India’s Sail To Lift Hot Metal Output At Steel Plant

State-controlled Steel Authority of India (Sail) plans to raise the hot metal production capacity at its Rourkela steel plant to 4.85mn t/yr from its current 4.50mn t/yr, in line with the country’s national steel policy.

The increase will boost the plant’s crude steel production to 4.8mn t/yr from the current 4.2mn t/yr and saleable steel production to 4.33mn t/yr from the current 3.88mn t/yr.

Under its national steel policy, India aims to more than double its crude steel capacity to 300mn t/yr by 2030. The country’s current capacity stands at 143.91mn t/yr.

The Rourkela plant will get a new coke oven battery with production capacity of 770,000 t/yr, a steel melting shop with proposed capacity of 1.15mn t/yr, an oxygen plant with capacity of 1,000 t/d (to meet the enhanced capacity expansion of the blast furnaces and provide medical oxygen when necessary) and a normalising furnace with 300,000 t/yr capacity in its existing plate mill to cater to niche market segments.

Technological enhancements to boost the capacity of existing blast furnaces will include the charging of pellets, an increase in the hot blast temperature by installing a new stove in blast furnace 5 and enriched oxygen.

The steel plant will also get a natural gas pipeline network that can be used in various units and to minimise the use of fossil fuels such as coal.

Last week, ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India commissioned a second 6mn t/yr pellet plant in Paradeep, Odisha, to contribute to the country’s steel production goals.

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