Russian steelmaker NLMK has announced that it has upgraded air-blowing equipment used in blast furnace operations in Lipetsk. This upgrade will enable NLMK to reduce its environmental footprint and save approximately RUB 210 million ($5.3 million) through lower energy consumption.
Three modern turbo compressors have been launched at NLMK's heat and power plant as part of the project. They will supply air under high pressure first to the hot-air units and then to blast furnaces Nos. 3, 4 and 5. Hot testing of the third and final turbo compressor began in September.
Investment in the project for installing the three modern turbo compressors totaled RUB 1.86 billion ($47.1 million).
Over the last three years, NLMK Group has implemented a number of large investment projects aimed at increasing the energy efficiency of its operations and increasing the share of electric energy generated using by-products. An example is the new 150 MW recovery co-generation plant built at the Lipetsk site. It was built together with a modern electric air-blowing station installed to meet the needs of blast furnaces Nos. 6 and 7. NLMK also built a modern air separation unit that produces 34,000 cubic meters of oxygen per hour.
VIZ-Steel (Yekaterinburg) has launched an air separation unit to produce nitrogen with a capacity of 8,000 cubic meters per hour.
The combined savings that these and other projects have provided for NLMK Group on the purchase of energy resources exceeded RUB 850 million ($21.5 million) in 2013 alone.
