Upgrade of the firing and control system at egyptalum for dual fuel firing

Abstract

Based on the recent upgrade of the existing anode baking furnace no.l at Egyptalum, Egypt, the paper will demonstrate the improvements that have been achieved by introducing a new and flexible firing and control system on the baking furnace. The focus was set on a dual fuel firing capability and strategy. The firing system is able to operate either on heavy fuel oil or natural gas on the same system. This feature provides maximum flexibility in the daily challenges of the primary energy market to carbon operations. The paper covers the most relevant parameters of the baking process such as combustion performance, temperature regime, baking level, anode quality and consistency, fuel efficiency and the resulting operation flexibility.