NLMK Lipetsk, the flagship site of NLMK Group, has relaunched its basic oxygen furnace No. 2, a steelmaking facility with a capacity of over 3 million tons per year, following an overhaul. The launch of a new dust and gas collection system in line with Best Available Techniques (BATs) was tied in with the relaunch of the BOF.
The replacement of BOF-2 is the first stage in a large-scale overhaul of NLMK Lipetsk steelmaking operations. The next stage is scheduled to begin in May 2020, and will cover the overhaul of a similar capacity BOF-3.
Steelmaking capacity upgrades will enable a 15% increase in the productivity of the shop, to 10 million tons of steel per year. More efficient gas treatment equipment will capture 99.9% of dust emissions, which is in line with best global practices.
The project will also enable the use of BOF gas for energy generation at a new Recovery Cogeneration Plant planned for construction at NLMK Lipetsk.
Total investment in the overhaul of the two BOFs, gas treatment equipment and infrastructure will exceed 26 billion rubles.
Vyacheslav Vorotnikov, Managing Director of NLMK Lipetsk, said: “Reconstruction at BOF Shop No. 2 is one of NLMK’s key strategic projects. Coupled with other projects, it will enable an increase in steel output by 1 million tons. The use of BAT’s will enable us to almost fully eliminate dust emissions from BOF operations.” (NLMK/Ukrainian metal)