The investment in the steel shop in Krakow Unit of ArcelorMittal Poland, which will significantly improve the quality of work for steelworkers and reduce plant’s environmental footprint, is near completion.
The new installation is a dedusting system for hot metal transfer station, where molten iron, transported from the blast furnace plant, is emptied from a torpedo ladle car to other shop ladles. Next, molten iron is transferred to a basic oxygen converter where steel is produced.
The two new industrial installations are located over the reladling stations where a molten iron is poured. They resemble a hood in appearance and function. It will allow to eliminate fugitive emissions released when hot metal is transferred to a ladle. The weight of each hood is 3200 kg, 7 meters long and over 4 meters wide.
So far, dust has been absorbed by two bag filters, installed below the hot metal transfer station. The first filter was modernized in 2012, the second one in 2016. Both are fully compliant with the restrictive environmental requirements for industrial sites in the European Union (the so-called BAT conclusions, Best Available Technologies).
- Despite that, we have been noticing a fugitive emission, which occurs above the ladles when a molten iron is reladled. Bag filters have not been absorbing it fully. We made a decision to modernize the installation to capture all potential emissions – says Grzegorz Maracha, Blast Furnaces and Steel Plant Director in Krakow.
Thanks to new additional hoods, which are designed to absorb and exhaust dust to the filter, working conditions of operators of the hot metal transfer station will significantly improve. The investment will eliminate any potential dusting that might spread out beyond the Krakow’s plant, despite the fact that dust emissions occurred only in the plant’s shop floor. – It is worth remembering that since 2004 dust emissions from Krakow’s plant have been reduced by 90 percent – comments Jolanta Zawitkowska, Green Officer at ArcelorMittal Poland.
The construction works on the dedusting system for hot metal transfer station are expected to be completed this year. The total cost of the investment is PLN 1,5 m.
