Coke Plant Services

Hotwork pioneered and patented the process of utilizing high velocity burners for heating rebuilt coke oven walls.  This technique reduced the traditional 20 to 30 day heatup schedule for coke oven walls to 5 days. Since that time, more than 400 projects have been successfully completed on end and throughwall repairs for various coke-producing customers.  Today, the emphasis that is being placed on the elimination of potential oven to flue leaks has made the practice of replacing throughwalls a cost-effective approach for returning ovens to service.

Hotwork currently offers a wide range of services to coke plants, including Refractory Heatup on Rebuilt or Repaired Walls/Ovens, Temperature Maintenance, and Stack & Chimney Services.

Refractory Heatup on Rebuilt or Repaired Walls/Ovens

Multiple End Flue - High velocity burners provide uniform heating of wall brickwork.  In all cases repaired walls can be heated and the flues lit in significantly less time with superior wall integrity than realized using conventional methods.

Single Multiple Throughwalls - Installing and firing of burners on both ends of ovens results in significant time savings and superior wall integrity over traditional heatup methods.  Over 400 projects involving almost 1,000 walls have been heated using the Hotwork process.

Complete Battery Heatup - Hotwork performed the world's largest refractory heatup to date at Indiana Harbor Coke's new facility near Chicago in 1998.  The project required operation of 67 burners on four sequential batteries each containing 67 ovens.  Success of the heatup demonstrated the reliability of the Hotwork equipment, the compatibility of its design and the ability of the Company's field and management staff to handle projects of this magnitude.

Temperature Maintenance

During Wall Repairs - Compact burners utilizing specialized nozzle designs allow Hotwork to provide heat to regenerator and division wall brickwork during repairs to multiple throughwalls on a variety of regenerator designs.

During Checker Brick Replacement - Heat is maintained in oven chambers above regenerators while checkers are being replaced.

During Flue Rehabilitation - Temperatures are maintained at desired levels while flue bases are accessed to remove debris or repair gas and air ports.

Non-Recovery Oven Hot Holds - In the event that ovens of this type are required to be taken out of service for repairs including ceramic welding or idled for production reasons, Hotwork burners are employed to maintain or re-achieve operating temperatures.

Stack & Chimney Services

Stack Lining Dryouts - In the event of stack lining repairs utilizing a poured or gunned material, Hotwork burners are used to provide refractory dryout services. The high velocity system allows uniform heating and adherence to desired schedules.

Stack Draft Generation - Whenever it is required to establish or reestablish draft in a stack or chimney related to the coke making process, Hotwork burners provide a means to heat the stack to create a draft on the system.