Three Ways Lime Injection Reduces Costs

Lime can have a significant impact on steel quality, metallurgical properties, productivity, and the total cost of production. The quality of your lime is critical to the process, but the method used for lime addition can also affect production and your bottom line. If your operation is adding lime and dolime via scrap buckets or fifth-hole addition, you’re likely generating waste, reducing energy efficiency, and increasing your consumable costs. Transitioning to a more efficient lime injection system can mitigate this and enhance your EAF steelmaking.

Reduced Lime Consumption:

Lime injection minimizes product loss during delivery to the furnace. Unlike traditional methods where lime particles are lost at transfer points in the delivery system or escape through the baghouse, injection systems ensure more efficient lime utilization by providing more lime into solution. As a result, steelmakers can experience a 7-15% reduction in lime consumption, which can translate to significant cost savings over time.

Energy Savings:

Lime injection is a more controlled process that makes it easier to maintain the right slag viscosity and temperature, enabling steel furnaces to operate more efficiently. This contributes to reduced power-on time/power consumption and energy savings. In addition, the smaller lime sizing requires less energy to melt into solution.

Cost Savings on Consumables:

The efficient use of lime and dolime through lime injection can extend the lifespan of refractory linings and electrodes, reducing consumable expenses.

For a closer look at how lime injection technologies can reduce your overall lime consumption and lead to cost savings in your operation, read our article, “THE LIME INJECTION JOURNEY”