About this Abstract |
| Meeting |
2027 TMS Annual Meeting & Exhibition
|
| Symposium
|
Aluminum Cast Shop Technology Symposium and Supplier Forum
|
| Presentation Title |
Semi-Industrial Demonstration of a 750 kW DC Non-Transferred Plasma Torch for Aluminum Remelting: Installation, Performance Assessment, and Process Optimization |
| Author(s) |
Louis Piquard, Gabriel Rogan, Simon Vecten, François Rivard, Emilien Clement, Juan Salazar, Pierre-Yves Menet |
| On-Site Speaker (Planned) |
Louis Piquard |
| Abstract Scope |
Decarbonizing aluminum remelting furnaces will likely requires electrification technologies capable of delivering industrially relevant thermal performance. Building on previous laboratory-scale proof-of-concept studies and numerical simulations, Constellium and PyroGenesis have initiated a scale-up program based on DC non-transferred plasma torch technology. As part of this effort, a 750 kW APT-HP plasma torch was successfully installed on a 2-tonne batch reverberatory remelting furnace, replacing a 600 kW air-fuel burner.
This contribution presents the design, integration, and commissioning of the plasma-based heating system, representing a semi-industrial demonstration with operating conditions directly relevant to full-scale industrial applications. The first thermal performance results are reported in terms of melt rate and specific energy consumption. In addition, the outcomes of a structured design-of-experiments campaign are presented to quantify the influence of key process parameters on furnace performance and to identify operating conditions that maximize energy efficiency and productivity. |
| Proceedings Inclusion? |
Planned: Light Metals |
| Keywords |
Aluminum, Sustainability, Recycling and Secondary Recovery |