Air Compression System Renovation Project Put into Production at Zinc Smelter in Turkey

Background: At a zinc smelting plant in Turkey, air consumption load fluctuated drastically for smelting, dust removal and instrument air supply. The aging old air compressors brought large pressure fluctuation of air supply and high energy consumption. In summer high-temperature conditions, units frequently tripped due to overheating and interrupted continuous smelting production. Solution: Replaced with 2 sets of 355kW high-power variable frequency screw air compressors. Two separate air supply pipelines were built for smelting processes: one for high-flow air source of process purging, and the other for stable low-pressure air for instruments. A local intelligent control cabinet was installed and connected to the factory DCS system to automatically adjust air output according to smelting procedures. Result: After the project was put into operation, the overall power saving rate of the air compression system reached around 30%. High-temperature shutdown failures in summer were eliminated. The pressure of instrument air remained stable, reducing product loss caused by air source fluctuation in smelting processes. It provides a practical renovation case for air compression systems in metallurgy and smelting industries of the Middle East and West Asia.