ISSN: 1546-962X
Published Online: 14 September 2009
Page Count: 13

Good Practices for Avoiding Fires in Steel Mill Oxygen Systems

Forsyth, Elliot T.
Technical Consultant,Oxygen Safety Consultants, Inc., Wendell Hull & Associates, Inc.,OK,

Newton, Barry E.
VP R&D,Wendell Hull and Associates, Inc.,NM,

Chiffoleau, Gwenael J. A.
Senior Scientist,Test Facility Manager, Wendell Hull & Associates, Inc.,NM,

Brophy, Brendan
Process Engineer,North Star BlueScope Steel,OH,

(Received 21 January 2009; accepted 18 August 2009)

Abstract

Over time, oxygen has been used with increasing frequency in the steel industry. Applications include basic oxygen furnaces, electric arc furnaces, scrap melting, lancing operations, and slab-cutting operations. Because of the inherently “dirty” environment of most steel mills, avoiding contaminants in the oxygen systems can be challenging and numerous fires have occurred due to contaminant-promoted ignition sources. This paper presents many good practices that can be practically implemented to reduce the risk of oxygen fires in typical steel mill oxygen system installations.

Keywords:
oxygen, fires, steel mill, good practices, oxygen cleaning, design, cutting torch, oxygen lance

Paper ID: JAI102299
DOI: 10.1520/JAI102299
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