Today at the headquarters of Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works (MMK), the Magnitogorsk section of the conference ‘Best Available Technology in Blast Furnace Production’ will take place.

The conference was organised by the ‘Russian Steel’ association, the International Union of Metallurgists and the magazine ‘Eurasian Metals’, with support from the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade.

The first part of the two-day event took place yesterday in Moscow. Conference participants were industry experts and representatives of leading Russian metallurgical companies. They examined issues related to the application of the best available technologies (BAT) and environmental requirements and presented the latest world-class technologies and technical solutions in sintering, as well as the best practices in leading domestic and foreign enterprises.

The conference will continue today in Magnitogorsk. As part of the itinerary, there will be a visit to the MMK production site. The guests - around 60 Russian and non-Russian metallurgical plant specialists - will get to know the inner workings of the new sinter plant no. 5, as well as MMK’s blast furnace shop.

Russia’s most modern sinter plant is a vivid example of the successful application of the principles of BAT in metallurgical production. The sinter plant No. 5 was commissioned in July 2019, with a launch ceremony attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin. The maximum capacity of the sinter plant is 5.5 million tonnes of high-quality sinter per year. “This project will significantly reduce the negative impact on the environment,” said Victor Rashnikov, Chairman of the Board of Directors of MMK. “The commissioning of a new sinter plant guarantees a radical increase in environmental safety. This is part of MMK’s wider investment strategy, whereby the plant radically updates production methods.”

The sinter plant is equipped with 19 highly efficient environmental facilities. Each sinter machine is equipped with a sulphur trapping unit and a sinter gas recirculation system, which ensures the purification of all exhaust gases. Sulphur capture plants provide purification of up to 2.5 million m3/h of sinter gas, with an effectiveness of 99% for dust and 98% for sulphur dioxide. In the environmental protection facilities of the factory, there are also eleven suction systems with a cleaning efficiency of more than 99%. They capture industrial dust, which is then returned to sinter production. The plant fully recycles all resulting sludge from sulphur-catching plants - with the side effect of producing marketable gypsum. The recycling water supply system allows the collection, removal and reuse of wastewater from the industrial site.

The commissioning of the new sinter plant made it possible to decommission the obsolete and environmentally inferior equipment of sinter plant No. 4. As a result, dust emissions will be halved (by 2,100 tonnes per year), sulphur dioxide reduced to a quarter of the previous output (by 3,500 tonnes per year), and benzopyrene will be one sixteenth of previous output. In addition, the discharge of pollutants into the circulating water supply system will be reduced by 600 tonnes per year; technological waste from the sinter plant into waste storage facility No. 2 will decrease by 13,750 tonnes per year.

After the excursion, participants of the conference will hear reports and comments from MMK Group specialists. They will discuss construction and technical solutions at the new sinter plant, capacity development and environmental achievements from the introduction of modern technology and new equipment. MMK representatives will also introduce participants to the design and performance of blast furnace production using sinter from a new sinter plant and will talk about the technical re-equipment of blast furnaces and the experience of MMK's cooperation with Chinese companies.

The conference ‘Best Available Technologies in Blast Furnace Production’ was organised to show the latest technologies and practical achievements in the sintering process, as well as to support the exchange of best industry practices. One of the objectives of the conference is to promote the achievement of key indicators in Russian pig iron production, as outlined in the IT- BAT handbook, ‘Cast Iron, Steel and Rolled Metal Production’.

About MMK

MMK is one of the world's largest steel producers and a leading Russian metals company. The company's operations in Russia include a large steel-producing unit encompassing the entire production chain, from the preparation of iron ore to downstream processing of rolled steel. MMK turns out a broad range of steel products with a predominant share of high-value-added products. In 2018, the company produced 12.7 mln tonnes of crude steel and 11.7 mln tonnes of commercial steel products. MMK Group had sales in 2018 of USD 8,214 mln and EBITDA of USD 2,418 mln.

Media contacts:
Dmitry Kuchumov
tel.: +7 (499) 238-26-13
E-mail: kuchumov.do@mmk.ru
Dmitry Bulin
tel.: +7 (499) 238-26-13
E-mail: bulin.dn@mmk.ru