UrBC, Magnitogorsk, August 11, 2017. Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works (MMK) recently launched new Blast Heater 23 bis at its Blast Furnace Unit 7. This is part of a larger blast furnace upgrade program, with investments already exceeding 1bn RUR, MMK Information & PR Department reports.

‘The launch of the new Cowper, a regenerating blast air heater named after the English engineer Edward Alfred Cowper, will allow for consecutive replacement of the three remaining heaters at Blast Furnace Unit 7,’ the Department says.

The inner-chamber blast heaters will get replaced with their shaftless counterparts supplied by ZAO Kalugin. The new heaters will ensure higher hot-air blast temperature, help reduce coke spending, and thus improve the blast furnace department’s economic performance parameters. Shaftless heaters ensure longer time between repairs and are designed to work for 25 years without any need for repairs of overhauls.

The construction of the new blast heater began in November 2015 without any production stoppages. MMK invested over 1bn RUR in the Cowper itself and in the infrastructure needed for the blast furnace unit. Replacing the remaining Cowpers won’t be quite as costly.