Seeing results with blast furnace modernisations

SSAB has five blast furnaces in the Nordic region, which have a total capacity of approximately 6.4 million t – one in Luleå and two in Oxelösund and Raahe.

The blast furnace in Luleå, Sweden, has undergone moderisation that has led to it producing premium quality steel crude iron. The three month modernisation has now set the furnace to continue production for a further 15 – 20 yr. The company also fitted a new casthouse dedusting filter, reducing its dust emissions, noise and environmental impact.

In 2011, the blast furnaces in Raahe, Finland, were modernised and it has now invested in a pulverised coal injection system, replacing an earlier heavy fuel oil injection system in the blast furnaces. This is reported to lead to more cost-effective steel production and lower raw material costs. The replacement of the converters at the steel mill in Raahe will be carried out next year.

This investment is reported to decrease annual costs by around SEK 200 million from 2016 and further into the future.

Over 600 personnel from a range of European companies worked with SSAB’s employees to complete the maintenance work and investments in Luleå.

“It makes me very proud to say that we now have world-class crude iron production facilities,” commented Olavi Huhtala, Head of SSAB Europe. “Earlier, too, our blast furnaces ranked among the world’s most carbon-dioxide efficient. This summer’s installations in both Luleå and Raahe will further improve both our cost efficiency and environmental footprint. The investments will enable our facilities to continue producing high-class steel for many years to come. This means that we can now continue to develop world-leading steel applications in close collaboration with customers.”

Edited from press release by Harleigh Hobbs

Read the article online at: https://www.worldcoal.com/coal/05112015/seeing-results-with-blast-furnace-modernisations-3115/