The Russian steelmaker Novolipetsk Steel (NLMK) has announced that it has resumed production at its converter No. 2, following the 107-day upgrade of an emission system in the basic oxygen furnace (BOF) shop No. 1, during which 1,500 mt of steel structures were installed.
Prior to the abovementioned upgrade, NLMK had upgraded its converter No. 1, while in March 2010 it plans to start the upgrade of its converter No. 3. NLMK's total investments in the revamp of its BOF shop No. 1 will amount to Ruble 6.7 billion (about $221.5 million).
The upgrades in question consist of the addition of a bag filters system enabling the collection of secondary metallurgical gas emissions and dust, which will guarantee the reduction of BOF emissions by 59 percent at NLMK's main production site in Lipetsk.
This steelmaking operational upgrade is part of the second stage of NLMK's technical upgrade program carried out in conjunction with engineering company Siemens VAI. The second stage foresees an increase in crude steel output at the Lipetsk plant from nine million mt to 12.4 million mt per year during the period from 2007 to 2011.