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PT Inco's ferronickel smelter in Indonesia operates multiple electric furnaces that generate high-temperature, particulate-laden off-gas requiring effective cleaning systems to meet environmental regulations and protect downstream equipment. WorleyParsons Gas Cleaning (now Gas Cleaning Technologies) designed and implemented a comprehensive off-gas cleaning system for four electric furnaces at this major nickel production facility. The project encompassed combustion chamber design, gas cooling systems, particulate removal equipment, and stack emissions monitoring—representing a complete turnkey solution for complex metallurgical off-gas treatment.
The off-gas cleaning system design addresses the unique challenges of ferronickel electric furnace emissions, including extremely high initial gas temperatures, variable particulate loading, and chemical composition considerations that affect equipment materials selection and cleaning technology choices. The combustion chamber serves multiple critical functions including completing oxidation of carbon monoxide to carbon dioxide, providing residence time for temperature moderation, and conditioning the gas stream for effective particulate capture in downstream equipment. WorleyParsons Gas Cleaning's combustion chamber design optimized these functions while maintaining compact footprint compatible with site constraints.
Baghouse technology was selected for particulate removal, providing the high collection efficiency necessary to meet stringent emission limits for ferronickel smelting operations. The baghouse systems incorporate features specifically engineered for metallurgical applications including high-temperature filter media compatible with electric furnace off-gas characteristics, robust pulse-cleaning systems to maintain filtration performance, and structural design to withstand the thermal cycling inherent in batch furnace operations. The integration of four parallel off-gas cleaning systems required careful coordination of equipment placement, ductwork routing, and operational controls.
This PT Inco installation demonstrates Gas Cleaning Technologies' capabilities in large-scale off-gas cleaning projects for the ferroalloy industry. Nickel, ferrochrome, and other electric furnace operations facing emission compliance challenges or equipment upgrade requirements can leverage GCT's proven experience in designing reliable, high-performance gas cleaning systems tailored to specific metallurgical process requirements.
