Jupiter Aluminum furnace rebuild lifts melt rate 15% amid faster turnaround
The completion update of one of the three reverberatory furnaces in Hammond, Indiana, has been shared by Jupiter Aluminum, a firm that transforms tonnes of recycled aluminium into a valuable coil. At the normal pace, completing this project takes nearly three-and-a-half to four months; however, in this case, the firm managed to complete it in just 55 days with an investment of USD 2.5 million. This has been significantly possible with the help of American Industrial Services.
As noted by the plant manager, Chris Porter, the installation of the new furnace and the revamped interior has enabled the firm to improve flow characteristics by almost 20 per cent. Besides this, the firm has also boosted the melt rate by about 15 per cent, without making any severe changes to the other designs.
Possible production output after reinstallation
After the update, the firm believes that this year, its Hammond facility will produce more than 200 million pounds of 3105 and 3004 aluminium alloys for the building and construction sector, as reported by the plant manager.
In order to eliminate the scope of any negative impact on the production, the firm is looking for ways to cut the usual rebuild time down by two months. The plant manager stated that it would have been “catastrophic” for the company to have one furnace out of commission for four months. “Time is money, and the longer you're down, the longer you're not operating, the more opportunity is lost.”
Strategy applied for the revamp
Moving away from the usual route, which is to handle the rebuild of its 20-year-old furnace in-house, the firm took a strategic decision to bring in American Industrial Services (AIS) from Waxahachie, Texas, for the project. AIS has been specialising in engineering, fabrication, mechanical and refractory services through its various subsidiaries, like Southern Welding, Elite Industrial and Elite Refractory Services.
Concerning the design, as mentioned by the plant manager, it had been started with Pyrotek, which is a molten metal service firm based in Spokane, Washington. AIS conducted water modelling on the firm's previously designed furnace. This strategy aids in illustrating a theoretical flow of molten metal.
By using this analysis, the firm gains the ability to tweak the furnace geometry and further enhance the flow rate characteristics. This then led the firm to gain results which they are aiming for. After finalising the design via the modelling technique, the firm can successfully start using the furnace.
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In addition to this, the firm is also revamping its furnace loading strategy as part of the project to make effective use of the shredded metal while minimising the melt loss at the same time.
Porter stated, "The use of shredded material has always been difficult in recirculating reverb furnaces … because shredded materials float on top of the aluminium bath, so there is a lot of melt loss associated with it; it burns off"
Injecting shredded material into the molten metal
The firm is able to inject shredded material into the molten state by making use of Pyrotek’s LOTUSS (low turbulence scrap submergence) bowl, which opens new possibilities for using alternative scrap sources.
Pyrotek, a global engineering leader and innovator of performance-improving technical solutions, has explained that the LOTUSS system incorporates a molten metal circulation pump, which moves the metal from the furnace to a more circular refractory well.
The design of the well is done in a way that it creates a downward vortex, aiding in the metal flow, allowing scrap materials to submerge faster beneath the surface of the molten metal, reducing oxidation and metal loss.
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Further investments in the furnaces
The firm is planning to undertake additional investment in its furnace, where the plant manager mentioned the plan of relining its last two reverberatory furnaces in 2027 and 2028. He explained, "They are just relines with maybe some slight design changes, but I anticipate at this point no mechanical structure changes." He further stated that these relines will enable the firm to apply similar enhancements made within the first furnace, which aids in improving the metal flow as well as the melt rate.
Besides this, keeping in mind the relining process, the firm is also planning to launch a substantial vertical integration project aiming at in-house scrap processing. Owing to this, the plant manager concluded, "We're getting ready to kick off a large vertical integration project where we do our own scrap processing in-house" This move is deemed to expand the aluminium scrap variety which the firm can source and further upgrade for its furnace.
The commissioning plan in details
According to the firm's plant manager, the equipment is already in place and will be operational by late summer 2027. With this new update, the firm is planning to enhance its reputation as one of the most efficient and cost-effective casting operations in North America.
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As of now, the firm attains nearly 225 million pounds of material each year, where the aluminium scrap holds 27 per cent. He said, "Three per cent of that is primary aluminium. We're working on getting that down to zero by the beginning of 2027."
In this, he further adds that by making use of recovered aluminium instead of the primary aluminium, the firm is keeping the cost in check. Owing to this, he said, "The idea is to use as much scrap aluminium as possible because there's a significant cost difference in scrap versus primary."
Alongside this, the firm's proprietary Jupiter Oxygen technology enables the firm to cut the use of natural gas by 65 per cent, making the firm one of the most eco-friendly facilities in North America. Keeping this in mind, the plant manager commented, "We're committed to substantial investments in our company and growing organically in the building and construction markets. We're enhancing many of our rolling mills and investing in people and processes."
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