Hardox® HiAce reduces maintenance intervals from months to years in coke plant

1.000 tonnes (1,102 tons) of coke per day is the average production at the mill. When the 1.000°C (1,832°F) coke comes out of the coal furnaces, it’s cooled with water and dumped on the sliding ramp – still at a very high temperature. 

SSAB has so far been using 40 mm (1.575”) thick basalt ceramic tiles, 300 x 300 mm (12 x 12”), on the sliding ramp, which measures 34 by 5 m (112’ by 16’). The tiles have a lot of drawbacks, apart from being highly expensive. They are prone to cracking, resulting in maintenance stops as often as every three months with 2-3 days of downtime.

Having maintenance personnel working in the coke plant for several days is a health and safety issue. The properties of Hardox^® HiAce promised to change this. SSAB came up with the solution to replace the ceramic tiles on the sliding ramp with steel plates that are 1,940 by 5,000 mm (76.4 by 196.9”) and 20 mm (0.787”) thick. This solution not only improves working conditions, it also allows the production to run uninterrupted.

Installing the plates of Hardox^® HiAce high-temperature steel along the 34 m (112’) ramp was done during a scheduled maintenance stop. Based on experience from other steel tests, SSAB estimates that the ramp fitted with Hardox^® HiAce will operate for up to 14 years without requiring any significant maintenance. This means the maintenance crew will no longer have to change tiles in this hazardous environment, allowing production to run uninterrupted for many years.