Now blast furnace No. 9, which is as high as a 35-storey building, produces 9,200 tons of pig iron per day. After the restructuring, the raw material for the furnace will be not only agglomerate, but also pellets - the product of the new pelletizing plant. At the same time, the volume of pig iron production will increase to 12,500 tons per day. Both projects - reconstruction of GP-9 and construction of a pelletizing plant - are key in the enterprise's investment program for production renovation and eco-modernization.
Background: Back in 2019, ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih signed an agreement on the reconstruction of blast furnace No. 9 with the international company CISDI UK, which is one of the world leaders in the implementation of large-scale engineering projects for the metallurgical industry. The contract includes the development of engineering and the supply of main equipment.
Mauro Longobardi, General Director of ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih
- Our GP-9 is one of the ten most famous blast furnaces in the world. She is an elder in her age category, because in other countries blast furnaces are 30-40 years younger. We want to extend the active life of our oven. It is very important for the enterprise and produces more than half of all pig iron at the plant. Blast furnaces continue to be built around the world - this is how this technology remains relevant for our industry. We will carry out a major overhaul of our "nine" - this is the largest reconstruction in terms of scope of work and investment value. When designing, we took into account the best practices of blast-furnace technologies that meet European norms and standards. Business is moving to an ambitious scale and pace of modernization, this is our contribution to Ukraine's movement towards European integration.
Details: Comprehensive modernization of GP-9 will allow it to work effectively for the next 20 years. Pulverized coal fuel will be used instead of expensive natural gas. The total consumption of fuel - gas, coal and coke - will decrease, and, accordingly, the cost of pig iron will be lower.
Currently, large volumes of water are used to cool the blast furnace, but after the repair, the unit will operate with a new type of water cooling. For this, the furnace casing will be strengthened and cast iron and copper cooling plates with silicon carbide refractories will be installed. Now the blast furnace slag is cooled by a powerful stream of water, but according to the new technology, the slag gets into the granulator with an integrated condenser tower, which will reduce water consumption.
The new gas treatment will increase the efficiency of blast furnace gas treatment up to 5 mg /Nm3. This gas will be used as fuel at the enterprise.
The new foundry yard will be horizontal and closed. It will be equipped with two aspiration systems with bag filter technology to remove dust and other components that may pollute the atmosphere.
As of today, the basic design of the reconstruction has already been completed, agreements have been concluded and detailed engineering has begun. The site of blast furnace No. 9 is already being prepared for construction. Now we are organizing sites for the installation of equipment and storage facilities. ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih will complete the reconstruction of blast furnace No. 9 by the end of 2023.
Help In total, ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih operates four blast furnaces. Furnace No. 9 is the largest of them, built in 1974. Its useful volume so far exceeds 5000 cubic meters. In 2019, blast furnace No. 9 took part in the capital interactive exhibition Ukraine WOW - the largest exhibition project in the country.
