Case Study · Iron & Steel
Arc Furnace High Emissivity Coating: Hot Spots and Shell Cracking Eliminated at Eastman Kodak
| Industry | Iron & Steel |
|---|---|
| Asset | Precious-metals recovery arc furnace (9 ft diameter, 12 ft long) |
| Customer or location | Eastman Kodak, USA |
| Products used | Emisshield refractory coating (~10 mil) |
| Headline metric | Uniform 150°C exterior |
| Secondary metric | No cracking after 3 weeks |
| Also measured | 1,320°C operation |
Eastman Kodak's precious-metals recovery arc furnace developed hot and cold spots up to 320°C apart and shell cracks within 1.5 weeks of operation. Its Kala-brick refractory was coated internally with Emisshield and the furnace run at 1,320°C (2,400°F). Over three weeks the exterior held uniform at 150°C with no shell cracking, and the load heated more evenly.
01
What was the challenge?
Thermal non-uniformity was cracking the shell and degrading recovery efficiency.
02
What was applied?
Internal coating of the Kala-brick refractory to about 10 mil, followed by heat-up at 90°C per hour to 1,320°C and monitoring of temperature uniformity and exterior cracking over three weeks.
03
What were the results?
| Metric | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
| Exterior temperature variation | Hot spots to 320°C | Uniform 150°C |
| Shell cracking | Within 1.5 weeks | None after 3 weeks |
| Load heating | Uneven | Even; better process control and product quality |
| Precious-metals recovery and maintenance | Baseline | Improved; reduced |
04
Why did it work?
A high emissivity lining redistributes radiant energy across the chamber, removing the concentrations that produced hot spots and the thermal gradients that cracked the shell. See How Emissivity Works.
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