How STEEL is MADE in Great Britain!
Summary
TLDRJoin the journey through a steel production plant, where 3.6 million tons of steel are made annually. Witness the transformation of raw materials into molten iron, then steel, in the blast furnaces. Explore the control room, learn about the 24/7 operation, and the massive undertaking of furnace relining. Discover the intricacies of steelmaking, from desulfurization to alloying, and the impressive continuous caster. Experience the heat, scale, and passion of workers who take pride in their craft, passed down through generations. Sponsored by ShipStation, this episode offers insights into efficient e-commerce shipping solutions.
Takeaways
- ๐ญ The facility produces around 3.6 million tons of steel annually, utilizing its proximity to the sea for shipping in raw materials like iron ore and coal.
- ๐จ Iron ore is turned into iron through a process in the blast furnace where carbon from coke reacts with the oxygen in the iron ore, removing it and creating molten iron.
- ๐ Molten iron, carried in 350-ton Torpedoes, is transported for further refining into steel after being tapped from the blast furnace.
- ๐ The operation at the blast furnaces is continuous, running 24 hours a day, with relining only occurring every several years for maintenance purposes.
- ๐ทโโ๏ธ Workers wear gas monitors for safety when near the furnaces due to the potential presence of harmful gases.
- ๐ก๏ธ The blast furnace is subjected to extreme heat, with the tuyeres (pipes) used to inject air and oxygen mixtures at 2,000 degrees Celsius.
- ๐ ๏ธ Copper is used for the tuyeres due to its high thermal conductivity, allowing for efficient cooling despite the intense heat.
- โป๏ธ The desulfurization process removes sulfur from the molten iron using a lance with powdered reagents and nitrogen gas.
- ๐๏ธ Slag, a byproduct of the iron-making process, is separated from the iron and removed, as it is less dense and floats on top of the molten iron.
- ๐ The steel production process involves several stages of heating, rolling, and shaping the steel to the desired specifications before it is coiled for storage or further processing.
- ๐ The video is sponsored by ShipStation, a web-based e-commerce shipping platform that streamlines shipping processes and offers preferential shipping rates.
Q & A
What is the annual steel production capacity of the plant mentioned in the script?
-The plant produces around 3.6 million tons of steel each year.
What are the main raw materials used in the steel production process described in the script?
-The main raw materials used are iron ore and coal, which are shipped to the plant due to its location by the sea.
How is the iron ore processed in the blast furnace?
-In the blast furnace, the carbon from the coke reacts with the oxygen in the iron ore, removing the oxygen and turning the ore into iron.
What is the purpose of the control room for the blast furnaces?
-The control room is where the operation of the blast furnaces is overseen and managed, with a specialist operator for each furnace and a process section overseeing the overall operation.
How often do the blast furnaces need to be re-lined, and what does this process involve?
-The blast furnaces require re-lining every several years; for example, one was re-lined in 2018 after 15 years of operation. This is a significant and expensive process involving removing the old lining and replacing it with a new one.
What is the role of the gas monitor worn by the visitors in the plant?
-The gas monitor is worn to ensure safety by monitoring the presence of potentially harmful gases in the vicinity of the industrial processes.
What is the function of the 'Tria' in the blast furnace?
-The 'Tria', made of copper, is located inside the blast furnace at its hottest point. It is where the hot air and oxygen mix is forced through to facilitate the chemical reactions necessary for steel production.
Why is copper used for the Trias despite having a lower melting point than steel?
-Copper is used because of its high conductivity, which allows the water cooling to remove heat from the copper more effectively than it would from steel or iron.
What happens to the molten iron after it is tapped from the blast furnace?
-After being tapped, the molten iron flows through channels into a hopper, from which it is then transferred into train cars or 'Torpedoes' that carry 350 tons of molten iron at a time for further refining into steel.
What is the process of desulfurization in the steel production, and how is it achieved?
-Desulfurization is the process of removing sulfur from the molten iron. It is achieved by pumping a mixture of powdered reagents and nitrogen gas into the ladle containing the molten iron, which reacts to remove the sulfur.
How is the molten steel transformed into a solid slab in the continuous caster?
-The molten steel is poured into a continuous caster, where it flows through water-cooled copper molds to solidify into a large slab. The slab is then slowly pulled out over rollers and cut into specific lengths for further processing.
Outlines
๐ญ Exploring the Blast Furnace Process
The video script begins with a visit to a steel plant, focusing on the blast furnace operation. The plant produces approximately 3.6 million tons of steel annually, utilizing its coastal location to import raw materials like iron ore and coal. These materials are transformed into coke and then used in the blast furnace, where carbon reacts with iron ore to produce molten iron. The control room is introduced, highlighting the 24/7 operation and the significant cost and effort required for maintenance, such as re-lining the furnace every 15 years. Safety measures, including gas monitors, are also discussed. The tour continues to the blast furnace forecast, explaining the process of tapping molten iron and separating slag, before moving on to the triers where air and oxygen mixtures are forced into the furnace at high temperatures and pressures.
๐ง Transition from Iron to Steel Production
The script continues with the journey of molten iron from the blast furnace to the basic oxygen steel plant. Torpedoes, carrying 350 tons of molten iron, are emptied into ladles, which are then taken to a desulfurization station. Here, sulfur is removed from the iron using a lance with powdered reagents and nitrogen gas. The process involves mechanical scraping of slag and the addition of alloying components in the secondary steel-making area to create specific types of steel. The molten steel is then transported to the continuous caster, where it undergoes further processing to form solid bars or slabs.
๐ฉ Hot Rolling and Steel Production Details
The narrative shifts to the hot rolling process, where slabs of steel are heated in a furnace for about three hours before being rolled into thinner sheets. The host meets Steve, who guides the tour through the mill, explaining the machinery and processes involved in reducing the thickness and width of the steel slabs. The focus is on the efficiency of the operation, with automatic flame cutting heads cutting 10-meter lengths of steel, which are then sent for further processing. The importance of maintaining and replacing rollers due to wear is highlighted, as is the continuous monitoring and adjustment of the steel's temperature throughout the process.
๐ฆ Sponsorship and Shipping Solutions
The final paragraph of the script transitions to a sponsorship message, thanking ShipStation for their support. The host discusses the importance of efficient shipping processes, especially during the peak e-commerce season. ShipStation is introduced as a web-based e-commerce shipping platform that offers customizable presets and automations, making the shipping process almost one-click. It integrates with various e-commerce selling platforms and provides preferential shipping prices. The host encourages viewers to try ShipStation with a 60-day free trial and reflects on the experience at Tata Steel, expressing gratitude for the opportunity to learn about steel production in Great Britain.
Mindmap
Keywords
๐กBlast Furnace
๐กIron Ore
๐กCoke
๐กMolten Iron
๐กControl Room
๐กDesulfurization
๐กTundish
๐กContinuous Caster
๐กHot Rolling
๐กSlag
๐กShipStation
Highlights
Introduction to the sponsor, ShipStation, offering a 60-day free trial.
Tour of a steel plant with an annual production of around 3.6 million tons.
The plant's strategic location by the sea facilitates the import of raw materials like iron ore and coal.
Description of the process where coke reacts with iron ore to produce iron in the blast furnace.
Visit to the control room for the blast furnaces, managed by specialist operators.
Continuous operation of the plant, 24 hours a day, with furnace relining occurring every 15 years.
Use of a gas monitor for safety when working near potentially hazardous materials.
Observation of the tapping process where molten iron is released from the blast furnace.
Explanation of the separation process for slag and iron during the tapping.
Introduction to the triers, where air and oxygen mixtures are pumped into the blast furnace at high temperatures.
Technical details on why copper is used in the tuyeres of the blast furnace due to its conductivity.
Transition to the basic oxygen steel plant where the molten iron from the blast furnace is processed.
Description of the desulfurization process and the removal of slag in the steel production.
Role of Operational Support in ensuring safety, environmental protection, and fire precautions.
Cultural significance of the steel plant with generations of families working there.
Process of alloying in the secondary steel making area to create specific steel grades.
Introduction to the continuous caster and the formation of steel into solid bars or slabs.
Automation and efficiency in the steel rolling process, including the rapid replacement of rollers.
Final steps in steel production, including coiling and cutting the steel for further processing.
Sponsorship acknowledgment and the importance of efficient shipping processes for e-commerce.
Transcripts
get a 60-day free trial from today's
sponsor at shipstation.com forward slash
Forge welcome back we are in way
who's gonna be our tour guide for the
day we're outside the blast furnace how
many million tons of steel do you guys
make each year so around 3.6 million
tons a year at the moment so because
this plant is right at the sea they can
ship in a huge amount of their raw
materials and that includes iron ore and
coal that then gets turned into Coke a
coking plant and here in the blast
furnace the carbon from the coke is
reacting with the oxygen in the iron ore
getting rid of it turning it into iron
which then runs down once tapped in its
molten State into these Torpedoes
carrying 350 tons of it at a time for it
to be refined into steel so the first
place we're going to is the control room
for the blast furnaces so there's one
control room two blast furnaces hey how
are you yeah nice to see you
[Music]
goodness gracious yeah this is what I
was talking about no Center that's the
sort of man-made pellet man-made pellet
sinter Coke there's our Coke I recognize
that so from the old videos you know
what Coke looks like then the iron ore
can come centered like this it almost
looks like clinker that you make in a
Coke Forge but this is iron ore so it's
a little bit porous they also have iron
pellets but this is a more expensive
option and so they're typically not
using iron pellets you've got two desks
here effectually so number four yeah
number five so they're the two separate
controls for the two separate blast
furnaces so you have a specialist
operator on each furnace and then at the
back to sq you have a process section
you just saw he oversees the operation
essentially and this is never ending
does this ever shut down for the day or
is it a 24 hour yes 24 hours the only
time you ever take furnace off if you're
going to rebuild it or realign it how
often do you have to re-line a furnace
um well we've re-lined a partial reline
of number five into 2018
and that was after 15 years number fours
was 2008 I believe but that's that's a
significant I mean that's tens of
millions of pounds of work to justify
taking their Furniture completely yeah
that was off for six months
the orange thing that we're wearing
right here is a gas monitor so you've
got to have one when you're near all
this stuff for the gases make sure that
you're not gonna die but it beeps
periodically so that's what you're
hearing good to meet you mark where are
we going now uh so we're going to go up
to blast furnace forecast out this is
our project
how long have you worked here uh 17
years now do you like it yeah I do those
Hoppers are taking iron ore and Coke up
to be put into the blast furnace
foreign
behind all this hot stuff is the blast
furnace stack this is the drill that
they use to tap it so this comes in with
a drill bit drills a hole through the
clay and releases all the molten iron it
then flows through this channel in the
ground
back here
into a hopper that looks like this and
then this Hopper pulls it into train
cars in Torpedoes 350 tons at a time for
it to be sent off to be made into steel
the scale of this is ridiculous the
smell the heat in the air the sulfur it
is lovely it's like being in a
blacksmith workshop for the first time
when I was 11 but the scale is just
ridiculous so as the iron is tapped
there is obviously slag with it they
need to separate it so as it runs down
there's a little partition because the
swag is less dense it's at the top it
then gets sent off to the side when it's
gathered the iron runs underneath
through these two channels and you can
see it glowing underneath gonna now go
see the triers this is where they're
pumping in a mixture of air and oxygen
at 2 000 degrees
[Applause]
[Music]
so now we get an idea of the scale of
the blast furnace the diameter of it 32
is a forcing hot air and oxygen into
this thing what pressure have we got uh
normally about three bar you see the
scale of that one pipe out of 30. it's
nuts and all of this has to be water
cooled so it doesn't overheat so there's
pipes everywhere here you've got coal
dust being injected in with the hot air
and oxygen incredible so the Tria is
made of 100 copper and it sits in inside
the Blaster and it's at its hottest
point this is where that hot air and
oxygen mix is forced through so they've
got these gigantic damage to pipes
forcing water through the thing because
it is inside the furnace yet somehow
doesn't melt so a question I had was why
copper when copper has a lower melting
point than steel purely because the
conductivity level of copper in
comparison to other Steels so it would
the water cooling can take the heat out
of the copper easier than steel or iron
absolutely that's so neat thank you both
for showing us the blast furnace we are
now going to head off to where the
Torpedoes go and see the basic oxygen
steel plant
[Music]
so through here is where the Torpedoes
that come from the blast furnace are
emptied out and there we go there are
the rail cars and Torpedoes you see how
hot the thing is so where is it tipped
so the label will come down here the
torpedo will tip over and pour the iron
into the ladle then the crane will take
the ladle up there to the
desulfurization station so they
desulfurize it by having a lance with
some powdered reagents and nitrogen gas
it flows in there and somehow there's no
sulfur that's right
self is gone no problems and after the
deculfurizing they can then scrape off
the slag while it's all molten there
with a mechanically controlled arm from
a control room so what is it that you do
in this on this plan well I'm
Operational Support okay look after the
people on plant look after safety the
environment and the fire precautions
that are in place everyone goes home is
that the way they come in how many years
have you worked here 28 28 years and do
you like it love it still still what a
dream and every person that we've talked
to feels the same way yeah it's in our
blood still make it to no blood we've
already spoken to one person whose
father works here yes
yeah my dad worked here for around 30
years as well she worked in a Lambo and
steel works just down the road
unbelievable and I presume that a lot of
your colleagues have again
for generations of people that have
worked here generations and generations
we've got people who've got grandfathers
and grandfathers fathers who worked here
as well
nobody's ever going to get the scale of
this are they it just will not come
across the arm on that Ladle has got to
be what 20 foot long 15 20 foot long and
up it goes like it's nothing 400 plus
tons it's like the size of a house
but it's filled with molten iron
[Music]
so this is all maintaining the ladles so
every single time a ladles use they've
got to send it back over to here
replug it but every now and then they'll
re-line them so take all the old bricks
out and they'll put new bricks in and
that's kind of done by hand doesn't it
[Music]
so back over on that side where you saw
them messing around with the huge Ladle
that's because they were pumping in the
oxygen to get rid of the excess carbon
to turn it into a bog standard kind of
Steel they put some of the other
alloying components in there but to make
it exactly what they need it gets poured
out into another ladle it goes
underneath this over into this big Bay
here and this is what they call their
secondary steel making area where they
add the final alloying components that
they may need so say they need to make a
5160 strip stock well they could get it
set up here put the right amount in
carbon the right amount of silicon
that's as far as I understand
[Music]
so when the steel is mixed up right it
gets transported over here to The
Continuous Caster so that Ladle is full
of molten steel the perfect alloy
they're going to put it into this
machine
spin it round over to here
and that slab in the ground has a hole
and from the bottom of the ladle they're
going to tap that molten steel through
the hole it's going to go underground
it's going to go through some water
cooled copper molds to be formed into a
solid bar a giant slab of the stuff so
this is the tundish that moves
underneath the ladle to collect the
molten steel to then send it through the
hole oh and it's all spinning
goodness gracious me Ladle spins over on
top of the tundish
[Laughter]
[Music]
1560 degrees Celsius toasty so right
here underground this is what the
continuous Caster looks like there's
water cooled rollers and there's a mold
at the top it comes down then it comes
out and looks like this
foreign
[Applause]
and that must be 10 or 12 inches six
four or five feet wide it is huge and as
it is slowly pulled out down these
rollers there's an automatic flame
cutting head that cuts 10 meter lengths
the 10 meter length is 30 tons which is
all that they can manage it being for
taking it for hot rolling and that's
where we're going so here are some of
the slabs that have come off the line
you can see they're still probably 700
800 degrees Celsius
foreign
[Music]
Mill with Steve who's going to be
showing us around we're very excited to
see this because we get to see the hot
steel at last that's the furnace the
leaves go in
let's pick the slab up drop it on the
roller tables yeah oh my God what's the
furnace in there so you can see the slab
coming up and down it goes 30 tons of
steel effortlessly
and how many hours does a cold slab take
to heat up those are those three hours
normally three hours in there I think
it's something like that oh yeah wow
this is the HSB when the bar comes down
you will stop in the Square engage there
so the bar come down the Gaze will come
in put the bar on Central and square it
up as well
again
[Music]
so this giant unit is sending the slabs
back and forth pulling it down in size
then they're sent down here to a coiling
box to conserve space in the factory
even when it's nice and thick they coil
it up they're just unbelievable that has
got to be 40 millimeter thick steel
coiled and uncoiled almost effortlessly
so once they uncoil it they are sending
it through all these rolls every single
one getting smaller controlling the
thickness controlling the width to make
the final product look Jamie another one
getting coiled it is one after the other
after the other unbelievable if we get
to the end of the coil they cut it so
they have a nice Square end
oh my goodness gracious
[Music]
every two or three hours the rollers
that are rolling to steal are so worn
they need to be replaced so right here
staged off to the side are fresh rollers
well every two or three hours they've
got to change them to do this the floor
shifts hydraulic cylinders pick up the
old rollers shove in the new ones and
all seven stations have new rollers
fitted in seven to eight minutes so as
the metal comes out of those rollers
down here
they're continuously checking the
temperature of the steel adjusting the
spray as necessary so it's just right
[Music]
so that's where we were the steel strip
comes back all the way out over here it
gets coiled
and then the coil looks like this and
that exact coil is very possibly
the same Billet of Steel that we saw
being rolled just a few seconds ago
several hundred meters all the way over
there and that's the story of how steel
gets made here in Great Britain and that
is quite a thing thank you so much for
having us it's a pleasure having you
here
oh my goodness dream like a kid in a
candy shop thank you to Tata steel for
having us sharing this with us and all
of you guys
thank you thank you Steve I'm so
grateful I'm sorry today's episode has
been sponsored by ship station and as we
get to the busiest time for e-commerce
in the entire year it's been very
important for us at the Alex steel Co to
have the inventory prepared for your
orders but also the shipping processes
to be able to get them out efficiently
and on time and that's why we love using
shipstation it's a web-based e-commerce
shipping platform which means using
their customizable presets and
automations shipping becomes an almost
one-click operation for US it'll
integrate with dozens upon dozens of
e-commerce selling platforms so whether
you sell on Squarespace Amazon or Ebay
your orders will automatically sync and
when you're a ship station member you
get preferential prices on shipping just
like a Fortune 500 company would now not
only do we use shipstation in the
Montana shop but I use it here in the UK
I recently had to ship out some dog
training products I use chip stations so
if you want to streamline your shipping
processes save money and focus on the
things that you love about your business
please go to shipstation com forward
slash forward you'll get a 60 day free
trial to have a look and see how much
you love it thank you ship stations for
sponsoring this thank you again Tata
steel for having us it was an utter
privilege see you all soon bye
[Music]
5.0 / 5 (0 votes)