COKE, IRON AND ALTERNATE IRON PRODUCTION HEADLINESProcess /
Coke, Iron and Alternate Iron Production
Nippon Steel, Kobe Steel to Jointly Recycle Steel Mill Dust into DRI
May 27, 2010 Nippon Steel Corp. and Kobe Steel, Ltd. plan to begin construction of a plant to recycle steel mill dust into direct reduced iron (DRI). The two companies will carry out the project through a joint venture (Nippon Steel 70%, Kobe Steel 30%) and have begun preparations to start the new business.
Nippon Steel and Kobe Steel will use steel mill dust and iron ore fines from their steel mills as raw materials to recycle iron into DRI and recover zinc. The joint venture company, Nittetsu Shinko Metal Refine Co., Ltd., has been established within Nippon Steel's Hirohata Works. This is an extremely effective approach, the companies say, in a business environment of unstable raw material prices and availability.
Through the joint business, both Nippon Steel and Kobe Steel will be able to promote steel dust recycling and zero emissions in the local region beyond the framework of each individual company. In addition to the new business, Nippon Steel will be able to use its existing dust recycling plants at its Hirohata Works to recycle steel mill dust generated from the steelmakers, including alliance partners, located in the Kansai region.
Nittetsu Shinko Metal Refine will construct a direct reduction plant utilizing Kobe Steel's FASTMET® Process within Nippon Steel's Hirohata Works. The DRI will be supplied to Nippon Steel and Kobe Steel, with a portion also going to Sanyo Special Steel Co., Ltd., a group company of Nippon Steel.
In the FASTMET Plant, steel mill dust is heated to a high temperature in a doughnut-shaped Rotary Hearth Furnace (RHF) and quickly undergoes reduction to make DRI, which is then formed into hot briquetted iron (HBI). At the same time, the zinc in the steel mill dust is recovered. As the steel mill dust and zinc are effectively recycled, the DRI can be used as an alternative or supplement to scrap and iron ore as the main raw material, and the recycled zinc can reduce the use of zinc ore.
Treatment capacity will be approximately 220,000 tonnes per year. Planned start-up is October 2011.