WCA March 2016

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26 Wire & Cable ASIA – March/April 2016
REBOX DST is Linde’s energy-efficient
process for inline continuous treatment
of stainless steel wire.
In a conventional operation line, after
the finishing block of the rolling, the
coiled wire is cooled down to ambient
temperature and then heated up again
in batch annealing furnaces. Using the
Rebox DST (Direct Solution
Treatment) process, the rolled wire is
instead fed directly into a continuous
operating furnace fired with flameless
oxyfuel.
With Rebox DST the heating takes
place from 850 to 900°C instead of
from ambient temperature and with an
energy efficiency that is more than
twice that of batch annealing. The time
required for the operation is reduced
by more than 90 per cent.
Other important advantages with
Rebox DST include a much higher
uniformity of the material properties
after the treatment, for example tensile
strength variations of less than ±10N/
mm2. The temperature uniformity in the
process is excellent. Also the scale
losses are substantially reduced,
typically by one per cent point.
The existing Rebox DST installations
treat wires from 4.5 to 20mm with
1,100mm coil diameter. The fuels used
include LPG, natural gas, and
generator gas (gasified coal). The
currently largest installation, in Korea,
can process up to 72.5 tonnes per
hour.
At Dongbei Special Steel Group in
China, a new state-of-the-art Rebox
DST annealing furnace was brought
into operation in 2010. The flameless
combustion uses a low calorific fuel
with an energy content of 1,500 kcal/
Nm3.
Periodically, blast furnace top gas
(BFG) with a CV at 835 kcal/Nm3 has
been successfully used in this
installation. Recently, Yongxing Special
Stainless Steel, also of China, awarded
Linde a turnkey contract for a 60
tonnes per hour Rebox DST
installation, to be commissioned by the
end of 2016.
Rebox DST is an example of how
Linde helps its customers to increase
production efficiency, save fuel
consumption and decrease emissions.
The Linde Group – Germany
Website:
arch/ ril 2016
Graphics bigstockphoto.com Artist Olechowski
Technologynews
Energy-efficient Linde
❍ Rebox DST at Dongbei Special Steel Group at Salina, China