Engineers in Cali, Colombia Are Building Forges That Are Better For Business And The Environment

A new smelter design will reduce air emissions and potentially help small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs), thanks to a multidisciplinary project made up of professors from the Faculty of Engineering of Universidad del Valle (Univalle), engineers from the Parrillas Viajeras Suministros y Asesorías S.A.S (PVSA) company and financial support from the Colombian Ministry of Sciences.

Professor Fernando Franco, a researcher from the Professor Fernando Franco, a researcher in the Tribology, Polymers, Powder Metallurgy and Solid Waste Transformation Group (TPMR) within the School of Materials Engineering (EIMAT), explained that previously the smelting furnaces (metallurgical equipment to produce iron alloys with adequate quality at low costs) used coking coal as fuel and released a lot of pollutants into the environment. This resulted in the closure of the companies that use this traditional technology.

"The smelting furnace that uses natural gas has a design that improves thermal efficiency with minimal emissions to the environment, thus complying with environmental regulations," said Professor Franco. 

The researchers say the gas-fired oven reduces gaseous emissions and particulate matter that affect the environment compared to ovens that use coal coke as fuel, also representing a great support for the scrap smelting processes used by SMEs.

Photo: Upper part of the cupola furnace. Credit: PVSA/Univalle

Forging Ahead

The popular conception of a foundry, from television and movies, is of a large stove, with coal soot, fierce flames and billowing black smoke.

Professor Franco explained that the already-built cupola furnace, located in the industrial area of La Dolores (Palmira), is a functional prototype with a 9-meter-high pilot plant that has a production of 1 to 1.5 tons per hour, while useing natural gas.

Oscar Misas, a researcher on the PVSA project, explained that this smelting process is friendlier to the environment, without sacrificing the quality of the final product.

"This project represented a great challenge, because we are used to working in the laboratory at the scale of grams, not at the scale of tons," Professor Juan Barraza-Burgos, director of the School of Chemical Engineering (EIQ), said. He added that it was possible to collect experimental data during the successful tests of the furnace, to thermally evaluate the behavior of the furnace, as well as to use it to improve the operating conditions of the scrap smelting process.

Read more from the School of Material Engineering: Trash To Treasure: How Materials Engineers In Cali, Colombia Built Better Building Materials

Photo: Cast iron coming out of the gas oven. Credit: PVSA/Univalle

Benefits For Local Industry 

Luis Alfonso Diaz Villabona, who is a researcher, project director and manager at PVSA, explained that due to the application of environmental regulations related to emissions, many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that used coke foundry ovens they faced a big dilemma: acquire new, more expensive equipment from abroad or close their companies.

“Small and medium-sized companies don't have the resources to acquire the expensive technological solutions that they had,” he said, adding that the technology developed with Univalle would be a great achievement that can help these SMEs a lot.

“Without the support and participation of Univalle, this project would never happen,” said Mr. Diaz.

Mr. Díaz stated that within each industrial innovation project, there is a “But in this case, everything went very well and we achieved our goals”

Professor Franco expressed that there is great potential to export the technology developed in the project to other parts of Colombia and other Latin American countries.

“There are many countries in Latin America where this technology can be applied and we will be able to produce it at a cheaper price than foreign alternatives,” said the Professor, adding that the local production of the parts and the training of local maintenance technicians will also lower costs.

The prototype is already working for research and training requirements

“We are training the next generation, including undergraduate students,” said Professor Franco, also including students from the technology programs of the National Apprenticeship Service. (SENA).

If you would like to contact the researchers or learn more about the projects, write to the Communications Office of the Faculty of Engineering: comunicaingenieria(at)correounivalle.edu.co.