Annealing and pickling lines
for stainless steel

Drever International has been supplying furnaces for the steel industry for more than half a century. We are proud of having countless references of annealing and pickling lines (APLs) all over the world. We thrive in helping our customers with the competence and knowledge that is required for the production of stainless steel strip.

Annealing and pickling Lines (APLs) are used for the treatment of hot rolled (HR) and cold rolled (CR) stainless steel strips. Combined lines for HR & CR as well as dedicated APLs process the majority of the flat stainless steel production.

The heating is performed in a horizontal direct-fired furnace. An efficient production is achieved by the right design of the radiation preheating chamber and the usage of a central recuperator to minimize the gas consumption of the furnace. Carousel rolls make it possible to change working rolls inside the furnace during production without affecting the atmosphere control. This allows production to be maximized.

The quenching of the steel strip takes place in the area of conflict between the required cooling rate, the strip flatness and the economic efficiency (reduction of capex and opex). Drever International offers different equipment in order to optimize the quenching according to your requirements.

The annealing temperatures range from 830°C to 1200°C. The maximum throughput is 225 t/h at a strip speed of 150 m/min. 

The strip width is between 600 and 2200 mm and the strip thickness is between 0.15 and 14.7 mm. The furnace atmosphere consists of products of combustion with oxygen contents between 2% and 8% depending on customer requirements. 

The transition between different strips, speeds and heating cycles can be very difficult. Our mathematical model adjusts and controls the process parameters automatically and facilitates therefore the transition. Hence second choice metal can be avoided and the production yield is improved.

In the following you will find an overview of different options for Annealing and Pickling lines.

Configuration

Our thermal equipment can be installed among others in the following line types and varies therefore in its design:

  • Hot annealing and pickling line (HAPL)
  • Cold annealing and pickling line (CAPL)
  • Hot and cold annealing and pickling line (HCAPL)
  • Integrated rolling, annealing and pickling line (IRAPL)

Heating

  • Direct flame burners with central recuperator 
  • Self recuperative burners
  • Self regenerative burners

Cooling

  • Water quench
  • Air quench
  • Mist cooling
  • Ultra-fast cooling

Roll concepts

  • Carousel rolls
  • Up/down rolls

Roll material

  • Steel rolls
  • Ceramic rolls
  • Others

Drever International delivers

  • The annealing furnace and cooling section
  • The control system
  • A mathematical model of the furnace and the cooling section


Our parent company, SMS Group and its affiliates deliver all the other equipment of the line. More information on SMS group offer