ENERGY MANAGEMENT AND ENERGY DEMAND FORECAST OF A METALLURGICAL PLANT

Metallurgical plants are extremely complex structures from the point o f view of material and energy flows. On the one hand, the individual c omponents can be optimized, on the other hand, they are interdependent because of the interaction of the numerous plant units, which can pla y a major role especially in partial load operation or in case of shut down of one or several plant components. The high percentage of overal l steelmaking costs (made up by energy costs) makes it necessary to en sure efficient energy management in order to lower the costs and to pr eserve the competitiveness of the plant. Mathematical models, which de scribe energy management as a function of the main operating and produ ction parameters, have been developed for the Rheinhausen and Bochum S teelworks of Krupp Stahl AG. The modular structure of the models allow s both the investigation of individual plant units and production zone s, and the comprehensive description of the energy demand of the entir e steelworks. An investigation has been carried out to determine the p racticality of using the overall model of the Bochum Steelworks as a f orecasting aid to predict the maximum electrical quarter-hourly demand .