ENVIRONMENT AND SUSTAINABILITY HEADLINESEnvironment and Sustainability
NLMK Commences Hot Tests at New Cogeneration Plant
Sep. 8, 2011 NLMK’s new 150-MW Recovery Cogeneration Plant has started receiving and processing BF gas from Blast Furnace No. 7 currently being hot tested. With the new plant, Novolipetsk’s (NLMK’s Lipetsk site) generation capacity will increase by 45% to 482 MW, bringing the level of energy self-sufficiency up from 47% to 56% even given the expansion of NLMK’s BF and steelmaking capacities.
The Recovery Cogeneration Plant comprises three 50-MW turbine generators, three steam-generation boilers, a water preparation unit, water cooling towers, etc. Recycling up to 360,000 cubic meters of BF gas per hour, the new plant will additionally generate 115 Gcal of heat energy as hot water and 120 t/h of steam.
Associated gas is supplied to waste heat boilers for the generation of high pressure steam and, eventually, electric power. The company has thus embarked on its environmental program aimed at the efficient use of secondary energy resources and the complete recycling of BF gas.
The project is worth RUR6.8 billion. The European Bank of Reconstruction and Development has extended a EUR125 million credit to finance this project, and awarded it with a prize for its model integrated energy-saving strategy, the promotion of best management practices and skills using innovative environmental technologies and energy consumption solutions. As a result, gross emissions will be reduced more than 15-fold, according to NLMK.
NLMK is a leading international steel company that produces and delivers a range of flat and long steel products. With more than 12.6 million tonnes of steelmaking capacity, it is one of the world's foremost suppliers of slabs and transformer steel. The company is also a leading supplier of high-value-added products including pre-painted, galvanized electrical steel, and a range of plates as well as a variety of long steel products.