Enhancing steel mill
availability with filters

Industrial environment case study

Key achievements

Image Case Study Icon Camfil Solution Filter

4X
Greater pre-filter
lifetime

Image Case Study Icon Camfil Solution Filter

16X
Greater final filter lifetime

Image Case Study Icon Power

100%
Availability,
no unwanted shutdowns
during production

Summary

Customer profile

A leading steel producer and mining company operates six state plants in South America, supplying steel to various industries.

Original installation

The original installation was a 2-stage design consisting of 40x M6 efficiency rigid pocket pre-filters and 40x F8 efficiency 12” deep box-style final filters. (efficiency per EN779: 2012)

Site conditions
The blast furnace environment, laden with carbon, coke, and ore particles, has PM2.5 levels at 12.3 µg/m3 and PM10 at 22.1 µg/m3—40% and 60% above WHO standards, respectively. High humidity averaging 69%, coupled with heavy dust, frequently causes pressure spikes and unplanned shutdowns.
Camfil solution
Camfil retrofitted the existing filterhouse with a new    2-stage static filter system. This design includes 80x T7 efficiency CamGT 3V-600 24” deep v-panel pre-filters and 40x T9 efficiency CamGT 3V-600 final filters. (efficiency per ISO 29461-1:2021)
Problem statement
The blast furnace, crucial for converting iron ore to steel in steel mills, incurs substantial financial losses during blower maintenance shutdowns. The original filter system in the filter house caused frequent maintenance due to high pressure drops, requiring pre-filter replacement every 42 days and final filters every 84 days.
Results
In response to the plant’s request to minimize maintenance downtime to just twice a year,  the result was an improvement in filter lifetime, with pre-filters needing replacement only twice per year, and final filters needing replacement every 4 years during scheduled shutdowns.

Results

Graph 1 first stage: Competitor filters experienced frequent pressure spikes and shutdowns every 40 days, needing replacement 8x per year had they continued using these filters. Camfil filters, however, showed stable pressure for 150 days, requiring only 2 replacements per year.

Graph 2 second stage: Competitor filters had increasing pressure drop shortly after installation and lasted only 84 days, needing replacement 4x per year had they continued using these filters. Camfil filters maintained low pressure drop for a year, lasting 1460 days (4 years), with a low and stable pressure drop, as reported by the customer.

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