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Steel industry launches green revolution

By Yu Tianyu (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-07-21 14:02

Disposing of industrial wastes has always been a burden for steel and iron works and the waste produced by WISCO has grown into a barren hill.

The company pioneered a tree-planting program on "residue hill". They chose drought-resistant plants, and grew trees, shrubs, bushes and grass. Along with delicate pavilions and lotus ponds, the old "residue hill" has been transformed into a lovely park.

WISCO's mines have also turned "green" after the company completed planting on over 586.7 hectares of slag heaps. For example, the Daye iron mine in eastern Hubei province has become a "national mine park" with a green area of over 266.7 hectares.

The company has also been metaphorically panning for gold with its large amount of industrial wastes. Last year, about 3.2 million tons of iron refuse became materials for cement after processing, and 1.4 million tons of steel residue was used to produce concrete. About 430,000 tons of plaster and 300,000 tons of coal ash were also used in brick manufacture.

In total, more than six million tons of various wastes were transformed into renewable resources and reused, creating an output value of 1.4 billion yuan.

"Company managers have paid great attention to international cooperation, especially when it comes to environmental protection," says Deng.

WISCO has started cooperating with General Electric (GE) to establish the largest blast furnace gas power plant in China.

The power plant with two 160 mW units will be fueled by blast furnace gas, the main emission of iron and steel works.

It has the capacity to generate 2.4 billion kWh of electricity a year and reduce emissions by 2 million tons of carbon dioxide annually. The system is also able to produce 160 tons of steam per hour as a critical part of steel production process.

Delivery of the gas turbines is scheduled for late 2008 and the plant expects to begin operation in late 2009.

"We expect more partnerships with multinationals, research centers and universities to import environmental friendly technologies and carry out new projects, in order to meet the demand of high efficiency and low emissions for WISCO," says Deng.

Every year, 10 percent of fixed asset investments is used in energy saving and environmental protection facilities.

To date, the coal ash discharge by producing one ton steel was 0.94 kg in 2007, down 34.7 percent since 2004, while SO2 emissions decreased 26.4 percent to 2.31 kg per ton steel. Also, the fresh water consumption used for every ton of steel was down to less than six tons, compared to 25.2 tons in 2004.

Deng says WISCO will continue to contribute to environmental protection and emissions reduction campaign in China's steel and iron industry.

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