Megatherm is a name synonymous with induction technologies for melting & heating metals with products ranging from induction furnaces for steel and foundry applications to induction heating and hardening equipment for various mass heating, forging and special applications. Megatherm has 2500+ nstallations in over 42 countries. Being a dedicated induction technology based company Megatherm has razor sharp focus on improving the efficiency of induction furnaces & heaters.

 

In mid 2017, Megatherm R&D team, led by S B Chanda, came up with the Green Furnace. It is the most energy efficient furnace in the world and it is saving Rs 350-500 per tonne for its users depending on type of charge. As a result, some of the largest secondary steel manufacturers globally who were using other furnaces are shifting to the Green Furnace exclusively which is being termed as the great migration. Some examples include Mughal Steel (Pakistan), Sharda Energy (Raipur), Prakash Industries (Champa), SRMB Srijan (Durgapur), Al Jazeera (Saudi Arabia), Bikrampur Group (Bangladesh), Salaam Steel (Bangladesh) and many more in India, Iran, Indonesia & Africa. 

 

Megatherm furnace users are upgrading their existing furnaces to Green. For scrap steel users, the average energy consumption use to hover around 580 to 600 units per tonne. However, with the Green Furnace it has been brought down to 520 units to 530 units. Better results have been observed in the sponge belt where the energy consumption has been brought down from 780 to 800 levels to 720. Record energy consumption was observed at Real Ispat where 630 units was achieved using DRCELLO sponge.

 

The technology behind energy efficiency in the Green Furnace can be classified into four categories: Systemic electrical efficiency; Quick power pickup; Constant power throughout heat cycle; and Substantial harmonics reduction.

 

Systemic electrical efficiency has been improved by implementing a compact layout (capacitor rack in between two crucibles, transformer very close to the SFC, etc), reducing the length of all interconnections as much as possible and using generous copper sections for all interconnections as well as coil. 

 

A quick power pickup results in faster creation of molten bath. Once the initial molten bath is created the melting of slag in all following charges becomes faster and consumes less energy. Using our proprietary low frequency technology and nano cable design (very small water cooled cable) we have achieved minimal voltage drop between power source and coil resulting in very fast power pickup and quick creation of initial molten bath.

 

Constant power factor ensures continuous efficient melting. By improving the stretching factor using Megatherm’s new SMD cards (instead of the classic PCB), it is able to provide constant power factor of 98% throughout heat cycle without the need for capacitor switching. Its noise immune optically driven rectifier driver board ensures harmonics of less than 5% and also contributes to constant power factor.

 

Usually a 24 pulse rectifier should reduce source/input harmonics (compared to a 12 pulse or 6 pulse rectifier) provided however, the rectifier trigger control is in control sync with input phase and frequency. The 2017 launched adaptive converter control strategy reduces harmonics considerably. Megatherm’s latest proprietary DC link filter reactor which has been designed to have adaptive characteristics under various load conditions keeps load end harmonics completely in check. The net result is elimination of energy losses caused by harmonic currents which otherwise do not contribute to useful energy.

 

With record number of orders in hand, it is estimated that 350 million units of energy will be saved per year once the orders have been executed and 1.4 billion units will be saved over the next 5 years. As almost all industries are moving towards a greener future, Megatherm is continuing its R&D for ruthless efficiency and has targeted reducing another 30 units by implementing technologies such as zero drop design to eliminate voltage drop altogether (slated for launch in October 2018) and power injector (focus power to given scrap using virtual pulsed power concepts) planned to be launched 2019.