In the final session of Global Graphite Electrode Conference 2018 delegates got an opportunity to explore alternatives to the use of GE in EAFs and where informed by experts about ways to reduce consumption rate of GE. Specifically speaking on the techniques to reduce GE cost in steel making Shamsundar Basak from Daneli India and VS Balaramakrishna, COO BMM Ispat shared a number technological and operational advancements being undertaken to reduce GE cost significantly.
Another major concern for the GE industry is the diversion of key raw material needle coke being diverted towards Lithium ion battery manufacturing. These concerns were addressed by Kazunori Ozawa who invented litium ion batteries while working for Sony 27 years back. Snippets from Q and A round of the final session of the Global Graphite Electrode Conference 2018.
Is graphene silicate an alternative or the future for electric vehicle batteries?
Graphite coated silicon is a good material but it is very expensive. May be in future it can be viable but it can be said right now. I know some companies that are using graphene.
Is recycling of ion batteries a viable option? Is it being done presently?
At present we use a huge number of batteries, we have already started. It is also being done at an industrial scale. Recycle has become quite viable. In China the market for recycling is huge right now.
In china there is one industry in Hunan. There progress is quite good as they also have govt support. There are many industries which are not looking forward for it but the govt is giving incentives.
Can grapheme replace needle coke in LIBs. If yes by when?
Graphene cannot replace LIB but it can be used as conductor. It has hogh electric conductivity. It can improve the performance of the battery. This would be happening very soon. May be in a year.
Is there any substitute for GE?
Till now there is very little information on this subject. But right now we can reduce consumption significantly to have an impact on cost. In some plants in China and Russia plants are running without GE only on chemical energy by altering factors such as charge etc. Most EAF have gone towards hot metal to avoid GE and power consumption. This reduces GE consumption significantly.
What is quantum pre heating technology?
This is an energy free furnace where scrap moves from top to reach bottom. This scrap gets heated significantly on its way down thus helping in save power. By this power consumption comes down. For this also operators are using chemical energy.
How does nitrogen ring help?
It is ring which is placed on the roof from where the GE goes in to the arc. It is greatly helpful in reducing GE consumption.
Electrode breakage is concern, is there a solution for this problem?
It happens when during arcing when one non conducting material is coming under the tip and GE get stuck to the arc. Daneli has a protection system. It is called anti-collision system. In the hydrolic return line we has valve where we control the pressure. There are also system which control non conducting material.
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