Republic Steel, a provider of special bar quality (SBQ) steel, initiated hot commissioning of its new electric arc furnace (EAF) in Lorain.
The initial heats will be cast into 6” x 6” billets and will be rolled on the 9/10”rolling mill, also at the Lorain plant. Production on the billet caster is expected to ramp up over the next several months, with bloom cast production beginning in February 2014.
This USD 85M capital project is expected to provide more than 1M tons of steel annually for the production of bloom and billet cast semi-finished, bar and coil products. Republic Steel’s new EAF will supply both the bloom and billet casters enabling the high-quality production of SBQ bar and coil from .295” to 6-1/2” diameter, and 6”, 10-1/2”, 11-5/8”, 12-1/4” and 13-1/2” diameter seamless tube rounds. Features of the new EAF include a 150-ton heat size, eccentric bottom tapping (EBT), an exchangeable upper/lower shell, a 120/135 MVA furnace transformer, current-conducting arms, oxy-fuel burners, carbon and lime injection systems, a temperature/sampling system, and level 1 and level 2 automation. Major contracts for the project were awarded to SMS Concast (for EAF process equipment), Siemens (for the yard substation and related equipment), and TES (for the furnace transformer).
