South Korean steel giant POSCO's colossal No. 4 furnace at Pohang Steelworks, the largest furnace in South Korea, has been re-opened with a higher capacity, following the completion of three-month improvements that raised the inner capacity from 3,795 m3 to 5,600 m3. The new unit has an annual production of 5.31 million mt, making it the fourth largest in the world in terms of inner volume but the largest in production capacity.
According to a POSCO statement, a furnace firing ceremony was held on October 8 and the furnace reached target levels of operation on October 14
By applying POSCO's advanced expert knowledge in iron making, the No. 4 Furnace is expected to produce 5.31 million mt of molten iron per year in the future, POSCO said, adding that, given that about one metric ton of steel is needed to build a car, this is enough to cover all the steel used to make cars produced in Korea per year.