STUDY OF IMPROVEMENT IN

PICKLING PROCESS OF HR
COILS BEFORE ROLLING
BY
SIDDHARTH SHENOY
KSHITIJ MALANI
VEDANT BAJORIA
HARSHIT SHARMA
VAIBHAV SANGHI

INTRODUCTION TO PICKLING
PROCESS

Pickling Process:

The Coils from HSM contain 3 different iron oxide impurities namely
Fe2O3, Fe3O4 and FeO.

The first two oxides are hard and can be removed by breaking which is
done by the scale breaker. The sheet contains a soft impurity of FeO
which is removed by reacting it with H2SO4 in the acid tank and thus the
ferrous salt formed from the reaction is simply washed away. In this way
all the iron oxide impurities are removed and the whole above process
is known as pickling process.

Most important parts of the pickling

process

Scale Breaking: - Scale breaking is done by the scale breaker using a S shape
bend that helps to break the hard iron oxide impurities namely Fe 2O3 and Fe3O4

Acidic reaction: - After the breaking of hard impurities and washing them away,
the removal of soft impurities FeO is done by reacting it with Dilute Sulphuric
Acid in the acid tanks

Water Wash: - After the acidic reaction all the salts, acid on the sheets and
other impurities are washed away in the water wash. Basically cleaning of
steel sheets takes place in the water wash. In the process, pickling sludge is
formed which needs to be cleaned from time to time.

Trimming: - After washing and drying of the sheets, they are trimmed to the
required width by using the trimming machine.

Problems faced during Pickling

Process

Major aim of any producer is to get the maximum gain from the
available resources, i.e. the efficiency of the process must be high as
possible.

In the pickling line of CRM Department, efficiency is the major problem

faced. Steel sheets are ideally expected to move with the speed of
80m/min but the actual speed of the sheet is merely 32m/min.

From the above information it will not be wrong to state that the current
efficiency is less than 50% from the expectation.

Major issues in the process

Acid concentration is less and salt concentration is more than the

expected values.

Temperature during the process is less than expected value , which

directly affects the efficiency of the process.

Cleaning of water tanks leads in stopping the process, which reduced

the time of production and thus the quantity of production.

Machine used are very old and not well maintained due to which
problems like error in trimming and choking of exhaust chamber due to
impurities are faced.

POSSIBLE IMPROVEMENTS IN
THE PROCESS
Scale Breaking :

Changing the scale breaking method: Basically instead of using two scale breakers and creating a S
type bend to break the hard scale, using leveler rolls made up of hard steel and applying enough
pressure should meet the requirements of scale breaking using a curved W type bend. The process is
better since it involves only one machine instead of two and also is twice as efficient as the former
due to the W type bend

Pre-heating of metal before scale breaking: Pre-heating of the sheets before it enters the scale
breaker helps in easy breaking of the scale and increases the efficiency of the process.

Increasing frequency of changing rolls from once in 2 months to once in a month: Will increase the
efficiency of scale breakers.

Acid Reaction :

Providing of underground tank to maintain concentration : Here , underground tank consisting of concentrated
sulphuric acid is used to add acid to the acid tanks and increase the acid concentration whenever it drops below
the required level . This helps in smooth functioning of acid tank by maintaining acid concentration .

Bringing the regeneration plant closer to the tank : Since the current regeneration plant is very far away from
the acid tank , lots of acid is lost due to leakage in pipes . This lowers the amount of acid reaching the tank and
thereby affects the concentration of acid in tanks . Since regeneration plant supplies most of its acid to the acid
tanks (5/6 of total produced) , keeping it closer to acid tanks would help in improvement of overall process.

Using Hydrochloric Acid instead of sulphuric acid : Using hydrochloric acid instead of sulphuric acid in tanks not
only increases the efficiency of process but also removes the need of the regeneration plant . Hydrochloric acid
is more expensive than sulfuric acid, but it pickles much faster while minimizing base metal loss.

Providing bigger exhaust pipes : The pipe provided for escape of steam after the reaction occurs is narrow and
gets easily choked . Bigger and better quality pipes would help not only in easy escape of steam but also in
maintaining concentration of acid which is affected due to water formed from condensed steam.

Extra addition of acid inhibitors : This will prevent the acid from reacting with the sheets after reaction with scale
is completed. Adding in appropriate amounts will prevent any damage to the steel sheets.

Other possible improvements

Water-wash :

Providing an extra stand-by watertank : The two tanks can be switched as soon
as one of them requires cleaning. This system basically uses parallel tank
system.

Upgrading the trimming machines:

The current trimming machines uses only side trimmers and because the
machine has to be stopped in case of any error or change in measurement.
Use of modern trimmers that have standby knives for the same purpose can
be used to speed up the trimming process

Addition of a parallel pickling line

A pickling parallel to the current pickling line can be started with all above
improvements and modern equipment giving high efficiency and better results

Feasibility

Most of the proposed improvements

Involve high money investments

Involve time investment

Hinder the continuous working of the plant

Feasibility in scale breaking

Changing the method of scale breaking is feasible as has a low investment

and better results in the future

It also reduces the number of machines from 2 to 1

Pre heating of the metal sheet before scale breaking is not feasible as there
is not enough space to introduce a new equipment for heating of coils

Increasing frequency of changing rolls from once in 2 months to once in a

month is very feasible and practical and can be done immediately as well

Feasibility in acid reactions

Providing an underground tank is also not a feasible process as the line has
to be stopped to construct the tank

Bringing the regenerating plant closer to the tank is also not feasible as it is
fixed and making a new for the pickling line is very costly

Changing from Sulphuric acid to HCl is feasible but sulphuric acid is produced
in plant whereas HCl will be imported from outside and will cost more.

Providing bigger exhaust pipes is highly feasible and doesnt require much
investment. We can also fix the current available suction pipes.

Extra addition of acid inhibitors is highly feasible and should be given a

thorough consideration as it has a direct impact on the quality of steel
produced

Feasibility of other improvements

Water Wash :

Providing an extra stand-by water tank : This is also highly feasible and
does not require stopping of the process for long but cost might be a
crucial factor.

Upgrading of trimming machines :

Process is feasible but has a high investment as compared to others.

Addition of a parallel pickling line :

Not feasible considering the huge investment involved but if worked

upon will result in increasing the production by more than twice the
current.

Conclusion
Thus after completing a proper study on the improvements in pickling
process of HR coils before rolling, we may conclude the following:

There is a very low scope for improvements in the process due to time
and monetary restrictions.

Even if the improvements are carried out there is no guarantee that the
process will improve due to improper maintenance of the equipment
used

Various factors like in-house production of sulphuric acid, fixed amount

of space for the equipment also lower the possibility of feasible
improvements.