The current latest technological trends in metallurgical equipment revolve around three main directions: intelligentization, greening, and high-end development. Combined with the "dual-carbon" strategy and industrial upgrading requirements, the specific technological directions are as follows:
1. Intelligentization: From Single-Point Intelligence to Full-Process Collaborative Management
Intelligentization is the core direction of current metallurgical equipment upgrades, and its implementation shows the following trends:
Intelligent Equipment Operation and Maintenance: Intelligent monitoring has been widely adopted for key equipment such as tuyeres, furnace tops, and tapholes. Digital twin modeling enables real-time perception of equipment status, fault prediction, and intelligent early warning, reducing the risk of unplanned downtime. AI technology has also been applied to production quality control and energy optimization scheduling, driving the production model from "experience-driven" to "data-driven."
Intelligent Upgrading of High-End Complete Sets of Equipment: The new generation of cold rolling and milling equipment integrates high-precision roll system control, fully continuous automated rolling, and intelligent thickness closed-loop adjustment technologies, enabling stable mass production of high-end thin-gauge plates, significantly improving yield and precision. The special metallurgical industry is also promoting comprehensive automation transformation and the deployment of intelligent equipment, accelerating the implementation of full-process intelligent manufacturing.
2. Green Development: Breakthroughs in Low-Carbon Circular Technology and Equipment
Focusing on energy conservation, emission reduction, and carbon neutrality goals, green metallurgical equipment has become a key area of research and development and implementation:
High-Efficiency Low-Carbon Smelting Equipment: Breakthroughs have been achieved in integrated high-efficiency low-carbon smelting technology in the large blast furnace sector. By optimizing the furnace charge structure and precisely controlling the charge distribution, energy consumption and carbon emissions in the process have been reduced. For example, through technological upgrades, the Shougang Qian'an Steel project has maintained a stable pellet feed ratio of over 45% for a long period, reducing sintering energy consumption to 37.17 kgce/t.
Solid Waste Resource Utilization Equipment: Rotary hearth furnace technology and equipment for iron and zinc solid waste resource utilization have achieved 100% domestic production of core equipment. This enables the efficient extraction and recovery of iron and zinc from iron- and zinc-containing solid waste in the steel industry, constructing a closed-loop circular system of "solid waste-resource-product," helping enterprises reduce raw material costs by more than 15%.
Low-carbon new process equipment is being implemented: Hydrogen metallurgy has become the core technology direction for decarbonization, and the "green hydrogen preparation - hydrogen metallurgy" industrial chain is gradually taking shape. It is expected that direct hydrogen reduction technology will be commercialized around 2030. At the same time, green and environmentally friendly equipment such as ultra-low emission, zero wastewater discharge, and waste heat recovery are being popularized and promoted throughout the industry.