Tata says new induction furnaces at Corby, UK, tube mill would cut CO2 emissions

A GBP 5 million ($6 million) investment in new electric induction furnaces will reduce emissions from one of Tata Steel’s tube mills in Corby, UK, by 2,000 mt/year of CO2, Tata Steel Europe said March 13.

The site, in Northamptonshire, is capable of manufacturing 250,000 mt/year of thin-wall welded tube for a range of applications, including construction, engineering and energy infrastructure.

Supplier Inductotherm Heating and Welding will be replacing the original Radyne units installed in 1980 with 12 more technically advanced and energy efficient induction heating coil assemblies, along with associated electrical infrastructure, cooling systems and process control gear, London-headquartered Tata Steel Europe said in a statement. The work will be carried out over two weeks at the end of October.

The package includes a stretch reduction mill that takes 169-mm diameter steel tubes and heats them to around 1,100°C before they are stretched into as small as 40mm diameter hollow sections with wall thicknesses as thin as 3.2 mm.

“The improved efficiency of the new furnaces means we’ll need less pre-heating from the gas-fired furnaces and therefore fewer associated emissions,” said Project Lead Paul Ilko.

The project is in line with Tata Steel’s environmental ambitions of becoming net-zero globally by 2045. As part of its sustainability commitment, the Corby works also aims to move its electricity supply towards low-carbon, renewable sources in due course, it says.

— Ekaterina Bouckley