Advantages of induction reheating in integrated minimills

The basic idea of a minimill is the production and processing of steel for long products in an integrated factory. The hot billets from the caster are fed through an induction heating system directly into the rolling mill. The induction system detects the billet’s incoming temperature and equalizes the surface and core temperatures on demand, in order to provide an optimum rolling temperature. Important to notice with regard to the sustainability is the fact that no fossil fuel combustion furnace is needed. This setup allows for significant energy and cost savings and causes less emission. The article describes the energetic and economic advantages of induction systems integrated in Minimills and, as an example, refers to a proven solution at Tung Ho Steel in Taiwan.