Reliable, consistent and low-cost metal production

The pressure to improve both efficiency and end-product quality continues to rise in the iron and steel industries, and places increasing demands upon producers, energy consumers and investors. This is particularly true for plant modernization with new requirements and expectations for plant performance and maintenance, personal safety and environmental compliance.

 With advanced process control and automation solutions and innovative metallurgical products, ABB helps you to optimize your process to achieve maximum productivity, plant availability and environmental compatibility.

Sinter plant

Integrated solutions for the entire sinter plant

There are several important parameters, including the mix of different ores, coke and limestone, together with the moisture content and sinter machine speed and cooling that affect sinter plant performance.

ABB automation and control System 800xA offers an integrated solution for the entire sinter plant. The control system ensures optimal sinter operation by controlling raw material handling, the mixing and nebulizing unit, sinter charging, sinter machine, burner ignition and cooling and waste gas treatment.

The control system's process models  are customized to the sinter process enabling productive plant operation. The mixer and ignition model applied to the sinter plant optimizes the ratio of input materials, fuels and air flow, and even the quality of sinter composition, increasing the strength of the sinter and improving breakdown conditions during reduction in the blast furnace.

Blast furnace

Keep your blast furnace fully under control

The productivity of blast furnaces depends on burden quality and distribution, which can be optimized with advanced control systems. ABB offers a fully integrated automation solution for the entire blast furnace.

ABB's automation and control System 800xA ensures the efficient operation of the furnace by controlling the stock house, furnace top, furnace proper, cooling of stoves, the gas plant, and the fume extraction and service system.

Integrated mathematical set-up models help the operator to optimize plant conditions in terms of energy consumption and product quality. By calculating the burden, the models optimize the amount of hot metal produced and controls the charging. Applying these models improves the production rate, decreases the amount of coke, optimizes coke feeding and avoids uneven production.

The system helps to increase safety and improve supervision for operators with its high HMI system.

Direct reduction iron (DRI) plant

Automation solution for your ironmaking process

The DRI plant produces high carbon iron granules from iron ore, coal or natural gas and limestone or dolomite, and has several advantages over the blast furnace. It requires lower investment, feeds the electric arc furnace with high-quality raw material, balances investment in modern mini mill concepts, replaces scrap for high quality flat products and uses cost-efficient local reduction material. ABB offers a fully integrated automation solution for the entire DRI plant.

ABB's Extended Automation System 800xA ensures consistent operation of the DRI plant by controlling the raw material feed system, rotary kiln, rotary cooler, gas cleaning, DRI instrument and auxiliaries.

With advanced measurement and control technologies, ABB's system 800xA enables operators to monitor the entire plant by collecting data for optimal performance analysis, diagnostics, asset monitoring and reporting.