Air compressors play a vital role in the metallurgy industry. Metallurgical equipment generates a lot of heat and dust during operation, and compressed air is needed for cleaning and cooling. Various instruments on the metallurgical production line need to be controlled by compressed air. Air compressors are also used to convey materials and power various pneumatic tools, such as impact drills, pneumatic wrenches, etc.
Application of air compressor in metallurgical industry
The production and smelting process of metals is usually divided into three stages. The ore first needs to go through the sintering step. The air compressor provides high-pressure air to burn out the moisture and volatiles in the pellets. This process requires a large amount of compressed air.
After that, the smelted liquid metal is cast into the mold and cooled to form a blank. Many mechanical actions require compressed air to complete, such as opening the smelting furnace door, lifting, hoisting and casting the ladle containing liquid non-ferrous metals, etc.
The second is finishing, which is generally carried out on CNC machine tools. The compressed air consumption of CNC machine tools or machining centers is not very large, about 17.6SCFM (what is SCFM?). The total air consumption depends on the number of processing equipment. The pressure requirement is 0.6~0.7MPa, and the pressure dew point is about 10℃.
The third stage is the appearance treatment, which is generally done by electrostatic spraying. In metal smelting plants, some instrument also need air to operate, and the air quality requirements are not as high as those for spraying air, but the consumption of instrument air is small, while the air consumption of spraying equipment is relatively large, so the compressed air system used for spraying can be used for instrument air.
In the metallurgical process, the blast furnace is the core facility, which requires a large amount of compressed air to drive various equipment and tools. For example, blast furnace gas needs to be burned with compressed air, blast furnace slag needs to be discharged with compressed air, and blast furnace shell needs to be cooled with compressed air.
In the steelmaking process, continuous casting is an important process, which also requires a large amount of compressed air to control equipment and tools.
In the copper processing process, the scrap copper is first sorted, baked, washed and dried and then directly put into the furnace. Then, compressed air is blown into the smelting furnace through a graphite tube to oxidize the impurities in the melt.
The smelting furnace is covered with flux, the insulation furnace is covered with graphite powder, foam ceramic filter plates are installed at both ends of the flow channel, and a charcoal filtration and deoxidation device is installed in the insulation furnace. Finally, all the melt entering the insulation furnace enters the charcoal filtration and deoxidation device for thorough deoxidation.
Types of air compressors used in metallurgy
Screw air compressor
Rotary screw compressor is the most commonly used air compressor in the metallurgical industry. It allows the air in the atmosphere to enter the air end through the inlet valve, and then discharges it through the outlet valve after compression. Screw air compressors have the advantages of compact structure, simple maintenance and operation, and stable operation. They are widely used in mining, steel, metallurgical products and other fields.
Piston air compressor
Reciprocating piston compressors have the advantages of simple structure, low cost and long service life, but they are noisy during operation. They can produce very high pressure compressed air and are widely used in steel mills, engineering machinery, automobile manufacturing and other fields.
Centrifugal air compressor
Centrifugal compressors have the advantages of multi-stage compression, high working efficiency and long service life. They can continuously compress very large number of air flow through high-speed rotating impellers, and are widely used in steelmaking, metallurgy, mining and many other industries.
(KOA Series Centrifugal Compressors)
Maintenance and care of metallurgical air compressors
The operating environment of air compressors in the metallurgical industry is complex and requires frequent maintenance and care.
First, the filter should be cleaned and replaced regularly to prevent dust and impurities from entering the environment from damaging the air compressor.
Secondly, pay attention to the quality when selecting lubricating oil and cooling water to extend the service life of the equipment. In addition, pay attention to the monitoring of air flow and pressure, and adjust the operating parameters of the air compressor in time to ensure normal, efficient and safe operation.
