Company Announcement - After the successful start-up of the stainless steel melt shop of Fujian Fuxin Special Steel (part of Formosa Plastics Corporation) in Zhangzhou, China, by the SMS group (www.sms-group.com) in 2014, last month the Duplex VOD X-eed unit supplied by SMS Mevac, Germany, was put into operation. This plant represents the extension phase of the melt shop. During the next few months, the Duplex VOD unit will be ramped up. It is planned to produce particularly high-quality low-carbon ferritic stainless steels (such as 409L for automotive exhaust systems, heat exchangers and transformer cases and 430LX for the food industry) and superferritic stainless steels.
The VOD facility is equipped with two tanks and two vacuum covers, a joint four-stage vacuum pump system with automatic vacuum pressure control (VOD-SC®) and a common alloy storage and addition system. To protect the environment, the VOD unit's vacuum pump system includes an integrated bag filter system with a gas cooler, which already separates the process dust under vacuum.
The relatively large treatment capacity, 150 ton, of this Duplex VOD unit makes it possible to run the production more efficiently with regard to energetic as well as economic parameters in comparison to steel plants with smaller melt weights. The scope of supply covered the entire mechanical process equipment as well as the complete electrical and automation systems, with the latest level-1 and level-2 control and monitoring technologies.
SMS Mevac of Essen, Germany, is the center of competence for VOD technology within the SMS group. For this project, certain components were supplied locally by SMS Siemag Technology (Beijing) Co., Ltd.