Filtration Facts

Industrial Filtration In Steel Mills Reduces Waste And Saves Water

Few process industries require clean water more than the steel industry. Whether it be an integrated steel mill, mini-mill, cold rolling, plate mill, or other, the need to keep the water free of dirt, scale, and other solids has a large effect on the efficiency of the mill. This leads to less scrap and a reduction in water use. Not to mention other benefits as well.

The Arcelor-Mittal steel plant in Burns Harbor, Indiana, is a perfect example of the many ways in which industrial water filtration can keep descaling pumps, heat exchangers, and other components of the process cooling system operating efficiently. Formerly owned by Bethlehem Steel, this is one of the largest steel mills in the world.  A few of the many ways in which centrifugal separators are used for filtration at this facility include:

• Keeping the coolant water rollers clean on the plate leveler
• Protecting the rollers on the heating bed
• Preventing scale build-up and damage to the descaling pumps
• Preventing the need for manual heat exchanger cleaning
• Nozzle cleaning
• Many others, including 25 different centrifugal separators operating in the mill at one time

As their 40-year millwright veteran Joe Saiken puts it, “The great thing about a LAKOS Separator is that you put one in and then you forget about it. They keep our systems running without a hitch and with no downtime.” Arcelor-Mittal utilizes LAKOS filtration in several other locations as well, including steel mills in Lazaro Cardenas (Mexico) and the Saldanha plant in South Africa.  Our Case Study AB-210 provides details how the effective use of industrial water filters helped these mills solve problems and save money.

The Burns Harbor example is unique only because of its size. Other steel mills have experienced similar results. California Steel in Fontana, POSCO steel in Korea, and the Lukens Steel Company in Pennsylvania are just three other steel mills which have turned to LAKOS filtration to minimize waste, prevent heat exchanger fouling, and prevent other process problems.

Would you like more details about the TYPE and SIZE of particles removed by centrifugal separators in steel production, and see a more complete list of installations around the world?

Download the Steel and Primary Metals Filtration Guide today !