Russian steelmaker NLMK Lipetsk, the flagship site of NLMK Group, has relaunched its basic oxygen furnace No.2. Following an overhaul, the steelmaking facility now has a capacity of over 3Mt/yr.
The replacement of BOF-2 is stage one in a large-scale, multi-million dollar overhaul of NLMK Lipetsk's steelmaking operations. The next stage is scheduled to begin in May 2020, and will cover the overhaul of a similar capacity BOF-3.
The launch of a new dust and gas collection system was tied in with the relaunch of the BOF.
According to NLMK, steelmaking capacity upgrades will enable a 15% increase in the productivity of the shop, to 10Mt/yr. The steelmaker claims that more efficient gas treatment equipment will capture 99.9% of dust emissions, which is in line with best global practices.
The project, says NLMK, will also enable the use of BOF gas for energy generation at a new recovery co-generation plant planned for construction at NLMK Lipetsk.