Exergy and Its Efficiency Calculations in Ferrochrome Production

Ferrochrome production is a high energy intensive process consuming around 3000 to 3500 kWh/t of electrical energy. Ferrochrome is produced by smelting of different grades of chromite ore with coke and fluxing agents such as lime, dolomite, and quartz in a submerged arc furnace (SAF). Apart from the production of ferrochrome, co-products that are produced during the process include carbon monoxide rich off-gas and slag. The slag is cooled with high pressure jet water which results in the formation of slag granules. In the present practice, off-gas generated from the SAF is used for ladle preheating, as fuel in sinter plant, while the remaining is unutilized. Approximately 34 to 40 pct of heat from off-gas is utilized, while the remaining 60 to 66 pct of the off-gas can be utilized for generating electricity by gas combustion turbine. The concept of exergy is applied to monitor the existing process and to understand the feasibility of modification. In the present study, comparison of exergy efficiency for existing process and two adapted case studies has been performed, involving utilization of off-gas for sintering and power generation and waste heat utilization from dry slag granulation. It is observed that there was considerable increase in exergy efficiency for waste heat utilization by dry granulation case study when compared with other two case studies.