Manor Royal,

Investment in steel vacuum degassing processes, both in new plant and upgrades of existing plant, is continuing as steel companies see the opportunity to increase the value added component of their products by improving quality and supplying more specialty grade steels. In the area of ladle refining recent advances in the degassing process utilizing dry mechanical vacuum systems in place of liquid based water ring and/or steam ejector systems offer clear savings in running costs, maintenance costs, and installation space, and also offer increased speed, flexibility, and overall productivity to steel degassing operations. Large Roots style vacuum booster pumps designed for high dust tolerance are the major component of such mechanical vacuum degassing systems, backed by dry mechanical pumping systems. This paper will discuss the presenters experience with recent installations and comment on the operational results available to date