NLMK ramps up PCI in BF Shop No.2

NLMK Group’s flagship production site, has completed guarantee testing of pulverized coal injection (PCI) technology at Blast Furnace No. 6 (with a capacity of 3.1 million tonnes per year), and at Blast Furnace No. 7 (with a capacity of 4.3 million tonnes per year). Tests confirmed that the equipment has reached design capacity.

This technology involves co-injecting natural gas and fine coal particles into the blast furnace, resulting in reduced coke consumption. Replacing expensive raw materials with cheaper alternatives, such as switching from coking coal to steam coal, reduces the cost of pig iron production by approximately 5%. PCI enables an up to 30% decrease in the consumption of expensive coke; and a 50%-80% reduction in the consumption of natural gas.

The PCI project was executed at Blast Furnace Shop No.2 in two stages. Starting from May 2017, the technology was tested at Blast Furnace No.6, and then at Blast Furnace No.7 starting from June. Guarantee tests confirmed that both blast furnaces have reached a PCI level of 160 kg/t of pig iron.

Previously, this resource-saving technology was introduced at Blast Furnace No. 5 (2.7 million tonnes per year) and Blast Furnace No. 4 (1.8 million tonnes per year).

The PCI project was designed by NLMK Engineering, one of the leading design institutes in the Russian steel sector, with a focus on integrated design of energy, machine-building, transport and other facilities.
Investment into PCI systems for both furnaces totalled about RUB 6.9 billion.

About NLMK Lipetsk (NLMK Group’s flagship production site in Lipetsk)

NLMK Lipetsk is Russia’s leading manufacturer of steel, the flagship production site of NLMK Group. NLMK Lipetsk is the nucleus of NLMK Group’s single international production chain, with facilities in Russia, the EU and the USA.

The steel production volume of the Lipetsk site is approximately 18% of all steel produced in Russia, and approximately 80% of all steel products produced by NLMK Group.

NLMK Lipetsk high-quality steel products are used in various strategically important industries, from construction and engineering to the manufacture of power-generating equipment and large-diameter pipes.

NLMK Lipetsk produced 12.99 million tonnes in 2016. This represents an all-time high over NLMK’s entire history since 1934. With capacities running at 100%, production grew by 1% compared to 2015.

NLMK Group was recognized as Steel Industry Leader at the prestigious 2016 Platts Global Metals Awards held by S&P Global Platts, a leading international industry analytical periodical.