Russian steelmaker NLMK Group has announced that it has resumed operations at its upgraded basic oxygen furnace No. 2, located at its flagship site NLMK Lipetsk, with a capacity of more than 3 million mt per year, after an overhaul.
With the upgrade, a new dust and gas collection system was also built. The replacement of the basic oxygen furnace No. 2 is the first stage in a large scale overhaul of NLMK Lipetsk’s steelmaking operations, said the company, adding that the next stage is scheduled to begin in May 2020 at its basic oxygen furnace No. 3 located at the same site.
Once the steelmaking capacity upgrades are completed, it will enable NLMK Lipetsk to increase its productivity by 15 percent to an annual capacity of 10 million mt. Furthermore, the gas treatment equipment will capture 99.9 percent of dust emissions.
NLMK Group will invest more than RUB 26 billion ($405.5 million) in the upgrade works of the two basic oxygen furnaces, gas treatment equipment and infrastructure, while the project will enable the use of basic oxygen furnace gas for energy generation at a new recovery cogeneration plant to be built at the NLMK Lipetsk.