A £5 million (US$6 million) investment in new electric induction furnaces will reduce emissions from one of Tata Steel's pipe mills in Corby, UK by 2,000 tons of CO2 per year, Tata Steel Europe said.
The Northamptonshire plant is capable of producing 250,000 tons of thin wall welded pipe per year for a variety of applications including construction, engineering and energy infrastructure.Supplier Inductotherm Heating and Welding will replace original Radyne units installed in 1980 year, 12 more technically advanced and energy efficient induction heating coils, as well as related electrical infrastructure, cooling systems and process control devices, Tata Steel Europe, headquartered in London, said in a statement. statement. Work will be carried out over a two week period at the end of October.
The package includes a drawdown mill that accepts 169mm diameter steel pipes and heats them to around 1100°C before they are stretched into hollow sections diameters up to 40mm with wall thicknesses up to 3.2mm.
“The improved efficiency of the new furnaces means we need less preheating from gas-fired furnaces and therefore fewer associated emissions,” said project manager Paul Ilko.
This project is in line with Tata Steel's environmental ambition to reach zero emissions globally by 2045. As part of its commitment to sustainable development, the Corby plant is also aiming to transition its power supply to low-carbon renewable sources over time, the announcement said.
