MMK Reduces Specific Emissions in Q1
06/02/2011 - An in-house environmental management system (EMS) study by Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works (MMK) shows that the Group reduced emissions per unit of finished product by 6.34% year-over-year in the first quarter of 2011.
An in-house environmental management system (EMS) study by Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works (MMK) shows that the Group reduced emissions per unit of finished product by 6.34% year-over-year (y-o-y) in the first quarter of 2011.
MMK reported that in Q1 2011 the company’s operations met applicable requirements under Russian environmental legislation as well as ISO 14001:2004 standards. The company conducted the study to determine ways to improve the efficiency of its environmental management.
MMK noted that output of a range of products increased considerably in Q1 2011 compared to Q1 2010. Sintered ore increased 9.2%, lime was 8.8% higher, coke was up 9.7%, pig iron increased 10.5%, crude steel production was 13.2% higher, and output of finished rolled products was up 11.5%. As a result, gross emissions grew by 4.5% y-o-y and reached 55,100 tonnes; however, emissions per unit of finished products (specific emissions) decreased 6.34% y-o-y, reaching as low as 20.09 kg/tonne.
Solid waste recycling also grew y-o-y as two AMCOM-2.3 slag recycling units were put into operation last year. In Q1 2011, the volume of recycled slag (including slag dumped from past years’ operations) increased by 68.7%, reaching 2.86 million tonnes. Energy consumption stood at 6.32 Gcal per tonne of crude steel, which is lower than the target indicator for the quarter (6.65 Gcal per tonne of crude steel).
The company spent 786.5 million rubles ($28.1 million) in the first quarter on environmental safety compared to 336.6 million rubles ($11.2 million) in Q1 2010. The funds were primarily used for construction of water recycling systems at rolling shops #11 and # 4. In the reported period, the company continued construction of a neutralization unit at rolling shop #11 and aspiration unit at blast furnace #10.
MMK is among the world's largest steel producers and is one of the leaders of Russia's steel industry. The company's operations in Russia include a large steel-producing complex encompassing the entire production chain, from preparation of iron ore to downstream processing of rolled steel. MMK turns out a range of steel products with a predominant share of higher-value-added products. In 2010, the Group produced 11.4 million tonnes of crude steel and 10.4 million tonnes of commercial steel products.
