Analyzing the Impact of Infrastructure of steel Industry in Environment

Introduction

India is currently the world’s 2nd largest producer of crude steel in January- December, 2019, producing 111.245 Million tones (MT) (provisional) crude steel with growth rate 1.8% over the corresponding period last year (CPLY). India is the largest producer of Direct Reduced Iron (DRI) or Sponge Iron in the world in January — December, 2019, producing 36.86 Million Tonnes Sponge Iron with growth rate 7.7% over the corresponding period last year (CPLY). The country is also likely to become the 2nd largest consumer of finished steel in 2019, preceded by China as the largest steel consumer (2019: 900mt) as per the Short-range Outlook, October, 2019 edition of World Steel Association.

The world produce a lot of steel over 240 kilos for every single person in the world every year. About 1800 million tons in total. We pretty much can’t do anything that doesn’t somehow require steel. But the environmental impact of steel is enormous. Steel production is one of the energy consuming and CO2 emitting industrial activity in the world. On average, 1.83 tons of CO2 is emitted for every ton of steel produced making steel production a major contributor to global warming adding over 3.3 million tons annually to global emissions.

Steel production is dirty business, yet no-one can make a product without using steel. If steel is not used in product, it is used in the production or shipment of products. But can be produced in much friendlier ways.. for example a Korean company has developed a steelmaking method that emits 90 percent less toxic emission than traditional method.

Brief History

In 1950, the annual global steel production was 189 tons, in 1975,644 million tons and by the year 2000, production reached 850 million tons. In 2018, global still production had doubled compared to 2000 and reached 1808 million tons. That’s 57 tons of steel a second around the clock, 365 days a year.

The rise in global steel production

· 1950: 189 million tons

· 1975: 644 million tons

· 2000: 850 million tons

· 2018: 1808 million tons

Main steel producing countries (2018)

The main steel producing countries is China producing about half of the world’s steel. China is followed by India, Japan, the US, South Korea and Russia. These six countries produce over three quarters of the world’s steel4.

· China: 928.3 million tons

· India:106.5 million tons

· Japan: 104.3 million tons

· USA: 86.6 million tons

· South Korea: 72.5 million tons

· Russia: 71.7 million tons

Infrastructure of Steel plant

There is a simple understanding of how the iron and steel industry works in India. Globally, steel can be found in a wide variety of products and structures — from individual vehicles to the Burj Khalifa: the world’s largest skyscraper. But what is steel, and why is it so important? Steel is an alloy, meaning that it is made by mixing iron with another element, usually (but not always) carbon. This alloy can be up to 1,000 times stronger than iron, making steel an extremely useful and strong construction material.

Steel finds applications in various fields ranging from infrastructure, automotive, electrical equipment to mechanical equipment. The image below shows the worldwide consumption of sectorial steel. Typically, the same pattern is seen in different countries around steel consumption and when we read India’s per capita steel consumption as 63k kg, we are much less basic in a country of 1.25 billion inhabitants. One can imagine the cost of the structure (road, bridge, highway etc.).

Steelmaking Process & Key Components in Steel Industry

Following are the three essential process of steelmaking:

· Iron making Process

· Steelmaking Process

· Continuous Casting Process

Iron Making Process in Steel Industry

This is the first step in the making of steel, iron ore is extracted from the earth and melted to turn into melted iron. The process begins with sintering operation where iron ore particles are heated till they become aggregates and this is done for proper heat transfusion to occur in the blast furnace.

In a similar fashion, just like iron ore, we carry out coking operation in coke oven for our coking coal till they become lumpy aggregates and this is also done to ensure proper heat transfusion to occur in the blast furnace.

Blast Furnace Operation

Sintered iron ore and coke are layered inside a 100 m long furnace, then hot air at 1200 degree Celsius is blown into the blast furnace from the bottom causing the coal to burn and this heat, in turn, burns the iron ore to create molten iron at a temperature of 1500 degree Celsius. This is also called hot metal (pig iron) in the industry.

Steel Making Process

Today, two distinct processes make up bulk of worldwide steel production: Basic Oxygen Furnace process (BOF) and the Electric Arc Furnace process (EAF).

Basic Oxygen Furnace (BOF)

In basic oxygen furnace, iron is combined with varying amounts of steel scrap (less than 30%), after that very pure oxygen is blown into the vessel causing a rise in temperature to 1700 degree Celsius. The scrap melts, impurities are oxidized and carbon content is reduced by 90%, resulting in liquid steel.

Electric Arc Furnaces (EAF)

Electric Arc Furnace or mini-mill, does not involve iron making. It reuses existing steel (scrap), avoiding the need for raw material and their processing. The furnace is charged with steel scrap, it can also include some Direct Reduced Iron (DRI) and pig iron for chemical balance. The electric arc operates with an electric charge between two electrodes providing heat for the process.

This furnace does not require coke as raw material but depends heavily on the electricity generated by coal-fired power plant elsewhere in the grid.

How do the Two Processes Stack Up?

Although the BOF and EAF processes both produce steel as the end product, the varying means to this end between the two processes give each certain economic advantages and disadvantages. The main area of discussion centres on the supply side and the raw materials going into steelmaking. For BOF firms, producing steel requires sourcing a variety of raw materials, namely iron, coal, and limestone. Due to the necessity of securing these raw materials, large-scale steel firms like to vertically integrate its production process backward into coal and iron ore mining.

On the other side, EAF steelmakers have a much simpler input process: EAF furnaces only require scrap steel as the major input. As long as scrap steel remains plentiful in the market, these firms have easy and cheap access to the required raw material.

For a BOF firm, the average cost per ton of capacity is $1,100, while the cost for an EAF mini mill per ton of capacity is only $300. The barrier for entry is thus lower for EAF firms, which can in part explain the rise of such “minimills” in India over the last decade with over 300 small players across the length and breadth of the country.

Another reason of the adoption of BOF process over EAF is the quality of steel produced from it. Generally speaking, steel produced from BOF process is regarded having higher strength and durability than steel produced from EAF process giving it the pricing advantage.

Molten steel is now poured into molds and cooled into solid steel reaping semi-finished material ready to be made into finished steel product. These semi-finished materials are categorized into slabs, blooms, and billets.

Slabs — Slabs are wide and flat and are mainly used to produce hot and cold rolled coils, heavy slabs, and profiles. Bloom –Bloom is rectangular bars used to make products such as springs, forged parts, heavy structural shapes and seamless tubes. Billets –Billets are bars from a square section of long steel that serve as input for the production of wire rods and rebars.

Continuous Casting Process

The final stage of producing steel is the Continuous Casting Process where steel is forged into various steel products.

Hot Rolled Product– When a slab is heated above 1100 degree Celsius and passed between rollers, it turns into a thin and long sheet (hot rolled). This hot rolled product is widely used as a construction material and pipes in various industries.

Cold Rolled Products — Cold rolled products are made by making hot rolled products thinner at room temperature which is then used in making appliances, barrels and auto frames.

Coated Steel — Coated steel is made by coating cold rolled product with Zinc and it is used in high-end appliances, office equipment, and automobile exteriors.

Electrical Steel Plates- Electrical steel plates are made by adding silicon in molten steel and find applications in transformers and motors.

Wire Rods– When a billet is above 1000 degree Celsius and passed through a hole, it turns into a wire rod which is used as automobile tire cord, wire for bridges etc.

Stainless Steel- Stainless Steel plants in steel industry are equipped with the additional production facility. Nickel and chrome are added to steel to produce stainless steel products which are used in kitchen appliances, medical equipment, exterior walls and roofs of the building.

Raw materials uses in steel industry

The Indian Ministry Of Steel always focuses on the maintenance of the Iron and Steel industry for the development of infrastructure as well as the nation’s economic progress.

But this affluent industry depends on a constant supply of raw materials like Iron ore, Coal, Flux, Fuel, Water, Refractories, Scrap Iron, Ferro Alloys and more to function properly? Yes! In other words, it is not a self-sufficient industry that can provide for itself. If the supply of raw materials stops, the industry will suffer to an unimaginable extent. Therefore the Iron and Steel manufacturing units mostly pop up near a coal mining company or an iron ore crushing plant in India. That is how they maintain a regular supply of the raw materials like the ones mentioned below:

· Iron Ore — Undoubtedly, this is the most important raw material that is required for the smooth functioning of the industry. You need at least 1.5 Tonnes of Iron-ore to create 1 Tonne of Pig Iron. Just imagine how many million tonnes of iron-ore do we need to produce a regular supply of pig-iron.

Iron ore is an aggregate of minerals predominantly composed of metallic iron and from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. Iron is the most needed ingredient in manufacturing steel. The amount of energy required mining and process iron ore is approximately 25% of energy required to extract and process aluminium ore. Thus, Iron ore has been mined for the past three thousand years by ancient and modern mankind. However, mining of iron ore has copious negative impacts on the environment. As the mining method for Iron is usually open cast, it degrades natural landscapes, surface and ground water, flora and fauna, as well as the ambient air quality within the mining area and its environs.

· Fuels Like Coal And Coke — Generally, coke is required in almost all types of blast furnaces. But, some modern day Iron and Steel manufacturers also use coal and charcoal as their fuel. It requires about 450 Tonnes of coke to produce 1 tonne of raw iron.

Coal is the major fossil fuel used for power generation in India. For producing more and more coal, mining activities are increasing day by day. Coal mining activities lead to environmental changes to a large extent such as degradation in quality of air, water, soil, changes in landform, land use/land cover and vegetation distribution.

Coal is generally regarded as one of the most dangerous and harmful energy sources (across several different measures like mortality rates, contributable health problems, and so on). Air contaminants/pollutants can be emitted by burning of coal and can contribute to air pollution. Greenhouse gases emitted by the burning of coal contributing to climate change and global warming. Burning of coal and associated emissions contributing to acid rain, and other environmental problems (like water and soil pollution).

· Flux (Limestone and Dolomite) — The flux is used to get rid of impurities in the blast furnace. These mix well with the impurities to form slag and, separate the same from the melting ore.

· Ferro-Alloys — Steel production involves various Ferro alloys at different levels. Manganese, Copper, Lead, Molybdenum and more are used to produce a good amount of Steel.

Apart from these, water and air are also required in large amounts for the production of Steel. Thus, the Iron and Steel Industry is almost paralyzed without these raw materials.

· Impact of steelmaking process on environment

The main ingredient in the production of steel is iron ore mined from earth. Over 2000 million tons of iron ore is mined a year about 95 % is used by the steel industry. Iron ore is the world’s third most produced commodity by volume — after crude oil and coal — and second most trade commodity- only beaten by crude oil. The mining of iron ore is highly energy intensive and cause air pollution in the form of nitrous oxide, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and sulphur dioxide from diesel generators, trucks and other equipment. The mining of iron is also cause water pollution of heavy metals and acid that drains from the mines. Acid drainage can go on for thousands of years after mining activities have stopped.

The making of steel from the mined iron is highly energy demanding. Production of steel is most energy consuming and CO2 emitting industry activity in the world.

Steel requires about 20 gigajoules of energy per ton produced. Three quarter of the energy comes from burning coal.

Steel production requires large inputs of coke (a sort of coal) which is extremely damaging to the environment. Coke oven emits air pollution such as naphthalene that is highly toxic and can cause cancer. Waste water from the coking process is also highly toxic and contains a number of carcinogenic organic compounds as well as cyanide, sulphides, ammonium and ammonia.

Greenhouse gas emission from steel production

The iron and steel industry is one of the largest industrial emitters of CO2 accounting for about 7% global anthropogenic CO2 emissions. As a result, researchers are shifting attention toward reducing CO2 emission from this important sector. Global steel production is also expected to increase by 30% by 2050. Therefore, there is an urgent need to explore techniques that can effectively reduce CO2 emissions from the iron and steel industry. The most relevant greenhouse gas emitted in the steel industry globally is CO2. On an average, about 1.83 tons of CO2 were emitted for each ton of steel produced between 2017 and 2018 [144]. The iron and steel industry generates about 7%–9% direct CO2 emission from the burning of fossil fuels [145]. Existing technologies, such as dry coke cooling, pressure recovery turbines, continuous casting, and furnace gas recovery facilities, can be used to improve plant efficiency and minimize CO2 emissions6.

The estimated potential to reduce CO2 emissions in the iron and steel industry is around 27 Mt/year, and this can be achieved through:

· Energy optimization — by upgrading to newer technologies that use energy more efficiently.

· Fuel change — using an alternative cleaner and less expensive fuel instead of coal.

· Recycling of scrap metal instead of forging new steel.

· Training and creating awareness among iron and steel workers on the different ways to optimize the use of machines, equipment, processes, and other steps to efficiently operate steel production with reduced CO2 emission.

So far, different literature reports have revealed that some techniques for reducing CO2 emission can be profitable, and generate other benefits (such as better environmental compliance, health benefits, etc.), although some could be expensive to implement on a large scale. In addition, a transition to a more efficient industrial process or the application of carbon capture and storage technique to mitigate process emissions during operations in iron and steel industries could considerably reduce CO2 emissions.

How the steel industry’s going green

As part of the 2015 Paris Agreement to help reduce global temperature by 1.5 degree in the years to come, India committed itself to cut emissions intensity per unit of GDP by 33 to 35 per cent by 2030. And working towards the national climate change priorities, the Indian steel industry has already started its transition towards a low-carbon growth. Another important aspect of ensuring sustainable manufacturing is reducing our water footprint. Water is used throughout the steel-making process in the cooling operations, for descaling and dust scrubbing. Even though the steel industry uses large quantities of water, very little of that water is consumed and most of it is reused or returned to source7.

Methods used by various Steel Industries for the waste disposal:

· Jindal Steel and Power Limited (JSPL) through extensive R & D activities have identified various solid wastes that could be used as productive inputs. The company pursues the policy of three R’s — Recycle, Reduce and Reuse — to manage its waste. Many innovative projects under “Wealth from Waste” have been implemented for solid waste utilization. The main objective of the company is to transform solid waste into wealth in order to benefit from it.

· The Parsada dump yard of JSPL stores solid waste on a temporary basis and then for further re-use, the solid waste is transported to the sinter plant.

Tata steel has made reducing emissions a priority for the Company. Operational investments, such as the new H Blast Furnace in Jamshedpur, seek to employ state-of-the-art equipment, which improves efficiency and reduces pollution.

Some steps taken by Tata Steel, India are:

• 89.6% of solid waste generated from Steel Works is recycled or reused.
• 17% of the solid waste generated, amounting to approximately 6, 12,300 tones in 2008–09 was used to fill low-lying areas and for peripheral road construction around Jamshedpur.

Steps/ Initiatives taken by the Government/ industry9:

· Charter on Corporate Responsibility for Environment Protection (CREP)

This is an initiative of Ministry of Environment & Forests/ Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) in association with Ministry of Steel and the main/ major steel plants to reduce environment pollution, water consumption, energy consumption, solid waste & hazardous waste management etc as per mutually agreed targets with the purpose to go beyond the compliance of regulatory norms for prevention & control of pollution through various measures including waste minimization, in-plant process control & adoption of clean technologies. A National Task Force (NTF) has been formed for implementation of CREP recommendations. Ministry of Steel facilitates compliance of CREP action points in association with the steel plants. National Task Force (NTF) has recently been reconstituted

· National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC)

National Action Plan for Climate Change (NAPCC) has been launched in 2008 to address the Challenge at national level. NAPCC outlines 8 National Missions, one of them being the National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency (NMEEE). Perform Achieve & Trade (PAT) is the flagship scheme under NMEEE. PAT is a market based mechanism through certifications of energy savings which could be traded. PAT has become effective from April 2012.

Total Energy Consumption in India in 2010 was estimated at around 450 Million Tones of Oil equivalent (Mtoe) of which around 135 Mtoe i.e. approx 30% was accounted for by the Industrial Sector. The Energy Consumption in Iron and Steel Sector accounted for nearly 33.7 Mtoe i.e. 25% of the total energy consumption in the Industrial Sector.

Conclusion/Suggestion

We can see from the above discussion is that steel industry is highly energy consuming and CO2 emitting industry in the world. India is second largest producer of steel also became the second largest consumer by December 2019. Although government or industry are taking initiative to protect our environment. But we need more measures and strict implications of laws. For example,

· Laws around multiple folds afforestation against the deforestation done to set up the steel plant.

· There must be a law for the land used mining is not left as a pile of dust but it should be converted into a forest area.

· There must be a relevant infrastructure setup for dust and pollution so that it should be contained within that mining area, it shouldn’t go beyond the mining area and pollute the whole atmosphere.

· There must be reuse and recycle of waste material, for example coal dust can be converted into flying ash bricks.

· Using non-conventional method for transportation

· Laws and policy for the safety of the people who is working in steel plant, coal mining etc.