Electric furnaces and associated plant equipment specialist Tenova Pyromet, part of Tenova Mining & Minerals Group, successfully completed an engineering contract – signed with JSE-listed, midtier platinum group metals producer Northam Platinum in July last year – for the design of a complete furnace cooling system last month.

The plate cooler project was fast-tracked by Northam Platinum to reduce the plant shutdown period. Tenova Pyromet issued construction drawings two months after the project had started and, after installation and cold-commissioning, the furnace was switched on in October 2013.

Northam Platinum has been satisfied with the furnace operation since it was restarted.

The project followed a prefeasibility study awarded to Tenova Pyromet by Northam Platinum in 2010 to upgrade its six-in-line furnace from 15 MW to 25 MW. Tenova Pyromet recommended that the plate coolers be fitted on the furnace sidewall to operate safely at 25 MW.

During an inspection in 2013, Northam Platinum identified the premature erosion of a refractory lining on the 15 MW furnace and decided to implement the recommended plate cooler solution and install a new refractory lining.

Thermal calculations indicated that the refractory life of 15 MW furnace would also be extended by cooling the sidewall. The adoption of plate coolers prompted the installation of an additional water-supply system, which included cooling towers, a pumpstation, piping and electrical instrumentation.

A key advantage of Tenova Pyromet plate coolers is their configurability, as the arrangement and number of plate coolers can be tailored to provide various degrees of cooling. The plate cooler has been used to cool sidewalls in slag and in tidal zones of base metal furnaces.

The plate coolers are manufactured using high-grade copper, which is oxygen-free and provides high conductivity. Their simple shape allows for the water-cooled passages to be drilled, ensuring effective and safe cooling. A steel shell lining is not mandatory when plate coolers are installed and a bare plate cooler front surface makes maintenance and inspection easier.

“Tenova Pyromet’s record with copper-cooler technologies is reassuring to furnace operators. Our references are underpinned by 18 years of research and development, our commitment to excellence and our customer focus,” says Tenova Pyromet sales and marketing GM Andre Esterhuizen.

“Tenova Pyromet commends Northam Platinum for its swift and effective action taken to realise this project,” he adds.