SEDL / STP / STP1522-EB / STP48838S

Good Practices for Avoiding Fires in Steel Mill Oxygen Systems

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

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

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

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

Pages: 19    Published: Jan 2009

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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.