Russian steelmaker NLMK Group has announced that it has started hot testing the second pulverized coal injection (PCI) unit in its blast furnace operations at the main production site in Lipetsk (Novolipetsk).
The company has started installing this resource-saving technology, which has only recently been introduced in Russia, at its blast furnace No. 4 with a capacity of approximately 2.1 million mt of pig iron per year. In 2013, a similar unit was successfully installed at blast furnace No. 5 with a capacity of 3 million mt of pig iron per year. As a result, over a third of Novolipetsk's pig iron production capacities will be equipped with resource-saving PCI systems.
PCI technology involves co-injecting natural gas and fine coal particles into blast furnaces. Using pulverized coal fuel made from steam coals reduces gas consumption by 70-80 percent and coke consumption by 20-30 percent. Replacing expensive raw materials with cheaper alternatives (coking coals with steam coals) will reduce the cost of producing pig iron, a key feedstock for steel manufacturing. Moreover, the use of new technologies in coke and chemical operations has already allowed NLMK to obtain high-quality coke from domestically sourced inputs.
Approximately RUB 3.7 billion ($103.3 million) has been invested in the project to equip blast furnaces Nos. 4 and 5 with PCI systems.