Metinvest modernises the blast furnace facilities as part of its Technological Strategy 2030 that includes a range of environmental projects. Major overhaul will make BF No.6 more efficient, lower production costs, and decrease dust emissions by 55%. All Azovstal's blast furnaces will feature a pulverised coal injection (PCI) system upon construction of the PCI plant at BF No. 3.
The dedusting system will also be revamped in the course of the overhaul: existing electrostatic precipitator will be replaced by two bag filters. The first filter will capture emissions from the cast house, and the second one will capture emissions from the skip pit and the charging device.
The company is about to complete the modernisation of BF No.3 for it to fill the opening iron production gap. The overhaul will double the furnace's capacity to 1.3-1.6 million tonnes per year and reduce production costs by bringing down coke consumption. Pulverised coal injection technology will reduce natural gas consumption. The blast furnace will reduce dust emissions by 64% after Metinvest upgrades the dedusting system and switches to the closed-cycle cooling of the furnace. The company has invested over $145 million in the modernisation. The new equipment will make BF No. 3 one of the most environmentally friendly facilities in Ukraine.
Enver Tskitishvili, General Director of Azovstal:
"Social responsibility and care for the environment are key to the long-term sustainability both for the plant and our local community in Mariupol. Therefore, major overhauls of our blast furnaces include their modernisation to meet the most stringent European environmental standards. This is our proactive stand to reduce the environmental footprint of the plant. The reconstruction of the blast furnace facilities will not only reduce emissions significantly, but also improve the technological processes, which will boost our competitiveness."