Electric furnaces and associated plant equipment specialist, Tenova Pyromet, has successfully completed an engineering contract for the design of a complete furnace cooling system. The contract was signed with Northam Platinum Limited in July 2013. The client, Northam Platinum Limited (Northam), is an independent, mid-tier, integrated platinum group metals producer listed on the JSE Limited. Tenova Pyromet is part of the global Tenova Mining & Minerals Group.

The plate cooler project was fast-tracked by Northam Platinum to minimize the plant shutdown period. Construction drawings were issued by Tenova Pyromet a mere two months after project commencement and after installation and cold-commissioning, the furnace was switched on in October 2013. Northam Platinum has been satisfied with the furnace operation since restart.

The project followed a pre-feasibility study awarded to Tenova Pyromet by Northam Platinum in 2010 to up-rate their six-in-line furnace from 15 MW to 25 MW. In the study report, Tenova Pyromet recommended that plate coolers be fitted on the furnace side-wall, to operate safely at 25 MW. During an inspection in 2013, Northam Platinum identified that the refractory lining on its 15 MW furnace had eroded prematurely.  As a remedy, Northam Platinum decided to implement the recommended plate cooler solution and to install a new refractory lining. Thermal calculations indicated that the refractory life at 15 MW operation would be extended by cooling the side-wall. The adoption of plate coolers prompted installation of an additional water supply system, which included cooling towers, a pump station, piping, electrical and instrumentation.

A key advantage of Tenova Pyromet Plate Coolers is their configurability, noting that the arrangement and number of plate coolers can be tailored to provide various degrees of cooling. The Tenova Pyromet Plate Cooler has been used to cool side-walls in slag and tidal zones of base metal furnaces. The plate coolers are fabricated from high grade copper which is Oxygen Free and provides High Conductivity. The simple shape allows the water cooled passages to be drilled, ensuring effective and safe cooling.  A steel shell lining is not mandatory when plate coolers are installed; a bare plate cooler front surface makes both maintenance and inspection easier.

“Tenova Pyromet’s track record with copper cooler technologies is reassuring to furnace operators. Our references are underpinned by 18 years of R&D, our commitment to excellence and our customer focus” says Andre Esterhuizen, Tenova Pyromet General Manager Sales and Marketing.  “Tenova Pyromet commends Northam Platinum for its swift and effective action taken to realize this project” he adds.

Tenova Pyromet is a leading company in design and supply of high capacity AC and DC furnaces and complete smelting plants for production of ferroalloys, base metals, slag cleaning and refining. Tenova Pyromet also designs and supplies equipment for material handling and pre-treatment, alloy conversion and refining, granulation of metal, matte and slag, furnace off-gas fume collection and treatment, and treatment of hazardous dusts and waste. Tenova Pyromet has several technologies to reduce operating costs and increase production power consumption.

Tenova Mining & Minerals is a total integrated solutions provider to the global mining, bulk materials handling and minerals beneficiation and processing sectors, offering innovative technological solutions and full process and commodity knowledge across the mining & minerals industry value chain.

Technical Contact: Rowan Gontier rowan.gontier@tenova.com

Tenova is a worldwide supplier of advanced technologies, products, and engineering services for the metals and mining & minerals industries. More information is available at www.tenova.com