NLMK Group, a vertically integrated international steel producer with operations in Russia, the EU and the USA, has successfully completed guarantee tests of the blast furnace No. 6 top pressure recovery turbine (TRT). The launch of the new unit brings the project for the introduction of green energy facilities at the Lipetsk site to a close. As a result, more than 50% of Novolipetsk’s blast furnace capacity now utilizes energy-efficient technologies that are in line with global best practice.
TRT is used to generate electrical power through the efficient use of blast furnace gas overpressure. Blast furnace gas generated during iron smelting by blast furnaces at Novolipetsk is routed to a thermal power plant and recovery and cogeneration plant to produce electrical power.
The TRT, built behind blast furnace No. 6, is the second turbine in the new TRT station complex. The first TRT, which utilizes the blast furnace gas from blast furnace No. 7, was put into operation in 2015. The total design capacity of the two turbines is equal to 40 mW. The two TRT units make the company more self-sufficient in electrical power to the tune of 200 million kWh per year, which is equal to around 6.5% of the volume purchased from external suppliers.
Sergey Chebotarev, NLMK’s VP for Energy said: “We have completed an extremely important project aimed at developing our green energy facilities. The TRT does not burn fuel to produce electric power, instead it makes use of the pressure of blast furnace gas, which is waste energy. This means that in addition to a 6.5% reduction of our energy costs, we also reduce the negative impact on the environment”.
Total investment into the TRT station complex exceeded 1.9 billion rubles. The payback period is around four years. (NLMK/Ukrainian metal)