For the first time ever, heat treaters have successfully used hydrogen to heat steel before rolling. This historic development is the result of a full-scale trial that was performed with good results in a pit furnace at the Hofors rolling mill in Sweden.
Linde Gas AB and its partner, Ovako conducted a trial in which steel was heated using hydrogen instead of LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) before rolling at the mill in Hofors. The trial was successful, and testing of the steel produced showed that heating with hydrogen does not affect the quality. Additionally, the use of hydrogen in combustion would have a great positive effect on the environment since the only emission generated is water vapor.
“It is the first time that hydrogen has been used to heat steel in an existing production environment. Thanks to the trial, we know that hydrogen can be used simply and flexibly, with no impact on steel quality, which would mean a very large reduction in the carbon footprint,” says Göran Nyström, EVP Group Marketing & Technology.
“We have been working on furnace modernization for a long time, to make our furnaces as productive and energy efficient as possible," says Anders Lugnet, Group technical specialist, Energy & Furnace Technology at Ovako. "It is very exciting that we now have proof that it is possible to use hydrogen in heating without affecting the quality of the steel. If we can make this investment, it would have a great positive impact on the environment. Our estimate is that an initial investment would save 20,000 t of carbon dioxide each year, and that is just the beginning. We performed this trial in such a way that it can be reproduced at full scale in Hofors and at our other rolling mills.”
