Chugai Ro Co., Ltd. has delivered a hydrogen-fired metal heating demonstration furnace to Kobe Steel, Ltd.'s Takasago Machinery Works.
The project is one of Japan’s largest hydrogen furnace initiatives.
The project was adopted by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organisation (NEDO) as a “demonstration of hydrogen utilisation in combustion-type industrial furnaces toward decarbonisation of factories primarily consuming thermal energy.”
This demonstration furnace utilises hydrogen combustion burners and has a total combustion capacity of 2,791 kW.
It achieves uniform temperature distribution within the furnace and throughout the furnace when firing solely with city gas, solely with hydrogen, or a combination of hydrogen and city gas.
This demonstration furnace has the following features:
- Capable of firing solely with hydrogen, solely with city gas, or a combination of hydrogen and city gas.
- High energy-saving performance is achieved by using preheated air that recovers exhaust heat using a heat exchanger.
- The automatic air ratio control system ‘EBC-I’ achieves uniform temperature distribution within the furnace through high turndown and double cross limit control.
- The control system called Lambda Link, which uses the residual O2 concentration sensor ‘Lambda-I’, controls the residual O2 concentration within the furnace and the burner air ratio in tandem, achieving stable furnace atmosphere control and energy savings.
The company will continue to develop carbon-free energy-fuelled combustion equipment and industrial furnaces, contributing to the realisation of a carbon-neutral society.