CCC has been serving the Copper Mining and Steel Industries since the very beginning of our forty year history. Today we have installed and are supporting successful installations with virtually all the major copper producers working all around the globe and a majority of the major steel producers.
Copper Mining – The most critical turbomachinery application in this industry is the process air compressor. These compressors work in the heart of the copper smelting process – the “converter furnaces”. The job of the converter air blower is to maintain a specified mass flow of air to the converter which will maximize the uniform heating & melting process throughout the vessel. Various factors significantly complicate the control of these compressors:
Steel – The iron-ore blast furnace takes the critical first step in the steel making process in an integrated steel mill. These blast furnaces need a constant and reliable supply of compressed air to ensure an optimized level of oxygen for the burning process as well as enough “lift” to maintain proper circulation of the load (aka “burden”) of “hot metal”. This critical need results in very demanding control requirements for the associated blast furnace blowers. The loss of air flow (aka “wind”) to a blast furnace, for even short periods of time, will significantly reduce furnace efficiency and risk ‘burden slumps’ and the resulting furnaces trips/outages.
Copper Mining – CCC’s advanced surge protection and specialized compressor load-sharing algorithms and solutions have proven to be extremely effective in improving the reliability and efficiency of the copper smelting process. Simplified start-up & shutdown and stabilized converter pressure & throughput are the hallmarks of our technology. Energy efficiency improvements can be dramatic – providing even greater investment upside for our clients.
CCC can also provide state-of-the-art condition monitoring and controls of not only compressors but also steam & gas turbine drivers located in these process facilities. We also provide systems in the mining areas on high pressure compressors feeding down hole equipment as well as the safe supply of oxygen to miners working in some cases far below the surface.
Steel – CCC process control, turbine speed control, antisurge control, and integrated machine monitoring technology are well suited to the critical blast furnace turbo-blower application. We also have extensive experience in the control of coke oven gas exhausters and instrument air system machines. Our blast furnace experience includes many single blower, split-wind blowing, and parallel blower installations.
Simplified start-up & shutdown and stabilized converter pressure & throughput are the hallmarks of our technology. Energy efficiency improvements can be dramatic – providing even greater investment upside for our clients.