Water treatment plant for Steckel Mill

Russula was selected for the turn-key supply of the water plant for the new 1 Mt/yr Steckel plate mill at AHMSA. The new green field water treatment plant has a capacity of 7,400 m³/hr (32,700 gpm) for the contact water circuit and 4,600 m³/h (20.300 gpm) for the non-contact water circuit. Russula supplied all the basic and detailed engineering, as well as all the mechanical and electrical equipment, including all the prefabricated piping. Russula also supervised all the civil works, mechanical and electrical installation for the whole project.

Technology

The main equipment is designed around Russula's twin decanting concept, complete with ring filtration and field erected cooling towers. The recirculating water system is designed to meet stringent water quality requirements including total suspended solids, PH and temperature. The engineering developed in 3D integrated civil works, piping, supports and equipment to optimize installation work and minimize assembly time.

Project Execution

Russula provided 310 tons of piping and 80 tons of prefabricated metal structures. The installation of prefabricated piping minimized welding during assembly and surplus materials, streamlining the project implementation.

"The entire water treatment plant was constructed in one year from breaking ground to final installation."

The construction of the water treatment plant consisted of 27,500 m³ of excavation work, 6,600 m³ of concrete, 16,000 m² of form work, 515 tons of reinforcing steel, 58 tons of embedded metal, 15 miles of electrical metallic conduits and over 23,000 items of hardware were used during construction.

Project Layout

The water treatment system for the new Steckel mill consists of four circuits:

Contact Water System for Rolling

The contact water treatment system for rolling is sized for treating a 3,000 m3/hr volumetric flow rate. Russula's four stage proprietary process reduced operational costs, while maximizing the quality of the water. For extra cost savings, Russula used an existing hydrocyclone to remove coarse particles, instead of a scale pit.

Laminar Contact Water System

The laminar contact water treatment system, designed to treat 4,400 m3/hr volumetric flow rate, has the same philosophy and equipment as the "Four Stages" for the rolling contact water. This circuit and the rolling contact water circuit share the hydrocyclone, sludge thickener tank and filter press.

Non-contact Water for Rolling

The non-contact water circuit for rolling is designed to treat a 3,400m3/hr volumetric flow rate. Russula included modular cooling towers for the system cooling.

Non-contact Water for Furnace Cooling

The non-contact water circuit for furnace cooling is designed to treat a 1,200 m3/h water flow rate. Russula included cooling towers and plate type exchangers for cooling the system.

Results

The Steckel mill and water treatment plant started-up in the fall of 2013. The water treatment plant has met and exceeded AHMSA's stringent water requirements. This design incorporates ring filters that can endure oil spillages that would have ruined other kind of filters, an ideal solution for this kind of application. Russula's water treatment solutions are proven technologies that maximize efficiency, while minimizing used space.

About AHMSA

In 2006, Altos Hornos de Mexico (AHMSA) launched Project Fenix, which increased their liquid steel production capacity to 5 Mt/yr. The project included the installation of a 1.2 Mt/yr electric arc furnace, a new 1.2Mt/yr continuous caster that produces slabs and a new Steckel mill for manufacturing steel plates. Regarding finished steel, the new Steckel mill improved steel plate output from 500,000 tons per year to 1 Mt/yr and expanded yearly beam and section production by 350,000 tons. In addition Project Fenix included auxiliary equipment such as a new oxygen plant, an electrical substation and a new water treatment plant.