1.How to optimize technical processes?
Improve coating curing process
Use infrared (IR) + hot air circulation combined drying technology, compared with traditional single hot air drying, can shorten the curing time by more than 30% and reduce heating energy consumption.
Optimize coating formula, develop low curing temperature coatings (such as low-temperature curing polyester coatings), reduce the drying temperature from 220℃ to 180℃, and reduce heating energy consumption.
Energy-saving upgrade of galvanizing process
Promote high-efficiency zinc pot heating technology (such as electromagnetic induction heating instead of resistance heating), increase thermal efficiency to more than 90%, and reduce zinc pot insulation energy consumption.
Use online annealing furnace waste heat recovery system, preheat the high-temperature exhaust gas discharged from the annealing furnace through the heat exchanger to preheat air or water for subsequent processes (such as coating drying), and the proportion of recovered heat can reach 30%.
2.What effects will equipment upgrades and intelligent management and control have?
Transformation of high-energy-consuming equipment
Replace heating furnaces, fans, water pumps and other equipment with variable frequency drive devices, automatically adjust power according to production load, and save 15%-25% of electricity.
Use new energy-saving coating machines to reduce power consumption during coating by optimizing roller coating pressure and speed control.
Application of intelligent energy management system (EMS)
Deploy real-time energy consumption monitoring system to collect and analyze electricity, gas and water consumption data of each process (galvanizing, coating, drying) in real time, and accurately locate high-energy consumption links.
Optimize production scheduling through AI algorithms to avoid idling of equipment, such as concentrated batch production of products of the same specifications, and reduce the number of starts and stops of heating furnaces (each start and stop wastes about 10% of energy).
3.How can the energy structure be adjusted to be more low-carbon and environmentally friendly?
Renewable energy substitution
Build a photovoltaic power generation system in the factory area, give priority to powering auxiliary equipment such as coating lines and lighting, accounting for 10%-15% of the total electricity consumption.
Connect to the regional centralized heating network, use industrial waste heat or clean energy (such as natural gas) to replace coal-fired boilers, and reduce carbon emissions.
Hydrogen energy and electric heating pilot
Explore the application of hydrogen energy in annealing furnaces. Hydrogen combustion only produces water, which can reduce CO₂ emissions by more than 90% compared with natural gas (supporting hydrogen pipeline construction is required).
4.How to optimize management and systems?
Energy audit and benchmarking management
Carry out energy audits regularly, compare with advanced industry indicators (such as energy consumption per ton of steel ≤ 80kg standard coal), and set energy efficiency improvement goals.
Establish an energy consumption performance assessment mechanism, link energy utilization with production line team performance, and encourage front-line employees to put forward energy-saving suggestions (such as optimizing equipment standby mode).
Employee skills training
Carry out special training on energy management to improve operators' ability to accurately control parameters such as heating furnace temperature curve and coating machine speed, and avoid energy waste caused by improper operation.
5.How to reasonably utilize waste heat and waste energy?
Waste heat recovery system integration
A waste heat boiler is installed at the tail of the annealing furnace of the galvanizing line to convert high-temperature flue gas into steam for heating the plant area or driving steam turbines for power generation. It can generate about 50,000 degrees of electricity for every 10,000 tons of products.
The waste gas discharged from the coating drying furnace is treated by a regenerative thermal oxidation furnace (RTO) to recover heat for preheating fresh air, with a heat recovery rate of over 80%.
Resource utilization of waste
The waste solvents and waste paint slag generated in the production process are converted into combustible gases through pyrolysis gasification technology, replacing part of the natural gas for heating processes.