Blast furnace number 6 at Tata Steel IJmuiden, in the Netherlands, is once again producing pig iron, after being fired up last week following long-lasting renovation works, Kallanish notes.
With the relaunch of BF6, IJmuiden returns to operation at full capacity. Last week, TV Narendran, chief executive of Tata Steel, anticipated the relaunch of production at the furnace and stressed that this will also help the supply of feedstock to the UK, where the group has decided to close all blast furnaces at Port Talbot.
“BF6 is one of the most efficient operating blast furnaces in the world. This means CO2 emissions per tonne of steel are lower than almost all other blast furnaces in the world,” Tata Steel notes. During the relining, extractor hoods were installed to further reduce emissions.
The relining of BF6 was the last to be carried out by Tata Steel in Europe. The furnace will be permanently decommissioned from 2035 as part of Tata’s plan to produce steel without the use of coal or coke.
Emanuele Norsa Italy
