The area of the power plant at the Zdzieszowice unit of ArcelorMittal Poland is currently a huge construction site. A new chimney stack has already been built and the flue gas channel for boiler no. 3 has been connected to it. The assembly of flue gas channels for the remaining two boilers is nearing completion. The next steps include the construction of denitrification installation and the renovation of boiler no. 3 – preparatory works are underway. Moreover, another undertaking is starting at the coke plant, aimed at reconstruction of a gas holder. The total value of these investments amounts to PLN 165 m.
In the past few months, a new 90 m high chimney stack has appeared at the power plant operating at the coke plant in Zdzieszowice. The new chimney is situated next to the old one, which is 180 m high. The power plant is fuelled with processed coke oven gas – a by-product of the coking process. Until 1990s the power plant was coal-fired. - It stems from the dispersion analyses that since we are now using cleaner fuel, we no longer need such a tall chimney stack. We are planning to tear it down it in the second half of 2023 – Czesław Sikorski, deputy chairman of ArcelorMittal Poland and COO coke making explains.
Flue gas channels are now being connected to the new chimney stack. The completion of this assembly is planned for May.
But the good news for the residents of Zdzieszowice is, above all, the construction of new flue gas denitrification installations. There will be three of them – one dedicated to each boiler – and they will be built over the next three years. Thanks to those installations, using the modern technology of catalytic reduction of nitrogen oxides, the emissions of this factor will be reduced threefold compared to today’s levels. This is yet another environmental investment after the modernisation of the by-products department completed a few years ago.
- While working on new technologies, such as EAF and DRI, which will allow us to decarbonise our processes, we are also improving the environmental footprint of the installations which we are currently operating. Coke will continue to be used in the next years for production of steel, as we transition to low carbon-emissions steelmaking. Over the past 10 years we have cut down CO2 emissions at our coke plant in Zdzieszowice by 50%. The objective of the investment at the power plant is the reduction of nitrogen oxides, which, in 3 years’ time, will be three times lower than now. This is in line with our strategy of improving our environmental footprint and counteracting climate change - informs Frederik Van De Velde, ArcelorMittal Poland’s CEO.
- The undertakings, which we are now carrying out at the power plant, will allow its installations to run in the years to come. This is an important piece of news for the residents of Zdzieszowice as our power plant is the only source of heat supplied to the flats of nearly 7,000 persons, so the majority of the town’s residents – Piotr Drzystek, coke plant director sums up.
Apart from the scope of works underway at the power plant, ArcelorMittal Poland is also starting the construction of a gas holder, whose main task is the stabilisation of the fuel gas in the coke plant’s technological network. The completion of this investment will significantly increase the process safety, contributing to the stabilisation of the coke oven battery fuelling process. The holder, with a capacity of 30,000 m3, will replace its twin, which is currently in operation, and which requires a renovation. Ultimately, the gas network will be stabilised by two gas holders, which is the optimal solution.
The value of all projects, which are currently being carried out at the coke plant in Zdzieszowice amounts to PLN 165 m. ArcelorMittal Poland is planning to complete them in three years’ time.
