Tenova Goodfellow Inc., Mississauga, Canada:

V. Scipolo, Manager, goodfellow@ca.tenovagroup.com

I. Todorovic, Production Planning Department

A. Vasquez, Sales Manager

Early detection of the onset of slopping is a critical tool in the operation of a BOF. Tenova Goodfellow’s slop detection system (SDS) provides the steelmaker with a proactive system to increase yield and productivity while reducing operating costs. It uses lance vibration analysis with real-time alerts to give operators advance warning of the onset of slopping and a measurement of the onset slopping severity, effectively reducing down  time caused by slopping. With five European BOF installations now well underway, SDS has been designed to simultaneously improve productivity and cost while reducing GHG emissions significantly lowering the risk of delays caused by slopping events. The installation and implementation of Tenova Goodfellow’s iBOF technology module No 2, the slop detection system at the five European BOFs is a great success and a great addition to the steel plant’s technology. Using the early detection of the onset of slopping dynamic lance control was implemented. The implementation of the dynamic lance control has shown improvement in the production rate by effectively reducing down time caused by slopping. The period of heat where conservative injection of oxygen was necessary to avoid slopping was also reduced. Finally, increased yield and reduction of equipment damage were also observed benefits of the implementation of the described slop detection system.

1. Shakirov, M.; Boutchenkov, A.; Galperine, G.; Schrader, B.:  Prediction and prevention of slopping, Proc. ISSTech 2003 Conf., Indianapolis, USA, 27–30 April 2003, p. 655/66.

2. Evestedt, M.; Medvedev, A.: Model-based slopping detection in a top-blown steel converter, Uppsala University, Sweden, 2007.

3. Doe, J.: Prediction and control of slag slopping in BOF using microwave gauge, Trans. ISIJ 24 (1984) No. 6, p. 502.