Hennepin
ArcelorMittal Hennepin is a steel sheet finishing facility located on the Illinois River in Hennepin, IL west of Chicago. Its location allows for good shipping access with excellent highway systems and railroad capabilities. Additionally, on-site barge loading capabilities provide Hennepin ready access to the central United States as well as to major growth markets in the south. The plant does not make raw steel, but receives steel from ArcelorMittal’s Indiana Harbor and Burns Harbor facilities that it finishes into cold-rolled and hot-dipped galvanized sheet. The Hennepin facility is capable of finishing 1.5 million tons of steel annually. Hennepin is the former J&L Steel Company, later LTV, and has stood on its site since 1967.
Examples of Environmental Excellence
Reducing energy use
A new energy-saving device called a Radiant Heat Transfer System (RHTS) reduced burner input on the continuous annealing line at Hennepin during an eight-week study.
The RHTS takes advantage of the heat transfer properties of silicon-carbide. It consists of Spyro-Cor elements and a high temperature alloy locator that ensures optimum placement of the device on the exhaust legs of the radiant tubes within the annealing furnace.
As heated gas passes over the radiant tubes, waste heat is captured by the Spyro-Cor elements. The captured heat is then transferred to the steel sheet being processed. As a result, the specified furnace temperature can be maintained with less-frequent firing of the radiant tube burners. This reduction in burner input saves energy.
Data on the MCF/ton vs. tons/hour was collected before and after installation of the devices in July 2007. Initial analysis of the data revealed a seven percent savings in energy. Additional analysis that compared runs of similar strip indicated more than double that in savings.