| From GRIPS' Sparkling world of steel Middle East Minimill for Jizan Economic City, Saudi Arabia Dec 2, 2007
The South Steel Factory is considered the Phase 1 of the strategic plan for a "Steel Cluster" to be built by Pan Kingdom Invest Co. in Jizan Economic City. As part of the economic and social development program for the country, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has founded so-called "Economic Cities" which shall assist the further regional and industrial diversification of the Kingdom. Jizan Economic City (JEC) will offer much greater employment opportunities for the southwest region of Saudi Arabia through the establishment of a petrochemical and metallurgical complex. For this complex, Concast and SMS Meer are supplying a complete minimill comprising a steel plant with an annual production of 1,000,000 t and a connected rolling mill for the production of 500,000 t/a of rebars. On the melting side, plant productivity will be guaranteed by a new 140-t AC electric arc furnace, melting 24 heats per day with a charge of 80 % HBI + 20 % scrap. The EAF features a full-platform and EBT design, and retains the possibility of running with a 100 % scrap charge. Power input is ensured by a 120-MVA transformer used in conjunction with the Consotech equipment for the chemical power input. The melting unit is also equipped with the latest- generation electrode control system and process automation, allowing the best possible operational flexibility to cope with different charge compositions, as well as a constant and reproducible operation of the melting process. Secondary metallurgy will be managed by a 140-t ladle furnace. LF operation and metallurgical process control will be guaranteed by the Concast process control system. On the continuous caster to be supplied by Concast, with a radius of 9 m and five casting strands, 1 million t of billets will be produced each year in the dimensions 130 mm and 150 mm. Half of the production will then be transferred still hot to the rolling mill for further processing while the remaining amount shall be for sale on the local and regional markets. The rebar rolling mill will be supplied by SMS Meer, including the walking-hearth furnace with several control zones. In each zone it is possible to monitor the fuel/air ratio in order to minimize fuel consumption while achieving high furnace flexibility for all production quantities. The fully automated rolling mill comprises 16 housingless stands in horizontal and vertical arrangement, followed by a six- stand Monoblock finishing stand for high-speed rolling of bars, a bar quenching system, a cooling bed and all necessary finishing and bundling facilities. The compact design of the "HL" mill housings ensures finished products with close tolerances. The supply range includes the Level-2 automation and all electrical equipment. The modern mill design also reduces maintenance time and cost. The maximum possible finish-rolling speed to the cooling bed of 41 m/s for 8-mm and 10-mm rebars is achieved with the H.S.D. (High-Speed Delivery) system, which greatly enhances the mill productivity. The entire plant concept meets all requirements for efficiency, flexibility and reduced maintenance. The expectations of the customer regarding sustainable competitiveness are fulfilled by the operational reliability and high productivity of the mill and its equipment. © Copyright 2007 by GRIPS media |
