Russian steel producer Severstal has announced that it has stopped three sintering machines at its Cherepovets Metallurgical Plant (CherMK) in order to create an eco-steel production chain within the scope of its “Clean Air Project”. The company aims to reduce the carbon intensity of steel production in 2030 by 10 percent from 2020 levels.
As a result of the shutdown of the three units, the volume of sinter production at sintering shop No. 2 will be halved, which will be compensated for by using a high proportion of iron ore pellets in blast furnace smelting, to be provided from Karelsky Okatysh JSC, part of Severstal.
“We are starting a phased decommissioning of CherMK’s sintering machines and are stopping three units at sintering shop No. 2, the technical equipment of which does not meet the company’s modern environmental standards,” said Evgeny Vinogradov, general director of Severstal Russian Steel Division and Resource Assets.
According to Vinogradov, construction of a modern complex for pellet production has already begun at the site and, as a result of the changes, pollutant emissions are expected to decrease by 96,000 mt per year (more than 30 percent compared to 2017), and carbon emissions by two million mt per year. By the time the new complex is commissioned in 2026, it is planned to stop seven sintering machines at the CherMK site out of the eight existing ones.