Alcoa has ordered two state-of-the-art HICON® pusher-type furnaces from EBNER for its Tennessee operations. The furnaces will be used to preheat and homogenize aluminum ingots before the hot-rolling process. The ingots are further processed to produce high-quality aluminum sheet. With a maximum net charge weight of over 2.6 million pounds per furnace, Alcoa will operate the largest pusher-type furnaces that have ever been built, according to EBNER.
Each furnace is divided into eight individually controlled heating zones and will be equipped with dedicated ingot-handling systems, which ensure the scalped ingot surface is never touched and thus stays free of damage. According to a comparative calculation HICON® pusher-type furnaces consume 60% less energy than the existing equipment.