PJSC Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works (MMK) and Paul Wurth (a subsidiary of SMS Group GmbH) have signed a contract for a new investment project – Construction of new blast furnace No.11.

The project is expected to take 3.5 years and MMK will invest a total of around $690 million. The internal rate of return (IRR) of the project is around 30%.

The construction of the blast furnace No.11 complex represents a ground-breaking development for blast furnace production at MMK. It will allow three operating furnaces to be decommissioned and will significantly improve economic and environmental production indicators.

The new blast furnace will have a working volume of 3,800 cubic meters and a capacity of 3.7 million tonnes of pig iron per year. The complex will be built using the world’s best technology and will include:

·         A conveyor that transfers raw materials to the top of the loading device;

·         An enclosed cooling system with copper refrigerators that protect the furnace in the zone impacted by the most aggressive physical and chemical processes;

·         “Siphon” tuyere devices that enable temperatures to reach up to 1,300 °C to reduce the consumption of coke;

·         Shaftless air heaters that use a combustion air and gas heating system which will significantly reduce the emission of NOx, CO2 and other harmful substances;

·         A dry gas cleaning system, ensuring the dust content of any output remains under 5 mg/nm3;

·         A gas utilization compressorless turbine that generates an additional 22MW of electricity.

The new furnace will be also equipped with aspiration systems for foundry yards, bunker rooms and slag granulation and will have a closed-loop water recycling system.

By using advanced technologies, implementing rigorous environmental protection measures in the new blast furnace complex, and decommissioning outdated furnaces MMK will be able to reduce harmful emissions by 6,600 tonnes per year and CO2 emissions by 1,123 tonnes per year through this project alone.