PROCESS DESCRIPTION   

Hearth furnaces are mainly used as melting units, but also as holding and homogenising furnaces before casting. Depending on the application they can be round or rectangular, tiltable or stationary. The required energy input is by means of burner systems such as Oxyfuel.  

In the Oxyfuel process, the combustion processes are carried out by means of an oxygen burner (Oxyfuel burner) which is operated with pure oxygen or oxygen-enriched air as an oxidising agent. Messer has developed the family of Oxipyr  burners for this purpose.   

In comparison to burners which use air as an oxidant, Oxipyr burners provide a range of process technology advantages: 

• Higher combustion efficiency
• Higher melting rate
• Faster heating-up times
• Lower fuel consumption
• Higher processing temperatures possible
• Faster reaction speeds
• Lower exhaust gas levels
• Less dust
• Lower emissions
• Lower production costs