The Electrical Process Gas Heater (E-PGH) is a new feature of ENERGIRON plants, easing the transition towards sustainable steel production. The main difference between the traditional Fired Process Gas Heater (F-PGH) and the innovative E-PGH, concern the means of thermal energy generation and transfer: in the traditional PGH, this is achieved by using hot gases deriving from fuel combustion, while the E-PGH uses hot electrical resistors.
The concept of the E-PGH is, thus, similar to F-PGH but, instead of generating heat by burning fuel gas, it generates heat by passing electricity through an element of resistive wire. As the current flows through the wire, it generates heat that is transferred to the process gas being heated.
By avoiding combustion, the E-PGH operates at a higher efficiency, up to 95% in comparison with normal ranges of 89-91% of the F-PGH. Furthermore, should customers elect to use renewable energy instead of fuel gas, the plant’s carbon footprint can reach net zero. ENERGIRON plants can be designed to operate in full F-PGH mode, full E-PGH mode or any combination in-between; in the latter case, the thermal duty between F-PGH and E-PGH can be modulated over time.
Our E-PGH has a modular design, therefore several E-PGH modules can be progressively installed in parallel to the F-PGH, switching the thermal duty from gas to electricity as required to meet carbon footprint targets.