Published by
April 2013
Environment is a key feature in the April edition of Steel Times International with nearly half the issue devoted to this topic.
Three articles relate to scrap recycling in China which, despite contributing 84Mt to steelmaking in 2012, is still an underutilised resource since EAF steel production accounts for only 10% of steel output – and much of this charges molten or cold pig iron − while BOF oxygen steelmaking charges on average only 7% of scrap, well below most western steelmakers.
Other features on the environment are a report on the final trials of the ULCOS experimental top gas recycling blast furnace, an article on LanzaTech’s fermentation process to convert CO into ethanol and other chemical pre-cursors, methods of reducing energy consumption in electric motors at SAIL’s plants in India and the latest CSP Flex thin slab – rolling lines which provide a 40% energy saving compared with conventional casting and rolling.
The second feature is electric arc steelmaking with a paper from Air Liquide which address operations under non-conventional conditions of liquid metal and/or DRI charging.
Conference reports detail CRU’s recent World Steel gathering in Hong Kong and the Met coke world summit recently held in Pittsburgh.
There are four ‘Updates’ in this issue as the regular USA, Latin American and Chinese columns are supplemented by ‘Japan Update’ which appears four times a year.
As usual, News Statistics and Events occupy the first four pages of the issue.
The regular History feature reviews a remarkable DVD recently released by the British Film Institute which contains 20 archive films covering UK steelmaking dating from 1901 to 1987.
Recent News
Overcapacity hinders prices in global longs market
IREPAS, the long products trade association, says another month has passed (April) in which demand in the global long products steel market has failed to show the awaited recovery.
Kobe-USS Pro-Tec jv starts CAL
Kobe Steel Ltd and United States Steel Corporation (USS) started a new continuous annealing line (CAL) at their joint venture, Pro-Tec coating company to process high-strength steel sheet for automobiles.
Outokumpu reviews its high performance alloys business
Stainless steel producer Outokumpu, headquartered in Finland has started a strategic review of its high performance alloys VDM business unit.
US Steel exports rise in March but below 2012
Steel exports from USA increased in March 2013 over February 2013 by 6.1% based on government reporting.
Recent Features
ICSTI-12 A report on the international ironmaking conference
The 6th International Congress on the Science and Technology of Ironmaking (ICSTI12) and the 42nd ABM Ironmaking Seminar, along with the13th ABM Iron Ore Symposium, held in Rio de Janiero, Brazil on October 14-18, 2012, are reviewed in this article with the emphasis on alternative methods of ironmaking.
A report by Joseph J Poveromo*
*RMI Global Consulting e-mail joe.poveromo@rawmaterialsiron.com
Opportunities in Carbon Capture & Storage
The materials issues associated with carbon capture, transport and storage were addresses at a recent seminar held in UK which concluded that CO2 is far from a benign material, particularly if impurities are present, but important issues of corrosion and accelerated crack propagation in pipelines need to be addressed.
Handling - Four short items
Speed control maximises crane productivity
Combilift export award
Ultra-compact 2D imaging engine with dual optical field
Two new handheld barcode readers
Metal-Expo2012: Sustainable growth in Russian steel
The annual Metal-Expo held each November in Moscow attracted a record 728 exhibitors from 35 countries and 35000 visitors from 63 countries as well as VIPs from commerce and industry. Over 50 seminars and conference took place over the three-day event and the 1000 strong Gala Dinner was used to present awards for a wide field of achievements.