Abstract
Current development in the energy-intense industrial sectors make assessment of the potential due to innovation in conventional process-routes advisable. The need of reducing the specific greenhouse gas emissions caused by industrial production is hence made a subject of discussion. The electrification of a natural gas fired tunnel furnace could be interesting, as electricity from renewable energy can be produced with low specific emissions and is also practical in terms of controllability and energy efficiency. This thesis should initially introduce to the framework of electrical heating processes suitable for the tunnel furnace of interest, especially regarding electric resistance heating elements and heating by plasma generators. The core of the thesis shall deal with adapting an existing multi- 1D FastCalc simulation model of a reference natural gas tunnel furnace, with regards to substituting the natural gas heating by electrical heating systems in the model. The simulation results are compared to Kilntracker temperature measurements from operation of a gas fired tunnel furnace from the year 2013. Fundamentally the results of the conducted simulations make a favorable impression in regard to achieving comparable product temperatures as well as high energy efficiency of the electrical heating options. The product temperatures of the natural gas fired reference case could be achieved in the simulations in the case of both the electrical resistance heating elements and plasma heating. Unanswered questions remain however regarding the evaluation of the conducted modelling approach and the technical and economic feasibility of modifying and operating an electrified tunnel furnace.
Translated title of the contribution | Electrification of a tunnel furnace |
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Original language | German |
Qualification | Dipl.-Ing. |
Awarding Institution |
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Supervisors/Advisors |
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Award date | 20 Oct 2023 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2023 |
Bibliographical note
embargoed until 01-10-2028Keywords
- Electrification
- tunnel furnace
- electric heating
- refractory
- decarbonisation