Severstal ramps up output with new blast furnace

Russian steelmaker and miner Severstal has put into hot test mode the “Cherepovchanka” blast furnace No.3 at its Cherepovets steelworks, the company says.

It has the capacity to produce more than 3 million tonnes/year of pig iron, Kallanish notes. Total investment is over RUB 24 billion ($326 million).

The unit is the second-largest at the Cherepovets steel mill after “Severyanka” in terms of pig iron production volumes. The latter is the largest blast furnace in Europe, the enterprise claims.

BF3’s stoves are built using “Kalugin” technology, enabling temperatures of up to 1,300C, and refractory works have already started.

Furnace construction started in September 2018. The unit’s strong metal casing, combined with refractory materials and new generation cooling systems, have increased the facility’s working life before the need for capital repairs from 10-20 to 25 years, the company says.

The design features shaftless air heaters, which allow for lower coke consumption, increasing the blast temperature. A modern coneless charging device, equipped with monitoring and control systems, will increase productivity while reducing fuel consumption and lowering emissions, Severstal observes.

“Building a new blast furnace at the Cherepovets steel mill has been our greatest investment project of the decade,” says Severstal chief executive Alexander Shevelev. “Blast furnace No. 3 will increase our cast iron and steel output and guarantee stable operations of the Cherepovets Steelworks during the first stage of further modernisation works.”

Severstal’s third-quarter crude steel output increased by 3% on-quarter to 2.9mt (see Kallanish passim). Revenue increased 17.9% to $2.26 billion, driven by the steel price recovery and steel sales volume growth. Ebitda totalled $656m, up by 30.9%.