Sustainability potentials of an innovative technology and plant system in non-ferrous foundries

The planetary boundaries of our earth, the increasing economic importance of resource efficiency as well as the responsibility for the livelihoods of future generations require, today more than ever, the development of sustainable production solutions in which the necessary resources are used efficiently instead of being consumed. The energy-intensive industrial sectors, such as the foundry industry, are particularly committed to the set goals of sustainability and resource efficiency. In this context, an innovative technology and plant system for a flexible and automatable melt supply in non-ferrous foundries was developed and presented. This system enables closed-loop process control, which completely eliminates the previously mandatory ladling processes and reveals considerable potential for saving energy costs and CO2 emissions. As a consequent continuation, the presented paper focuses on a closer examination of the central innovative burner technology, which for the first time enables the safe and efficient processing of preheated combustion air with a control quality previously only known from electrical heating solutions. The effects that can be achieved with the new system in terms of energy demand and CO2 emissions, logistical flexibility, reduced production costs and the elimination of the previously required measures for melt cleaning (chemical and mechanical) are presented. Finally, the potentials for further sustainability improvements are discussed.