Chinese steelmaker orders continuous hot-dip galvanising line

Chinese steelmaker Shandong Ruifeng Stainless Steel Co (Ruifeng) is to install a continuous hot dip galvanizing line for steel strip. The equipment will be supplied by SMS group. 

The line will be erected in Binzhou in the Chinese province of Shandong and is scheduled to start production in H2 2019. The new line will enable Ruifeng to anneal and galvanise 350kt/yr of cold strip, which is produced on the company’s own pickling line/tandem mill. The strip will be coated with a layer of zinc or aluminum-zinc to protect against corrosion. 

The hot-dip galvanising line will be designed to process strips up to 1,350 mm wide and between 0.30 and 2.0 mm thick. The maximum strip speed during the galvanising process will be 180 metres per minute, whereas in the entry and exit sections maximum speed may reach up to 240 metres per minute. The product range will comprise commercial grades and deep-drawing grades, among others.

The material will mainly be used for applications in the construction industry and to produce home appliances.

Before processing, the strips will run through a cleaning section including an electrolytic cleaning segment. Subsequent heat treatment will take place in a horizontal Drever furnace with a direct-fired zone and radiant-tube zone. 

According to SMS group, “A DUMA-BANDZINK BASIC Jet air-knife system will be employed for the homogeneous and precise thickness setting of the zinc layer.” To enable strips to be coated with both aluminium-zinc or zinc, SMS will install an A change system with two zinc pots. For post-treatment, the line will be equipped with a skin-pass stand, a tension leveller and two vertical roll coaters, as well as an oiling machine in the exit section.