Source: Hertwich Engineering

Eurometal S.A. has chosen a multi-chamber melting furnace with preheat ramp designed for a capacity of 100 tons per day (approximately 30.000 tons per year). The furnace will be integrated into the existing production chain – beginning with scrap recycling through billet casting and extrusion down to machining of components. This furnace type is best suited for the melting of loose scrap with moderate organic content.

The new melting furnace will mainly process clean and painted extrusion and sheet scrap as well as smaller amounts of briquetted sawing and machining chips. To achieve the required alloy composition, charged material will be supplemented by clean primary and secondary aluminum as needed. Also, liquid metal from crucibles can be added.

The scrap will be preheated for around 30 minutes to a temperature of approximately 500 degrees Celsius by an intense hot-gas flow. Thereby organic compounds are transformed into combustible gases to support the heating system of the main chamber. This way (using suitable scrap), some 50 – 70 percent of the energy otherwise supplied by natural gas can be substituted by the energy content of organic compounds.

When the melting furnace, including the auxiliary equipment, will have started operation in spring 2021, Eurometal S.A. will own a state-of-the-art recycling plant that can be operated by one operator per shift (including charging, skimming and melt transfer). Along with the low energy consumption values (450 to 550 kWh/ton) and the notable, high-quality metal yield, this plant provides significant economic advantages.

Source: Hertwich Engineering