling
water temperature seems to be promising for dilute H2SO4/HCl dilute solutions provided that the acid deposition curve
is obtained to allow a proper setting of the water temperature. This technical solution could be applied on completion
with other new approaches that will be discussed in the next sections. Beside the tests with different cooling water
temperatures, it is necessary to quantify the acid deposition curve for the S/Cl ratio range found in the fumes in order to
better fix the duct working temperature (identifying the harmful operating regions directly). A precise operational
monitoring and control are key elements to allow a confident safe use of the EAF off gas system. The variability of the
excess oxygen, the sulfur/chloride ratio, the furnace temperature, and the CO combustion stoichiometry as well as the
chemical nature of the dust may play a significant role changing the corrosion kinetics. As far as possible, it is useful to
keep the WCD warm during the stand-by periods (charging/tapping) by thermo-setting the inlet valve at the cooling
units (plate heat exchanger an/or cooling tower) in order to prevent excessive off-line attack during hot shut-downs. For
brand new furnaces, continuous feeding or single bucket charge practice will allow to reduce start-up periods (low gas
flow periods).
Erosion/corrosion: In the fume exhausting water-cooled ducts, this definition covers the increase in the rate of corrosive
degradation of the metallic surface by erosive deterioration. The maximum internal wall temperature remains always
below the dew-point of the pure sulfuric acid; acid condensation remains the source chemical attack while increasing
the temperature usually accelerates the erosion rate of ductile materials (as the plain carbon steel used in for WCD) and
the kinetics of any temperature dependent reaction. Higher working temperatures also lead to preferential chemical
attack at the grain boundaries level and the removal of material is enhanced. The erosion /corrosion phenomena is
characterized in appearance by grooves and gullies at the eroded surface. Erosion/corrosion phenomena are highly
dependent on the flow velocities and the degree of turbulence. The increased velocity factor in the case of WCD regards
mainly the erosive component of the degradation while turbulence results in more intimate contact between the
environment and the metallic surface.

The hardness of a given material could be used as the first, right, consideration to improve the erosion/corrosion
behavior for a WCD but it must be also considered the corrosion behavior of the chosen material. If it is true that hard
materials are less susceptible to erosion/corrosion, it is also true that all the factors that affect corrosion must be taken

into account. Beside the increases in the cooling water temperature, several potential solutions exist for improving the
longevity and reliability of the WCD against erosion /corrosion:

a)

to choose a better bulk material,

b) to apply a protective coating on a conventional bulk material,

c)

to change the geometry of the design and

d) To alterate the environment.

Option a and option b seems to be those in which the selection range is wider and solutions could be found in the
short term. Option c is limited to the beneficial effects of a good sealing approach off the WCD avoiding any
unnecessary air in-leakage. Airtight fits at the settling chamber will prevent long low operating temperatures that are
often related with air entry in the system. The use of neutralizing additives (option d) have been tested and is effective
for reducing the gas acidity but limited to non continuous conditions (e.g. oil-fired situations). Injections of calcium or
magnesium oxide/hydroxide or NH3 have been employed but lead to mud formation (sticking bisulfate deposits) in the
bagfilter heavily increasing the head losses of the system. The practical, continuous application of these systems as well
as their ability to prevent acid dew-point corrosion in the long term is not certain.

The rest of this work will be focused on options a and b exploring its potentialities and drawbacks. In order to have
a reference point, attention has been paid to several solutions already applied in the field of fuel boilers, where
situations of erosion/corrosion also exist.

Table 3 shows the comparative analysis of the working environment for an electrical arc furnace, a ladle furnace, a
converter and a fuel boiler. Comparing the erosion conditions in a furnace and in a boiler it could be remarked that the
fumes in the WCD in the EAF have a higher velocity but a lower temperature and a lower amount of particles in the gas
stream. The sulfur distribution is also different between the two examples: the EAF fume stream is rich in SOx
pollutants while this chemical element is found in the boiler system as sulfur rich particles. The preliminary analysis
shows that erosion conditions are worse in the EAF water-cooled duct but potential corrosion is higher in the boilers.
The situation in a converter is different: the working temperatures are the highest with high fume velocities. Both the
boiler and the converter have water cooled ducts with working temperature well above the dew-point of sulfuric acid
but approaching those in which hot corrosion (type II) is possible. The ladle furnace fume exhaust duct is normally done
in single wall ducts; it consist mostly of flanged and bolted sectors made of painted construction steel or, whenever

deemed necessary, of Corten (ASTM A588/A588M-88a). This is low alloyed steel featuring a high resistance against
atmospheric corrosion (4 to 6 times that of a normal carbon steel) and it is used in an unpainted state.

Among the potential solutions that have been studied, two main branches can easily been identified: bulk materials and
coatings. A better bulk material that gives a better resistance against erosion/corrosion is indicated in the literature
[Fontana, 1988] as one of the most economically viable solutions for most erosion/corrosion problems. A coating could
produce a resilient barrier between the metallic surface and the environment. Table 4 summarizes the different materials
properties used to find the most technically and economically suitable materials solution to prevent erosion/corrosion in
the fumes direct exhaust systems.

The bulk material solutions could be divided in three categories: stainless steels, Ni base alloy (Hastelloy C-22) and
Co-base alloy (Ultimet). The standard stainless steels are not recommended for erosive environment applications and
for the corrosion resistance against sulfuric acid, they are only used for handling cold very dilute solutions. The
stainless steels could only give a light corrosion protection (without any erosion resistance improvement) while
increasing the cost by a factor of two or three. These two elements confirm that common stainless steels are not the
right choice for enhancing the WCD life.

Hastelloy C-22 is a highly versatile Ni-Cr-Mo-W alloy with improved resistance to both uniform and localized
corrosion. The alloy shows a superior weldability (resisting the formation of grain-boundary precipitates in the weld
heat-affected zone). When exposed to oxidizing sulfuric acid solution, there is minimal corrosion attack on this Ni-base
alloy. The main drawback of this corrosion resistant alloy is its lack of hardness (erosion resistance) and its price. A
WCD made out of pure Hastelloy C-22 tubes (and welds) will cost ten times the price of a conventional duct.

The research for a bulk material combining a good erosion and corrosion resistance lead to analyze the cobalt base
alloys. In particular the Ultimet alloy seemed to be the right technical answer for the WCD: The Ultimet (Co-Cr base
alloy) combines the excellent corrosion resistance of the Hastelloy alloys with the erosion resistance of the Stellite
alloys. Tests in mixed H2SO4/HCL /FeCl3 solutions show a corrosion behavior similar to Hastelloy alloys and three
fold better than AISI 316L stainless steel. This Co-base alloy is technically suited for the WCD applications but its cost
renders it economically unviable for this application.

The second variant of the potential solutions consisted in several coatings to be applied on the surface of conventional
steel for WCD (ASTM 106 or Fe430). Two main types of coatings were analyzed: amorphous coatings and cermet
coatings.

Typical metals form a crystalline structure. Atoms are positioned in ordered planes. Grain boundaries serve as natural
pathways for corrosive elements to the substrate metal. Surface roughness is related to the grain size (10-100 m) form
craters that capture and provide an anchor for dust and flying ash build-up. In contrast, amorphous alloys form a
structure where atoms are randomly placed in a continuous, eliminating the corrosion-path grain boundaries. A very
minimal surface roughness of less than a few atoms is achieved. The glassy, ultra-smooth surface prevents build-up on
tube surfaces. The general form of the microstructure of these deposits is a two phase solid with dendritic chromium
borides in a matrix of iron-chromium or nickel-chromium (depending on the type of coating) which is predominantly
amorphous (40-50%). The arc sprayed, is one of the most cost-effective and most portable coating techniques. Twin arc
spraying is particularly well adapted for on-site coatings of large equipment [J-G Legoux et al., 1997]. However, the
coating shows a larger dendritic structure than in thermal spray coatings due to the substantially longer time in the
molten state (the best properties are seen when the dendrite structure is the most refined) [A. Dent et al., 1997].

Amorphous coatings may vitrify a thin (5-8 m) outer layer under abrasive conditions. The changes at the surface
translate in a substantial increase in hardness. This hard erosive resistant layer is supported by the thickness of a tough,
strong bulk coating. The surface transformation continues as the surface wears. This surface replenishing will continue
throughout the thickness of the coating.

Cermet coatings (Ni-base reinforced with either WC-TiC or Cr3C2) are effective protection barriers against
erosion/corrosion. Various high velocity combustion powder-spraying methods are available for applying these
coatings. These cermet coatings possess high compressive strength and extremely high hardness and wear resistance.
They combine the toughness and corrosion resistance of the nickel base with the extremely high values of hardness of
the carbides. The sprayed coatings retains the metal element (Ni) as the matrix material, each particle of the feedstock
usually contains both phases (the matrix phase and the reinforcement). This is the type coating most applied in the steel
industry (first industrial field testing starting in the late 80). Several steel mills (both with BOF and EAF) are using
this type of coating for components as varied as: fume hoods and ducts, heat recovery boilers, converters WCD, etc)

In general the denser and harder a coating is, the better it behaves in erosive/corrosive environments. Based in this
physical principles it can be foreseen that HP-HVOF (High Pressure-High Velocity OxyFuel) and super D-gun coatings

will last longer than plasma sprayed coatings and that the later will last more than twin arc sprayed coatings (but it is
very difficult to establish how much the life expectancy could be increased by changing the deposition technique).

A computing evaluation of the temperature distribution was carried out (as per the different thickness values in Table
2). The results (see Table 5) show that the presence of a relatively thick coating (800 m) does not affect significantly
the working temperature of the tubes.

TABLE 5: WATER COOLING DUCT INTERNAL TEMPERATURE WITH COATED TUBES

Settling chamber
Cooling water inlet

5.6 mm thick tube

11 mm thick tube

WCD leaving the settling chamber

5.6 mm thick tube

11 mm thick tube

temperature
35 C

74- 87

78 95

73 89

78 94

50 C

89 102

93 109

88 105

93 112

85 C

124 135

127 143

123 136

127 145

100 C

138 - 149

142 - 156

138 151

142 - 159

Pricing of coating options is high and very dependable on the equipment and materials required to apply the coating.
On-site coatings can be performed but its cost depends on the site location, the schedule requirements and availability of
supporting services. Coating applications is not aimed at protecting the whole internal surface of the fumes WCD but to
be more localized (as the wastage itself) reducing the surface area coated and decreasing the prices.

Conclusions

The damaging mechanism in water-cooled ducts for extracting primary fumes in electrical arc furnaces is erosion
assisted acid dew-point corrosion. The pitting attack (and eventually leaking and failure) is linked with the deposit
formation, which causes differential aeration and concentration cell. The water vapor content of the gas is
particularly important in determining the corrosivity of the condensates. If pitting is not present, the classical

dew-point conditions do not necessarily yield unacceptably high corrosion rates in practice. The damage will be
site and process specific.

The use of refractories for erosion protection is limited due to the resultant decrease in heat transfer.

Increasing the water inlet temperature doesnt provide protection against pure sulfuric acid attacks but seems to be
a promising approach for H2SO4/HCl dilute solutions provided that the acid deposition curve is obtained to allow
proper setting of the water temperature. This solution could be applied together with other approaches (coatings,
new materials, etc). As far as possible, it is useful to keep the WCD warm during the stand-by periods
(charging/tapping) by thermo-setting the cooling system in order to prevent excessive off-line attack during hot
shut-downs. The drawback of increasing the cooling water temperature is the increase of the erosion rate of ductile
materials (as the plain carbon steel used in for WCD) and faster kinetics of any temperature dependent reaction. For
brand new furnaces, continuous feeding or single bucket charge practice will allow to reduce start-up periods (low
gas flow periods). Efforts must be made in the sense of adding on-line monitoring to the chemical (and
electrochemical) fluctuations in the duct as well as controlling the operational process.

Bulk solutions for enhancing the longevity of the WCD could be of two types: a) increasing the thickness of the
tubes and b) choosing a better material instead of the conventional plain carbon steel. The former solution doesnt
improve the resistance to the erosive/corrosive environment but increases the time period between overhauls. The
later solutions have proven economically non-viable for this application.

The coatings do not significantly influence the heat conductivity of the tubes. The coating generates no stresses in
the steel construction. Coatings can be applied on used and new steel constructions and locally repaired if
necessary. Recoating is possible.

It would be a mistake to think that a thermal spray coating could be applied and left in an erosive/corrosive
environment for long periods of time without some maintenance. The replacement of a coating will depend on the
extent of the periodic repairs and rate of general thinning of the coating. As long as the coating prevents erosion of
the duct tubing, the process of repair and replacement of the coating can theoretically go on indefinitely.

Due to their very high costs, a coating solution must be carefully studied and limited to those erosion/corrosion
prone areas (that must be identified by proper fluidynamic simulation of the system or by periodic maintenance).

New approaches of reduction of controllable costs (savings in WCD tube replacement costs over the life of the
system) are opening the possibilities for new coating techniques and new coating materials. However a general
advise on material selection for lessening the wastage in WCD due to combined erosion/dew-point corrosion is
hard to give since very much dependent on the plant configuration and operating routines. Any attempt to formulate
a solution for this type of problem requires the following information:

a)

the variation in gas temperature and composition along the duct,

b) the dew-point and deposition curve of the gases within the duct,
c)

fluid-dynamic modeling of the off gas system to identify the erosion prone areas,

d) the variation in the WCD metal temperatures through the ductwork and
e)

the chemical nature of the species deposited and the influence of the above mentioned variables
in the corrosion rates.

A precise operational monitoring and control are key elements to allow a confident safe use of the EAF off gas
system.

References

BHARAT B and GUPTA B. K., Handbook of trilogy, Materials, Coatings and Surface. Krieger Publishing
Company. Malabar, Florida, USA. 1997.

DENT A. H. , HORLOCK A.J. , McCARTNEY D. C. and HARRIS S.J. The structure and properties of two FeCr-B Based coatings sprayed using HVOF. UTSC97, Indianapolis 15-19 Sept. 1997..

C.C. Berndt editor.

Published by ASM International. Materials Park, Ohio, USA. 1997.

EDWARDS J. Coating and surface treatment systems for metals (ISBN 0-07-021463-8). ASM International
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FONTANA M. G.
Editors.1988

Corrosion Engineering, third edition (ISBN 0-904477-16-9). McGraw-Hill International

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LEGOUX J-G, HAWTHORNE H. and BERNARD A. Slurry erosion of arc-sprayed metal and composite coatings.
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McMINN A., MARSHALL E., KRINGS H and VERPOORT C. Investigation of wear mechanisms of heat
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Fume temperature [C]

Fume velocity [m/s]
Fume
N2
Composition
O2
[ volume %]

CO2

Polutant
emission
3
[ mg/Nm ]
3

H2 O
CO
SOx
NOx
Others
(VOC, etc)

Flow rate [m /h]

Amount of particles in the gas stream
3
[mg/m ]
Water circuit
Pressure [bar]
Working
conditions

Temperature
H2O (average)
WCD Thickness
[mm]
Hot face
temperature
Duct life-limiting
cause

TABLE 3: COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE DIRECT FUME EXHAUST CONDITIONS (1/2)

EAF (160 ton)
LF (160 ton)
Converter
Boiler
(220 ton)
Carbon steel Alloy steel
Carbon steel Alloy steel
900 - 1000
150 - 200
1600 - 2000
800 -925 - 1500
30 - 55
26 28
20 30
48
75 79
75 79
8 -10
72
17 20

17 20

4 10

24

12 - 17

14

0.5 3

0.5 4

1 - 2.5

10

traces
10-30
100-150
100-200

traces

75 - 80

630.000

130.000

Depends on the
raw material

H2: 1- 2.7

Depends on the raw material

5.8 - 6 x 10
6-8

130.000
3

0.95 x 10

760.000
3

7 7.5 x 10
22 - 42

1.4 x 10

45

40

250

16-40 (saturated H2O)

200-250

5 - 11

6.35

80 - 100

5
(single wall duct)
150

350

250-350

Erosion/corrosion

Seldom replaced

Erosion

Erosion/corrosion

Particles average size [%]

Particles
composition
[weight percent]

ZnO
PbO
Fe2O3
Cr2O3
NiO
MnO
MoO3
CaO
SiO2
MgO
Al2O3
Na2O
K2O
Ce
F
C
S
CaSO4

CaCO3
Combustion processes inside the duct

TABLE 3: COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE DIRECT FUME EXHAUST CONDITIONS (2/2)

EAF (160 ton)
LF (160 ton)
Converter
Boiler
(220
ton)
Carbon steel Alloy steel
Carbon steel Alloy steel
1 100 m 90%
Less than 1 m
0.05 1.5 m
1 200 m 50 %
100 2000 m 10%
200 1000 m 45 %
32.5
2.5
6
3
0.5
1.5
40
43
50
43
65
(Fe2O3/ Fe3O4 )

0.5

19

0.5

19

0.2
3

6
6

0.2
12

6
6

Traces
5.5
8

7.5
7

12
9

8
7

9
6

22
40

1
1

4.5
0.5

8
1

6
0.5

2
1.5

1
13

1.5

1.5

0.5

0.5

1.5
0.5

1.5
0.5

1.5
0.5
1
1

1.5
0.5
0.5
1

2
20
4

2CO + O2 2CO2 + E

Working cycle:
Legend: : Circulating Fluidized Bed (CFB) Boiler

None

None

Non continuous
: Bubbling Fluidized Bed (BFB) Boiler

Fossil fuel combustion

continuous

Composition
(weight percent)

Hardness [HV]
Yield stress
2
[N/mm ]
Ultimate stress
2
[N/mm ]
E [GPa]
3
Density ( kg/m )
Thermal
conductivity
(W/mK)
Porosity [%]
Max. working
temperature [C]
Bond-strength
2
[N/mm ]
Thickness [
m]

TABLE 4: Comparative Analysis for Material Solutions in Fumes Direct Extraction System in an Electrical Arc Furnace (1/2)
REFERENCE
Bulk materials
COATINGS
MATERIAL
Amorphous coating
Cermet
Low carbon
AISI
AISI
Duplex
Hastelloy
Ultimet
Arc wire
HPPlasma
Spray/
steel
304L
316L
Stainless
C-22
sprayed
HVOF
sprayed
fused
ASTM106
steel
sprayed
coating
C: < 0.17
C:<0.03
C:<0.03
C:<0.03
Cr: 22
Cr: 26
Si: 1.2
Si: 2
Cr:11
NiCr: 26
Si: 0.10-0.35
Si: 0.5
Si: 0.5
Si: 0.5
Mo: 13.5
Ni: 9
Cr: 14
Cr: 44.5
Si: 2.5
Cr3C2: rest
Mn: 0.4-0.8
Mn: 1.5
Mn: 1.5
Mn: 1.5
W: 3
Mo: 5
Ni: 4.5
S: 0.2
B. 2.5
P: < 0.04
Cr: 18
Cr: 17
Cr: 22
Co: 2.5
Fe: 3
Mn: 0.6
B: 5.9
Fe: 2.5
S: < 0.004
Ni: 10
Mo: 2.5
Mo: 3
Fe: 3
W: 2
B: 1.9
Ni: rest
C: 0.5
Fe: rest
Fe: rest
Ni: 12
Ni: 5
Mn: 0.5
Mn: 0.8
WC: 26
WC: 32
Fe: rest
N: 0.1
Va: 0.35
Si: 0.3
TiC: 6
Ni: rest
Fe: rest
Ni: rest
Co: rest
Fe: rest
168
184 max
220 max
275
190
296
1300
1400
1100
780
300
170
200
450
380
545
420-500

450-650

450-700

650-900

790

1020

190-220
7850

200
7900

200
7980

200
7800

206
8690

215
8470

7900

6700

7700

6420

58

16

16

15

10.1

12.3

4.3

6.5

N.A.

10
925

<1
925

5-10
815

5.7
850

> 34

> 68

> 41

> 41

880

500

200

300

480

890

890

600

1150

980

Erosion
resistance
Cost
On-site
Workshop
Typical
applications

Comments

TABLE 4: Comparative Analysis for Material Solutions in Fumes Direct Extraction System in an Electrical Arc Furnace (2/2)
REFERENCE
BULK MATERIALS
COATINGS
MATERIAL
Amorphous coating
Cermet
Low carbon
AISI
AISI
Duplex
Hastelloy
Ultimet
Arc wire
HPPlasma
Spray/
steel
304L
316L
Stainless
C-22
sprayed
HVOF
sprayed
fused
ASTM106
steel
sprayed
coating
3
4
N.A.
12.65
10.34
23
N.A.
21.4
N.A.
12.38 mm /g x 10
3
4
3
4
3
3
3
3

mm /g x 10
mm /g x 10
mm /10 rev
mm /10 rev

3.75-5 $/kg
High
production
items
WCD life
enhancement
achievable by
increasing the
duct thickness

6.5- 10 $/kg
Used where corrosion
High
resistance and
strength /
toughness are of
moderate
primary concern
corrosion
resistance
Stainless steels provide a better
corrosion behavior ( at low
concentrations and temperatures)
with no improvement in the erosive
resistance. Constructive problems
will additionally increase costs. Post
weld heat treatments required

90 $/kg
Chemical
industry.
Refinery
industry.

200 $/kg
Hard
facing for
wear and
corrosion
resistance
Cost renders them a non
viable solution. Ultimet
shows the corrosion
resistance of the
Hastelloy alloys and a
wear resistance similar
to the Stellite alloys.

1000 $/m2 1800 $/m2 1450 $/m2

900 $/m2
1300 $/m2 1100 $/m2
1400 $/m2
Heater tubes, erosion
EAFs
Converter
areas, cyclone inlet
WCD,
hoods, heat
tubes, furnace
Converter
recovery
waterwall tubes, fan
hood,
boilers,
blades.
boilers.
Hard, dense coatings (HP-HVOF, D-gun) show
higher values of hardness and density leading to
longer life expectancy in erosive environments.
Coatings are repairable. As long as the coating
prevents erosion of the duct tubing, the process of
repair and replacement of the coating can
theoretically go on indefinitely.

Legend:
N.A.: non available : Indicative costs for WCD construction or coating : only considered for coating (or repairing) and existing duct. Additional costs
includes set-up of coating installations at work (all periphery activities around coating work : assembling and dismantling, servicing and cleaning equipment,
adapting to admittance, etc.). Mobilization to job site (personnel costs shipment of equipment) not included. Scaffolding is assumed to be available on site. :
Ex-works : For bulk materials is reported the scaling temperature which is the temperature below which oxidation is negligible. : ASTM standard G76
(modified), erodent: 400 m angular SiC, velocity: 20 m/s, angle of impact 60, total flow: 80 g of erodent at room temperature : ASTM 65-81 test with sand
particles, 6000 rev. During the same test campaign the Ultimet alloy (wrought) show an average volume loss of 45.5 mm3/1000rev. : G. Irons et al. Report that
HP-HVOF coatings have an erosion resistance 1.5 better than the equivalent coating plasma sprayed. : Amorphous alloys form a structure very different from
crystalline solids. Atoms are randomly placed in a continuous coating, eliminating the corrosion-path grain boundaries. The top surface (5 m) shows a substantial
increase in hardness. The coatings have 40-60% amorphous structure as applied : Tough matrix with hard ceramic reinforcement. The carbide size is a function
of the impacting erosive particles size.