ARCELORMITTAL : New electrical power unit helps Bottrop coke plant cut energy use

ArcelorMittal Bottrop in Germany has invested in a cutting-edge electrical power unit which not only produces electricity but also doubles up as a pressure reducing station.

The new technology has been in use since September 2013.

The electrical power unit - known as Energy Module and supplied by ENVA Systems GmbH - partially substitutes a pressure reducing station (in which the pressure of the incoming steam is reduced) and uses the resulting energy to produce electricity for the coking plant's wash water treatment. The energy is also fed into the coking plant's power grid and consumed by various machines, plant sections, and pumps.

With a production of 80 KW per hour, the Energy Module's annual output would be sufficient to supply around 100 four-person households with electricity.

Using the new electrical power unit also positively impacts operating costs, as it eliminates the need for steam turbines which are significantly more expensive and require more intensive maintenance.

According to ENVA Systems GmbH, when used at full capacity the Energy Module allows a return on investment in only three years.

But beyond economic benefits, the optimised use of steam through the new technology also results in CO2 and primary energy savings - considerably improving Bottrop's environmental footprint.

About the module

The Energy Module can be used in any branch of industry as, thanks to its compact modular design, it can be precisely tuned, both electronically and thermodynamically, to a wide variety of situations.

Apart from its application as a substitute for a pressure reducing station, ENVA Systems GmbH's Energy Module can also be used as a waste steam utilisation unit placed in front of condensers or chimneys. In this type of application, even the very last bit of energy can be squeezed out of apparently useless steam for producing power in a very cost-effective way. The special characteristic of the expansion unit, which is the core of the Energy Module, is that even low incoming pressure levels of around 600mbar on the Energy Module's steam entrance side can be very efficiently converted into mechanical energy and, subsequently, into electricity.