Leading Russian steel producer NLMK Group has announced that in 2014 it made savings of RUB 425 million through the use of pulverized coal injection (PCI) technology at two blast furnaces at its Novolipetsk production site in Lipetsk.
PCI technology involves the co-injection of natural gas and fine thermal coal particles into the blast furnace, resulting in lower natural gas and coke consumption. Replacing the expensive feedstock, i.e., natural gas and coke with the cheaper alternative, i.e., steam coal, reduces the cost of pig iron production, and subsequently that of steel manufacturing, while maintaining high quality and efficiency.
NLMK demonstrated its commitment to bringing innovative technological solutions to Russia when it began implementing the resource-saving PCI technology at the Lipetsk site in 2013. To date, the plant has successfully completed guarantee tests and moved on to commercial operation of PCI systems at two blast furnaces: BF No. 5 with a capacity of 3 million mt per year and BF No. 4 with a capacity of 2 million mt per year.
Even during the PCI testing period, coke consumption at these blast furnaces decreased by 10 percent and natural gas consumption decreased by 40 percent.