Organized by the Indian Ferroalloys Producers’ Association, the International Ferroalloys Conference kicked off at The Oberoi, Gurgaon, with expected fanfare. That 400 delegates from over 130 companies are participating in the conference testifies to the overwhelming response it has received from the steel and ferroalloys industries and all concerned stakeholders.
The first day’s proceedings were flagged off by Kamal Kishore Sarda, Chairman and Managing Director, Sarda Energy and Minerals Ltd. He welcomed the delegates and presented a general outline of the Indian ferro alloys industry and the challenges that lie ahead.
Noting with great satisfaction that India is the world’s largest exporter of silico manganese, Sarda nevertheless said that in the age of Technology 4.0, the Indian ferro alloys industry should focus on adopting cutting-edge technologies to stay ahead of the pack in a highly competitive industry.
Day 1 of the conference featured three presentations on emerging technologies and their potential to reshape the ferroalloys industry. The speakers who delivered power-point presentations were Christian Roche, CEO of Cometva, a company established in 2003 to provide engineering support to the global ferroalloys industry; Per Vesterberg, Head of Sales, UHT; and Tushar Ghalsasi, Director, Ghalsasi Group.
Roche’s presentation on ‘How and why copper quality and design are essential to furnace reliability and profitability’ dwelt on ways of optimizing furnace profitability by eliminating the unnecessary disturbances arising out of furnace stoppages and also by achieving electrical power efficiency. He emphasized the need to ensure good copper quality in the construction of furnaces – copper with an isotropic structure of 99.9% — that can withstand high thermal stress.
Roche said Cometva has come up with engineering solutions that are tailor-made for each specific type of furnace and each ferroalloy. The objective, he said, was to increase the lifetime of the components. Underlining the disadvantages of existing copper technologies, Roche said the principle advantage of genuine COFOR forged copper developed by Cometva is that it has excellent thermal and electrical connectivity and comes with a guarantee on lifespan.
As part of his presentation, Vesterberg emphasized the importance of using refined and granulated ferroalloys as raw materials for the steel industry. Underlining the main challenges that confront steelmakers, Vesterberg pointed to the trend of increased manganese consumption in steelmaking, as it adds strength and weight to steel which is ideal for advanced steel. The converter refining process developed by UHT produces low-carbon ferro manganese grades and the process leads to a reduced carbon, silicon, sulphur and titanium product, with the output being stable all through. He pointed to the need to produce refined ferroalloys in oreder to produce better, cleaner and more advanced steel.
In his thought-provoking presentation, Ghalsasi pointed to the need for boosting the performance of decades-old furnaces in India by introducing a new electrode system technology. It is like fitting a “new engine in an old car”, he said. Upgrading the performance of old furnaces is possible by the introduction of this new technology, as it increases equipment availability of furnaces and ensures a steady supply of power on a continuous basis.
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