RATH: Relining of a Tilting Hearth-Type Melting Furnace
For almost four decades now, the internationally active Austrian refractory manufacturer RATH has been offering sophisticated refractory solutions for the optimal operation of aluminum melting furnaces. Such a solution has now been developed also for the relining of a hearth-type melting furnace in the aluminum smelter of Aluminium GmbH Nachrodt (AGN) in the Sauerland region of Germany: Removal and relining were successfully completed in just 21 days.
An optimal, long-lasting refractory lining of the melting furnaces is an essential component for a melting plant to work with highly efficacy. Thanks to more than 130 years of experience in refractory technology, RATH possesses extensive expertise and has developed a comprehensive range of refractory and thermal insulation products for the aluminum industry. Expertise from which Aluminium GmbH Nachrodt, too, is now benefiting.
The requirements were demanding: The removal and relining of a tilting hearth melting furnace was to be completed as rapidly as possible during the 2022 Christmas holidays and turn of the year. “An additional major challenge of the project: The burner technology in the top furnace was simultaneously rebuilt with major interventions in the steel structure of the furnace”, explained Stephan Holze, Sales & Application Consulting RATH, illustrating the special challenges of this project.
75 m3 were lined with a total of 115 t of refractory material – 17 t of which in the form of precast concrete components weighing between 230 and 530 kg. The floor, ramp, bridge and lower side wall were lined with the proven component concept. Furthermore, Nachrodt relied on RATH’s experts when it came to heating: The furnace was heated up externally, with concomitant thermographic monitoring as well as additional control of the heating depending on the steam pressure in the concrete area in order to achieve optimum quality.
