May 2007 - SIMA

CHAIRMAN 

P.R. DHARIWAL 

VICE-CHAIRMAN 

N.K. PATNAIK 

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR 

S.S. BHATNAGAR 

GOVERNING BODY 

P.R. Dhariwal 

N.K. Patnaik 

Suresh Thawani 

Vikrant Gujral 

R.H. Dalmia 

G.K. Chhanghani 

Manoj Agarwal 

Narayan Tekriwal 

S. Subramanian 

Anil Ahuja 

S.S. Bhatnagar 

REGIONAL DIRECTORS 

Prakash Tatia 

G.K. Chhanghani 

Nirmal Aggarwal 

Surender Dalmia 

M.K. Sheshadri 

Sunil Garg 

EDITORIAL 

The Indian economy is on the fulcrum of an ever 

increasing growth. It grew by an impressive 9.2% 

during the second quarter of 2006-07 taking the gross 

domestic product growth to an impressive 9.1% in 

the first half. With robust growth and government 

focus on construction and infrastructure projects, 

steel requirement has grown substantially. The 

modest target of steel production of 65 Million Tons 

by 2010-11 has been revised by the government 

agencies and steel producers to 80 Million Tons. 

The Indian steel production by 2020 as per the newly 

revised estimates is expected to reach 180 – 200 

Million Tons by 2020. 

India again emerged as world’s largest producer of sponge iron for the 5TH consecutive year with record production of 14.74 Million Tons for the calendar 

year 2006. Gas based units have shown a growth of 7% due gas supply 

limitations, whereas Coal based units had a significant growth of 32.96% 

giving overall industry growth of 22.99%. 

The difficult availability of steel melting scrap and limited reserves of coking 

coal in addition to their unprecedented rising prices makes future steel making 

heavily dependant on the sponge iron industry ,as it has to meet the fast 

growing needs of quality metallics by the steel sector. In this scenario a 

promising future beckons the sponge iron manufacturers, who have been 

charting ambitious new projects and expansion plans. But before these plans 

materialize, everyone appears to be focused on ensuring the security of vital 

inputs namely; iron ore, non-coking coal and natural gas. The major concern 

is to get consistent iron ore supplies, long term linkages /contracts of superior 

quality sponge iron grade non-coking coal and at least committed supplies 

of natural gas for better utilization of installed capacities. 

To avoid a situation whereby capacity creations lags behind demand growth, 

the government initiatives and policies have to be proactive. We need to 

improve our infrastructure namely; roads, ports, airports, railways, highways 

etc. We are also not proceeding fast enough in building up the power sector. 

An improved and efficient Railways will also reduce tariff. Railway freight per 

1000 KM per ton is nearly three times higher for steel and related sector in 

India than in China and Korea. An integrated approach is required to ensure 

that the sponge iron industry grows to its full potential and meets the 

challenges ahead, to meet the galloping demand of quality metaliks by steel 

sector. 

On the whole the Indian Sponge Iron Sector has all signs of a vibrant and 

positive industry. It is our constant endeavour at SIMA to give you a 

comprehensive picture and analysis of the developments that are taking 

place. SIMA has also improved its international profile with visits to Indonesia, 

Egypt and Muscat. Interaction, commitment , support and co-operation of 

the members are our biggest strengths as we move to greater successes 

every year. 

S.S. BHATNAGAR

CHAIRMAN’S COMMUNIQUE 

With an aim of preserving precious iron ore for the use by Indigenous steel mills, Finance Bill 

2007 has introduced levy of export duty of Rs. 300/- per ton on the exports of iron ore. 

This must have cheered the members of SIMA as way back in 2003, through a detailed 

presentation on iron ore scenario in SIMA AGM, in the presence of the then Hon’ble Minister 

of Steel Mr. B K Tripathi, I had stressed that unless Govt takes measures to regulate the 

exports of iron ore, India might need to start import of iron ore. 

Since despite this measure, export of iron ore has shown increasing trend, we hope that 

Government of India would take a decision soon either to curb or ban exports of iron ore: as ore export s an 

export without any value addition and thus eating away possible inflow of forex into India and job opportunities 

in the country. Iron ore needs to be used wisely as an anchor for growth and development of the domestic 

steel industry. In fact iron ore is the prime reason why we have multinational corporation wanting to get into 

India. We have already proposed to the government to phase out iron ore export in progressive manner by 

putting cap on iron ore exports at current level. The reduction in iron ore export by 15% every year and finally 

export to be made zero by year 2011-12 by which time the demand is expected to match the level of production 

of iron ore in the country. Imposition of Rs.300/- per ton is only a symbolic representation and possibly the 

first step towards conservation and security of our finite reserves of iron ore. 

Over the years coal based sponge iron producers have been facing acute shortage in supply of quality and 

quantity of non coking coal for the manufacture of sponge iron mainly due to such policy of the Government 

which makes the middlemen (traders) more powerful distributor and thus affecting the end consumer. 

Meanwhile our Vice Chairman Mr. N K Patnaik alongwith OSIMA Chairman Mr. G S Agrawal & representatives 

of coal based units, presented comments and suggestions, to be implemented in the proposed new Coal 

Distribution policy, to the newly constituted Committee chaired by Secretary Coal, which has been set up 

under the directives of Hon’ble Supreme Court, to evolve a viable and fair Coal Distribution policy. This is a 

good step emanating from Supreme Court directive and we hope our suggestions and comments will find 

place in the new policy thus bringing relief to the coal based units. 

While the Govt of India has recognized our association’s value and takes inputs at the time of formulating a 

policy, our international exposures, viz admission of foreign members, foreign visits improve vision and sharing 

of technological expertise have been of immense use to the members. It is heartening to note that our 

association took a strong delegation recently to Muscat to attend Arab Steel Summit 2007 organised by Arab 

Iron & Steel Union(AISU). 

I hope the new journal reaches your desk by the time we meet again on 10 th May 2007 for Annual General 

Meeting, in Delhi. 

Wishing you all the best. 

P.R. DHARIWAL 

MAY-2007/1

Introduction 

SOLUTIONS FOR INDIAN STEELMAKERS 

FROM MIDREX TECHNOLOGIES, INC. 

AND SASOL-LURGI TECHNOLOGY COMPANY (PTY) LTD 

By: 

Robert Cheeley, Sales Manager 

John Kopfle, Director – Corporate Development 

Dr. Jayson Ripke, Plant Sales Manager 

Midrex Technologies, Inc. 

Irek Wanicki, Lead Process Engineer 

Pauli Baumann, Licensing Manager 

Sasol-Lurgi Technology Company (Pty) Ltd 

As one of the world’s most vibrant and growing 

economies, India has a strong steel demand for 

infrastructure, construction, and consumer goods. 

Its steel demand is growing at seven percent per 

year. To feed this demand, steel production has 

grown from less than 10 million tons (Mt) in 1980 to 

over 44 Mt in 2006, as shown in Figure 1. 

Figure 1 

India Steel and DRI Production 

Sources: IISI and Midrex Technologies 

There are ambitious plans to increase the country’s 

steel production, with the Indian government having 

set a goal of 110 Mt by 2020. 

Approximately 45 percent of the India’s steel is 

currently produced in electric furnaces. Given the 

lack of domestic scrap and the good availability of 

natural resources like iron ore, coal and natural gas, 

direct reduction has provided much of the iron units 

required for Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) steel 

production growth. Direct Reduced Iron (DRI) 

production has increased tremendously since 1980, 

from essentially zero to over 15 Mt in 2006, as shown 

in Figure 1. Of the total DRI production in 2006, 68 

percent was produced from coal and 32 percent from 

natural gas. India is now the world’s largest producer 

of DRI. 

There are two primary means of DRI production in 

India: small-scale rotary kilns using local coal and 

iron ore lump, and large-scale shaft furnace plants 

using natural gas and iron oxide pellets and lump. 

In recent years, almost all the growth in DRI 

production has been due to the installation of rotary 

kiln facilities and there are now over 350 of these 

plants. Many are small-scale and it is believed that 

over 100 have capacities from 10,000-20,000 tpy. 

There are only seven natural gas-fired shaft furnace 

plants (including six MIDREX® Modules), but they 

produce nearly half as much DRI as all the rotary 

kilns combined. 

Technologies for Growth 

For India to grow its steel production significantly, 

what are the options? Direct reduction using coalfired 

rotary kilns or natural gas-fired shaft furnaces 

are logical choices. Rotary kiln DRI has been 

installed because it makes use of domestic iron ore 


and coal, but there is a limit to the growth of this 

technology because rotary kilns cannot be built 

larger than about 200,000 tpy. Thus, it is probably 

not feasible to build a steel mill to produce one million 

tons per year or more via this route. Also, there are 

product quality issues because of the use of lump 

ore and coal with high levels of ash and sulfur. Direct 

reduction plants using natural gas would be an ideal 

choice, but there is little natural gas available now 

for further expansion. 

Another possibility is the installation of conventional 

blast furnace/basic oxygen furnace technology, but 

this requires the importation of coking coal or coke, 

since only about five percent of India’s coal reserves 

are coking quality. Also, there may be environmental 

issues and the capital cost can be high. 

Gasification/MIDREX® 

An alternative option is the use of a coal gasification 

technology in combination with a MIDREX® Direct 

Reduction Plant. The coal gasifiers would use Indian 

coals to generate a synthesis gas (or syngas) that 

can be an acceptable reducing gas source for 

producing DRI in a MIDREX Plant. A generic 

flowsheet showing the Gasification/MIDREX concept 

is shown in Figure 2. 

Figure 2 

Gasification/MIDREX Flowsheet 

There are three general types of gasifiers: fixed bed, 

entrained flow, and fluidized bed. While each of these 

can make an acceptable reducing gas for a MIDREX 

DR Plant as an alternative to reformed natural gas, 

the fixed bed technology is a preferred choice for 

India because it can accommodate the high ash 

domestic coals. The leading fixed bed process is 

the Sasol-Lurgi Fixed Bed Dry Bottom (S-L FBDB) 

process, licensed by the Sasol-Lurgi Technology 

Company (Pty) Ltd (SLTC), South Africa. 

The S-L FBDB Gasification process is a moderate 

temperature and pressure process. Coal is gasified 

at elevated pressures of the order of 30 bar(a) in 

the presence of high pressure steam and pure 

oxygen to produce a synthesis gas suitable for the 

production of amongst others, fuels and chemicals 

when combined with synthesis conversion 

technologies. The technology is well-proven, over 

102 gasifiers in commercial operation worldwide, the 

earliest of these built in 1955. Eighty of these units 

are deployed in South Africa, using coals very similar 

to Indian coals. 

The characteristics of the S-L FBDB Gasifier are as 

follows: 

Operating pressure 

20-40 barg 

Feedstocks / Utilities 

Lump coal (5-50 mm) 

Oxygen (approx. 99 mol%) 

High pressure (H.P.) steam 

Gas Cleaning & Conditioning 

Hot syngas is cleaned and cooled by a direct 

contact water scrubber, followed by indirect air cooler 

and water cooling 

Trace components, most of sulfur (H2S) and CO2 

removed by a Lurgi Rectisol® unit at tail end of plant 

Sulfur is recovered in Claus process with Claus tail 

gas processed in Lurgi Tail Gas Treatment® process 

achieving >99% sulfur recovery. 

Produces valuable and saleable coproducts 

Phenols 

Ammonia 

Coal oil 

Elemental sulfur 

Low pressure (L.P.) steam 


Figure 3 shows the S-L FBDB gasifiers in Secunda, 

South Africa. 

Figure 3 

S-L FBDB Gasifiers in Secunda, South Africa 

The high pressure syngas exiting the Rectisol plant 

after the S-L FBDB plant contains approximately 85 

percent H2+CO, 2.5 percent CO2, and the rest is 

mostly CH4. The H2/CO ratio is about 1.6, which is 

the same as used in a natural gas-based MIDREX 

Plant. 

In the MIDREX Plant, the cold syngas is first 

depressurized to about 3 barg by a turboexpander. 

The low pressure syngas is then mixed with recycled 

top gas to produce the required reducing gas. The 

mixed syngas is then heated to over 900º C. The 

hot gas enters the MIDREX® Shaft Furnace where 

it reacts with the iron oxide to produce DRI. The 

reduction reactions are shown below: 

Fe2O3 + 3H2 —> 2Fe + 3H2O 

Fe2O3 + 3CO —> 2Fe + 3CO2 

The spent reducing gas (top gas) exiting the shaft 

furnace is scrubbed and cooled, then passed 

through a CO2 removal system. This reduces the 

CO2 content to five percent or less, which ensures 

that the mixed reducing gas (syngas from the 

gasification plant and recycled top gas from the 

MIDREX Plant) has an acceptably high reductants 

(H2+CO) to oxidants (H2O+ CO2) ratio for efficient 

iron ore reduction. The CO2 removal system will also 

remove the sulfur gases contained in the recycled 

top gas. 

By conditioning the syngas to a quality comparable 

to the reformed gas produced in a conventional 

MIDREX Plant and with use of DR-grade iron oxides, 

the DRI quality will be comparable to that from a 

natural gas-fired MIDREX Plant. This DRI can be 

discharged hot and melted in an EAF to produce 

high quality steels. 

Expected operating parameters for the combined 

Gasification/MIDREX complex in India are given in 

Table I. 

Table I 

Gasification/MIDREX Plant 

Operating Consumptions for Indian Conditions 

Basis: MIDREX MEGAMOD® with capacity of 

1,600,000 tpy of hot DRI 1 S-L FBDB Gasifier using 

typical high ash Indian coal 

Input Units Quantity per 

t hot DRI2 

Iron Ore t 1.45 

Coal (dry ash-free basis)* t 0.46 

Coal (as-received basis)* t 0.84 

H.P. steam t 0.7 

L.P. steam t 0.1 

Oxygen t 0.21 

Electricity kWh 180 

Maintenance & indirect costs3 USD 10.00 

1. The hot DRI product characteristics are: 93% 

metallization, 2% carbon, and 700º C discharge 

temperature 

2. Quantities are for the combined Gasification 

Plant and MIDREX DR Plant 

3. Includes routine maintenance, long-term 

amortized cost for replacing. capital equipment, 

and indirect costs 

* Values assume typical Indian coal 

The advantages of the S-L FBDB Gasification/ 

MIDREX option include: 

Uses well-proven MIDREX Shaft Furnace 

Technology: 36 Mt produced in 2006 

Ability to use low rank, high ash domestic coals 

and iron ores 

Produces DRI with quality comparable to natural 

gas-based MIDREX Plants 


S-L FBDB Gasification/MIDREX Plant can be 

paired with an EAF mill to produce high quality 

long or flat steel products 

Lower specific capital cost than blast furnace/ 

BOF 

No coke, coke ovens, or sinter plant required 

Reduced air emissions: virtually no SOx or NOx 

compounds generated 

Ability to capture high purity CO2 for 

sequestering or injecting into oil and gas fields 

Much larger capacities than rotary kilns: up to 2 

Mtpy in a single module 

Better quality product than rotary kilns 

Midrex is now discussing the use of the S-L FBDB 

Gasifier/MIDREX combination with several Indian 

clients. 

FASTMET® and FASTMELT® 

Another possibility for iron production in India is rotary 

hearth furnace (RHF) technology. This includes the 

FASTMET and FASTMELT Processes. Developed 

by Midrex Technologies and its parent company 

Kobe Steel, Ltd., FASTMET uses a rotary hearth 

furnace to convert iron oxide fines and ferrous 

wastes into highly metallized DRI. Carbon in the form 

of coal or contained in the wastes is used as the 

reductant. Burners fired by natural gas or other 

hydrocarbons, plus combustion of volatiles, provide 

the heat required for the reactions. FASTMELT has 

the same flowsheet through the RHF and adds an 

electric ironmaking furnace (EIF®) to produce a high 

quality hot metal from hot FASTMET DRI. FASTMET 

and FASTMELT Plants can be built in capacities up 

to 500,000 tpy. A flowsheet is shown in Figure 4. 

The two technologies have different applications. 

FASTMET is primarily a means to recycle fine ironbearing 

materials such as blast furnace dusts and 

sludges, BOF dust, mill scale, and EAF baghouse 

dust. This greatly reduces the volume to be disposed 

of and produces a cost-effective iron product that 

can be melted in an electric arc furnace, BOF, or 

blast furnace. In the case of EAF dust, the zinc oxide 

recovered in the baghouse can be sold to a 

processor for production of metallic zinc. India has 

large volumes of steel mill wastes that could be 

effectively recycled in a FASTMET Plant. If there is 

not sufficient carbon contained in the wastes, a low 

volatile coal would be imported for use as the 

reductant. 

FASTMELT feeds iron ore fines and iron-bearing 

wastes and produces a blast furnacegrade hot 

metal. By controlling the DRI chemistry, the hot metal 

can be tailored to precisely match the desired 

chemistry for feeding to an EAF or BOF. FASTMELT 

hot metal can also be cast into pigs for sale or later 

use. India has several possibilities for iron ore feed, 

including screenings from pellet plants and other 

facilities, and blue dust. FASTMELT requires use of 

a low volatile, low ash coal that would most likely be 

imported. 

Figure 4 

FASTMELT Flowsheet 

The rotary hearth furnace used for FASTMET and 

FASTMELT has been well proven in operation since 

2000 at a significant scale. There are three 

FASTMET Plants operating in Japan, two of which 

feed over 200,000 tons per year of steel mill wastes. 

One of these plants is shown in Figure 5. 


Figure 5 

FASTMET Plant at Nippon Steel 

Hirohata Works (1 of 2) 

Expected operating parameters for FASTMET and 

FASTMELT Plants in India are given in Table II. 

Table II 

FASTMET/FASTMELT Plants 

Operating Consumptions for Indian Conditions 

Basis: Production rate of 500,000 tpy 

Quantity per t of product 

FASTMET FASTMELT 

Input Units DRI hot metal3 

Iron Ore1 t 1.4 1.4 

Coal2 t 0.4 0.4 

Lime (binder) kg 60 60 

Flux t - 0.04 

Burner fuel net Gcal 0.7 0.7 

Electricity kWh 100 575 

Labor man-hour 0.2 0.35 

Maintenance USD 5.00 10.00 

1. Assumes DR-grade iron oxide; consumption of 

wastes with lower iron content would be 

proportionally higher 

2. May be lower if wastes are used that contain 

carbon 

3. Quantities for FASTMELT include RHF and EIF 

The advantages of FASTMET and FASTMELT 

include: 

Uses well-proven RHF Technology 

Ability to use domestic iron ore fines and ironbearing 

wastes 

Uses fine, non-coking coals; carbon–containing 

wastes reduce coal required 

Larger capacities than rotary kilns: up to 

500,000 tpy in a single module 

FASTMET DRI can be melted in an EAF or BOF 

FASTMELT produces a high quality hot metal 

Midrex and Kobe Steel are now discussing FASTMET 

and FASTMELT plants with a number of prospective 

clients around the world. Potential applications are 

regional treatment facilities, which would receive 

wastes from local steel mills, and use at a mine site 

to treat stockpiled mine tailings. 

Conclusion 

Indian steel production will need to continue to grow 

to supply the country’s rapidly expanding economy, 

utilising the country’s indigenous wealth of iron ore 

and coal. The blast furnace/BOF steelmaking route 

will continue to play a role, but it has limitations, such 

as the need to import expensive coking coal, the 

higher capital cost, and environmental issues. Direct 

reduction will continue to grow, but there are 

limitations with respect to the current approaches. 

Rotary kilns are small-scale and produce a lower 

quality DRI. The availability of natural gas to feed 

the larger capacity shaft furnace DR plants, is limited. 

Two new approaches that can make use of Indian 

resources are Gasification/MIDREX and the rotary 

hearth technologies FASTMET and FASTMELT. Coal 

gasification using the S-L FBDB Gasification Process 

and the MIDREX Shaft Furnace are individually wellproven 

worldwide and if combined, can provide an 

economical way to make high quality steels using 

Indian iron ores and coals. FASTMET on the other 

hand, provides the opportunity to recycle ironbearing 

wastes and solve an environmental problem. 

FASTMELT can utilize Indian iron ore fines to 

produce a blast furnace-grade hot metal. 


The DRI System 

TAPPING CDM POTENTIAL IN INDIAN SPONGE 

IRON INDUSTRY - A PERSPECTIVE 

The production of steel through Directly Reduced 

Iron (referred as DRI) route involves production of 

sponge iron and subsequently steel billets through 

electrical arc / induction furnaces. 

Sized coal, iron ore and dolomite are the main raw 

materials used for producing sponge iron. These 

materials, in predetermined quantities, are taken to 

B.L. AGRAWAL 

MANAGING DIRECTOR 

GODAWARI POWER & ISPAT LIMITED 

a common belt conveyor through weigh feeder to 

rotary kiln via feed tube. 

The following reactions take place in a coal based 

sponge iron rotary kiln :- 

3 Fe 0 + Co = .> 2 Fe + 04 + Co 2 3 3 2 

Fe 07 + Co = > 3 Fe0 + Co 2 2 

Fe0 + Co = > Fe + Co2 A typical process flow diagram of DRI System 

appears at the Exhibition – 1 


CDM potential of waste gases from the kiln 

The waste gases from the sponge iron kilns contain 

lot of combustibles, unused CO, carbon particles 

etc. 

A modern waste heat recovery system can extract 

substantial part of the waste heat from the flue gases 

emanating from the sponge iron kiln and utilize the 

same to produce steam, which in turn can generate 

power. 

A venture of this nature has the following attributes 

meeting the additionality requirements of a CDM 

Project:- 

a) it entails reduction in green house gas emission 

in relation to a conventional coal based power 

generation project. 

b) it ensures contribution to industrial energy 

efficiency and sustainable economic growth. 

c) it helps to improve the physical environment by 

cutting down thermal pollution. 

d) it conserves energy resources. 

e) it adopts clean technology by way of utilizing waste 

flue gases, and 

f) the main carbon benefits from this project arises 

from the replacement of an equivalent amount of 

electricity from the usual carbon intensive power grid. 

An assessment of CDM potential 

The present installed capacities of coal based 

sponge iron plants in India are as under :- 

TABLE – 1 

Range of 

installed capacity 

in tonnes per annum 

No. of units 

0 – 30,000 90 

30,000 – 60,000 47 

60,000 – 1,00,000 35 

1,00,000 – 2,50,000 40 

more than 2,50,000 15 

227 

While the small capacity plants may be constrained 

due to scale of economy to produce power through 

waste heat recovery system, the plants having 

capacity of 1.0 lakh tonne per annum and above 

i.e., those employing at least one kiln of 350 TPD 

can viably operate WHRB system. 

Presently, there are about 90 such plants whose 

CDM potential can be tapped. Out of this, as on 

20 th Mar’07, 13 plants have already gone CDM way 

and got registered with the CDM board of UNFCCC 

for carbon credit (Table-I). Out of these registered 

projects, in respect of four plants, CERs (Certified 

Emission Reduction) have also been issued (Table- 

II). 

Godawari Power And Ispat Limited has the unique 

distinction of being the first company globally in 

WHRB and Steel sector combined to register its CDM 

project and realise CERs. Further it is the only 

company so far to have registered two WHRB 

Projects. 

Details of WHRB Projects in Indian Sponge Iron Sector 

registered by CDM board as of 20th March’07 

(in chronological order starting from the first project registered) 

S.No. Date of Description of the Project Developer Estimated CER/ Year 

Registration Registered Project 

1 16 th Apr’06 Waste heat based Godawari Power 17,828 

7 MW Captive Power and Ispat Limited 

Project Godawari Power 

and Ispat Ltd (GPIL) 


2 12 May’06 TSIL – Waste Heat Tata Sponge and 31,762 

Recovery Based Power Iron Limited 

Project 

3 03 Jul’06 8MW Waste Heat OCL India 32,498 

Recover Based Captive Limited 

Power Project at OCL 

4 10 Jul’06 Waste heat recovery Monnet Ispat Ltd 1,18,383 

based captive power 

project at Monnet 

5 17 Jul’06 VGL – Waste Heat Vandana Global Limited 18,965 

based 4 MW Captive 

Power Project at Raipur 

6 17 Jul’06 JBSL – Waste Heat Jai Balaji Sponge Limited 46,387 

Recovery Based Captive 

Power Project 

7 08 Oct’06 Shri Bajrang WHR Shri Bajrang Power 1,07,683 

CDM Project and Ispat Limited 

8 09 Dec’06 Nakoda WHR Shree Nakoda 32,873 

CDM Project Ispat Limited 

9 15 Dec’06 OSIL – Waste Heat Orissa Sponge 41,052 

Recovery Based Captive Iron Limited 

Power Project 

10 17 Dec’06 “Waste heat recovery SKS Ispat Ltd. 1,16,773 

based captive power 

generation by SKS 

Ispat Limited” 

11 23 Dec’06 Usha Martin Limited – Usha Martin Limited 54,340 

Waste Heat Recovery 

Based Captive Power 

Project activity 

12 12 Feb’07 Waste Heat based 4.75 Rashmi Sponge 

MW captive power project Iron Pvt. Ltd. 23,887 

“RSIPL – WHRB (1&2) “ 

CDM Project activity 

13 18 Feb’07 Waste Heat Based 10 MW Godawari Power and 50,620 

Captive Power Project Ispat Limited 

‘GPIL – WHRB 2 “CDM 

Project activity 

Total estimated CER/Year 6,93,051 


Table – II 

Details of CERs Issued in respect of Indian Companies 

in Sponge Iron Sector for WHRB Projects as of 20 th March 07 

Sl.No. Project Developer Date of CERs Issued Verified period 

Issuance 

1 Godawari Power and Ispat Limited 04 Aug 2006 66,536 01 Sep 2002 – 31 Dec 2005 

2 Monnet Ispat Limited 06 Sep 2006 1,11,570 01 Jan 2005 – 31 Mar 2006 

3 Tata Sponge Iron Limited 27 Dec 2006 1,06,463 01 Jan 2002 – 31 Mar 2006 

4 Shri Bajrang Power & Ispat Limited 22 Jan 2007 74,674 01 Sep 2005 – 31 Aug 2006 

Total CERs Issued 3,59,243 

In the overall assessment, taking a production of 

six million tonnes of sponge iron during the year 

2006-07 through viable CDM projects, there is a 

potential of producing 420 MW power through WHRB 

with an annual carbon credit of 1.26 million CERs. 

Basis : (1) waste gases from a 350 tpd kiln can 

produce 7 MW power 

(2) 1 MW power on an average can attract 3000 

CERs annually 

By the year 2011 – 12, with the anticipated doubling 

of production of sponge iron in India, the power 

generation and corresponding CERs would also be 

doubled to realize a credit of 2.52 million CERs 

annually. 

How to Improve viability of WHRB Systems 

The viability of the waste heat recovery system, in 

general, can be enhanced, if the following are 

considered :- 

(i) permitting open access and inter-state wheeling 

of power from sponge iron sector at a reasonable 

tariff without any stricture from the State 

Governments. A waste heat recovery system based 

on 350 TPD kiln can generate about 7 MW, out of 

“When everyone tries, the team flies.” 

which 1.5 MW can be used for captive consumption 

in sponge iron making and a surplus of 5.5 MW can 

be wheeled to the grid. 

(ii) reserving and making available non-coking coal 

of high ash fusion temperature and high reactivity 

for sponge iron sector. 

(iii) allocating iron ore mines to sponge iron 

manufacturers, and 

(iv) extending carbon credit to the manufacture of 

fly ash bricks. 

Pre-heating of kilns - another CDM option in 

the arena of energy efficiency 

As an innovative step, it may be worth exploring 

installing rotary pre-heating section as an adjunct 

to sponge iron kilns, where the waste hot gases from 

the kilns can pre-heat the raw materials in the kilns 

in the vicinity of 750oC. This would reduce heat 

losses entailing lower coal consumption and 

enhanced production of sponge iron. While the 

gains are yet to be quantified through some plant 

trials, prima facie, it could attract CDM benefits owing 

to significant saving of fossil fuel. These projects 

can be viewed in the ambit of energy efficiency 

measures. 


The global steel industry is inching forward. An 

industry, which was characterized as Sunset industry 

two decades ago, is experiencing a vast change in 

scenario. World Crude steel production achieving a 

growth of 8.85% in 2006 over 2005. Major share 

coming from Asian continent, China and India being 

the major contributor achieved a substantial growth 

of 17.7% and 15.5% respectively. 

CRUDE STEEL PRODUCTION (million tones) & 

GROWTH RATE – (WORLD vis-à-vis INDIA) 

GAS BASED SPONGE IRON 

Can India expect any growth in the future in this Sector? 

PRAKASH TATIA-Vice President (Marketing) VIKRAM ISPAT, Bombay 

Average Per capita consumption of steel in world 

was around 189 Kgs in year 2005. However in India 

it was still 37.6 Kgs during the same year. 

PER CAPITA CONSUMPTION (IN KGS) 

From the above, It is noted that there is a huge 

untapped potential present in Indian market. Now 

the trend is changing from past couple of years, with 

consistent growth in Economy, huge investments 

coming from Domestic and International players in 

Infrastructure & development, Automobile sector, 

Industrial engineering, Oil & Gas sector thereby 

increasing the demand of steel in India. Hence, Steel 

Industry in India is entering a rapid growth phase. 

With such huge demand it is also expected 

production of steel would be triple by 2020 around 

110 MMT.Infact, now analysts are talking about more 

than 200MMT production by 2020. Growth in various 

sectors like Construction, Automobile & Engg is the 

main driving force behind such growth and with 

number of players increasing in each sector, Every 

player is looking to differentiate its product yet being 

cost competitive which is ultimately driving the 

demand for quality steel in the market. This demand 

for quality and various grades of steel by end users 

segments is forcing Steel manufacturers to opt for 

the best possible route for steel making. 

CRUDE STEEL IS PRODUCED IN INDIA BY TWO 

ROUTES 

Primary Route (CAGR of 3.9% (FY 94-06) 

Secondary Route (CAGR of 11.10% (FY 94-06) 

As per MIDREX Secondary Steel making process 

continues to grow because of its capital and 

operating cost advantage, flexibility for 

manufacturing various grades of steel, Relatively 

Environment friendly and Economies of scale. A large 

growth in world steel industry will be via Secondary 

route. This growth results in increased demand for 

metallic required for Secondary steel making route 

i.e. Scrap, DRI, HBI, and Pig Iron. However Since 

Scrap is not a manufactured commodity, there are 

limitations on growth in supply (especially Quality 

Scrap) and Pig iron having its limitation of usage in 

secondary route. Given these limitations, Sponge 

Iron (DRI/HBI) becomes the most preferred metallic 


in Secondary steel making process. The trend of 

past years showing growth in Sponge Iron Industry 

supports the above statement very strongly. World 

DRI production is 58.9MMT in CY- 06 thereby 

achieving a CAGR of 7% from (2001-06). India is 

the largest producer of Sponge iron for last 5 

consecutive years. 

PRODUCTION OF SPONGE IRON (DRI/HBI) – 

WORLD & INDIA 

IN FY 06-07 India would produce around 16MMT of 

Sponge iron (Gas based + Coal Based). Gas Based 

sponge iron being advantageous over Coal based 

sponge iron in terms of High Metallisation, Fecontent, 

Desired Carbon, and low Phosphorous & 

Sulphur and for manufacturing consistent quality of 

steel. It has become most preferred metallic for 

quality steel manufacturers sectors like Automobile, 

Oil & Gas, Construction & Eng etc . 

The growth of these sectors in time to come, is very 

promising (as shown below) 

GROWTH IN VARIOUS SECTORS (%) 

So far the major constraint for the growth in Gas 

Based Sponge iron was low availability of Natural 

gas (critical raw material). As regards Iron oxides is 

concerned, our country is having abundant natural 

resources of Iron Ore. Now Scenario is changing in 

country with Proven gas reserves discovered by 

various major players in East/West coast of India, 

Gas Based Sponge iron industry stands favorable 

and has huge opportunity in the future to come. 

Since Gas being the most important ingredient for 

GB Sponge iron Industry its availability and Price 

have always been the key areas of concern for this 

Industry. In India Gas price is highest among the 

worldwide and in case of Infrastructure development 

there is huge disparity between Gas resources and 

demand centers leading to increase in 

transportation cost thereby leading to overall cost 

of GAS 

Looking at the overall growth in Steel Sector, with 

abundant natural resources of Iron Oxide and huge 

potential of availability of gas in India, if proper 

pricing policies and regulatory framework is designed 

mainly for Natural gas to attract and encourage 

investments in Infrastructure for supply of natural 

Gas, Gas Based Sponge Iron Industry has huge 

potential for growth in the country. 

“Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.” 

Mahatma Gandhi 


GAS SCENERIO IN INDIA 

G P AGGARWAL 

Head International Trade & Business Development 

Essar Oil Limited Mumbai 

Natural gas has been rightly termed as the fuel of 

21 st century. Presently Natural gas, accounting for 

24 percent of total global primary energy supply, is 

the third largest contributor to the global energy 

basket and is projected to increase at an average 

rate of 2.4 percent per year from 2003 to 2030 as 

per EIA, which will be faster than any other energy 

source. During the last 5 year the global gas markets 

are fast integrating, commercial models are 

undergoing rapid changes, and market structures 

are evolving and fast changing. Leading this growth 

in global gas sector are the Asian markets with 

special investment focus on countries like China and 

India. 

With the advent of LNG and progressive de-control 

of gas prices, the natural gas sector in India has 

Hydrocarbon Reserve Position (Natural Gas) 

progressed and achieved some degree of maturity. 

Current natural gas policy dispensations have 

created numerous challenges for the gas sector. 

Major among them are the demands of competing 

consumers industries, ensuring competition and 

open access in the pipeline transportation and 

distribution networks, reducing the supply demand 

gap that exists today. The rapid growth of the Indian 

economy in the xth Plan (2002-2007) has greatly 

contributed to the development of the Indian energy 

sector as a whole and provided a major trigger for 

the growth of the gas sector as well. While gas 

occupies only about 9-10 percent of the total energy 

basket, primarily due to supply constraints all these 

years, the scenario is fast changing. 

As on 1.4.2006 the total prognosticated reserve, ultimate reserve and balance recoverable reserves of gas 

of the country have been estimated as under: 

Initial Place Ultimate Reserves Recoverable Reserves 

(MMT) (MMT) (MMT) 

ONGC 1688.32 942.28 523.01 

OIL 251.00 170.00 110.00 

Pvt/JV 933.59 511.76 466.94 

Total 2872.91 1624.04 1099.95 

Gas Infrastructure 

� On supply side, there are two LNG terminals at 

Dahej and Hazira in Gujarat with a total capacity 

of 7.5 MMTPA and are operating. The third 

terminal in Dabhol with a capacity of 5.0 MMTPA 

is likely to be commissioned shortly. There is plan 

for another terminal at Kochi and Mangalore 

which are taking a final shape for implementation. 

� In term of transmission pipelines, there is an 

existing network of 6300 km including the Hazira- 

Vijaipur-Jagdishpur pipeline and other regional 

networks. A number of pipelines, including those 

by the private sector are at various stage of 

implementation. 

� From coverage of just 2 cities at the beginning 

of Xth Plan (2002-07), the city gas coverage has 

grown to10 in 2005-06 across the western, 

northern and southern regions of the country. 

Currently there is a total city gas distribution 

network of about 6000 km. As far as CNG 

supplies are concerned, there are 278 stations 

dispensing CNG in the country and number is 

expected to continuously grow in coming years. 


Pricing of Natural Gas 

� Under the Administrative Pricing Mechanism 

(APM) gas produced from nominated fields of 

ONGC and OIL was priced at Rs.2850 per 1000 

SCM uniformly to all customers except in North 

East, wherein the same was Rs. 1700 per 1000 

SCM 

� With effect from 1.7.2006 the price was revised 

to Rs.3200 per MCM and calorific value of 10000 

Kcal/cubic meter. It was also decided that all APM 

gas will be supplied to Power and Fertilizer sector 

Demand and Supply Gap Analysis for the period 2007-08 to 2011-12 

i) Sector Wise Gas Demand Projections (2007-2012) 

consumer’s alongwith specific end users 

committed under Court orders and small 

consumers below 50000 SCMD. Other 

consumers will be supplied gas at market price 

subject to a ceiling of ex-Dahej R-LNG (regasified 

LNG) price of US$3.86/MMBTU for 2005- 

06. 

� Gas supplied by the JV/private sector, re-gasified 

LNG and new gas supplies by ONGC and OIL 

will be charged as per the market price 

determined by various agreements applicable 

in this regard. 

MMSCMD) 

SECTOR 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 

Power 79.70 91.20 102.70 114.20 126.57 

Fertilizer 40.82 42.65 52.24 79.36 79.36 

City Gas 12.08 12.93 13.83 14.80 15.83 

Industrial 

Petrochemicals / 

Refineries/Internal 

15.00 16.05 17.17 18.38 19.66 

Consumption 25.37 27.15 29.05 31.08 33.25 

Sponge Iron / Steel 6.00 6.42 6.87 7.35 7.86 

Total 178.97 196.39 221.86 265.16 282.55 

(ii) Gas supply Projections (MMSCMD) 

Sources 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 

ONGC + Oil (A) 57.28 58.42 55.69 54.67 51.08 

Pvt./JVs (As per DGH) (B) 

Projected Domestic 

23.26 61.56 60.28 58.42 57.22 

Supply (A+B) 80.54 119.98 115.97 113.09 108.30 

(iii) LNG Supply Projections (MMPTA) 

LNG Supply Source 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 

Dahej 5.00 5.00 7.5 10.00 10.00 

Hazira 2.50 2.50 2.50 2.50 2.50 

Dabhol 1.20 2.10 5.00 5.00 5.00 

Kochi - - - 2.50 5.00 

Mangalore - - - - 1.25 

Total LNG Supply (MMTPA) 8.70 9.60 15.00 20.00 23.75 

Total LNG Supply (MMSCMD) 30.45 33.60 52.50 70.00 83.12 


iv) Overall Demand- Supply Gap (MMSCMD) 

2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 

SUPPLY 

Domestic 80.54 119.98 115.97 113.09 108.30 

LNG 30.45 33.60 52.50 70.00 83.12 

TOTAL: 

DEMAND 

110.99 153.58 168.47 183.09 191.42 

Demand 178.97 196.39 221.86 265.16 282.55 

GAP 67.98 42.81 53.39 82.07 91.13 

� It will be observed that scenario indicated above 

reflects significant deficit which will have to be met 

either from increased domestic supplies or LNG 

import or both. 

� There is another scenario where there is a possible 

additional domestic supply for 2009-10 (74 

MMSCMD), 2010-11 (84 MMSCMD) and 2011-12 (94 

MMSCMD). If such supplies materialize than from 

2009-10 onwards there will not be any deficit but 

there will be little surplus. These additional quantities 

have been estimated by DGH as 20, 30 and 40 

MMSCMD from Reliance fields from 2009-10, 2010- 

11 and 2011-12 respectively. 54 MMSCMD has been 

estimated from GSPC in each of above years. 

� How much of these additional supplies, which 

turn the deficit into surplus, will actually fructify 

is dependent on several factors yet to be firmed 

up. 

Conclusion 

India currently produces 90 MMSCMD of Gas against 

the demand of over 151 MMSCMD. For many years India 

continues to be deficit in supply of natural gas as the 

availability has been limited and therefore Government 

had adopted the system of allocations and administered 

price mechanism. With the new developments like import 

of LNG and new finds of domestic gas in KG basin the 

availability of natural gas / LNG is expected to go up 

significantly while at the same time the existing sources 

of supply from Bombay High etc. which are depleting will 

affect overall availability. The significant new finds from 

KG Basin yet to be monetized as the development work 

at wells continues and pipeline infrastructure to bring the 

gas on land is taking shape. The supplies from KG Basin 

are expected from Reliance, ONGC, GSPC and British 

Gas. Out of these players Reliance is expected to begin 

supplies sometimes in 2 nd quarter of 2008, and if everything 

goes well then the quantum of supplies that is expected 

will be around 40 MMSCMD. Though Reliance have 

claimed that they can supply upto 80 MMSCMD but the 

same has not been confirmed by DGH. The certified 

reserves for Reliance by Gaffiney, Cline and Associates 

have put recoverable reserves at 11.3 TCF. This would 

confirm supplies only upto 40 MMSCMD. Future factors 

which will drive demand and prices would be dependant 

upon (i) KG Basin supplies (ii) Long term LNG availability. 

Current estimate indicate potential demand of around 20 

MMSCMD for City Gas Distribution (CGD) along the 

existing pipeline routes. This demand is potentially 

favorable Vis-Vis alternate fuels. Spot LNG volumes in 

2006 are a landmark for Indian market. The regassifiers 

Petronet and Shell imported significant number of cargo’s 

to meet the demand from Power, Steel and Fertilizer 

sectors. The imports could have been more but for the 

restricted availability of spot cargo’s which were priced 

from $8 to $11 per MMBTU. It appears that in future also 

India would need to compete with more attractive 

markets. The challenge is to bring domestic gas to 

production and source LNG on long term basis. Gas 

markets would continue to be driven by existing 

customers in the medium term. Power and Fertilizer will 

be major sector consuming gas. LNG and new domestic 

discoveries will compete for the incremental demand. Gas 

will continue to be priced at a value “compared to alternate 

options” till the time there is ‘gas to gas’ competition in 

the market with significantly large volumes from domestic 

sources. Competitive claims of other consumers both in 

public and private sector may lead to some kind of 

allocation by Government for Power and Fertilizer sector. 

No clarity at present of additional supplies claimed by 

Reliance and GSPC. Reserve certification and DGH 

approval yet to happen. Producers from KG Basin may 

manage production to keep prices in the vicinity of 

international price. In view of overall deficit our additional 

requirements may not be fully met from domestic sources. 


MONNET – FUELING INDIA TO GROWTH 

Mr. Amitabh S. Mudgal (Vice President – Corporate Affairs & Marketing) 

We at Monnet Ispat & Energy Ltd. share the nation’s 

Vision for growth at a pace which was never ever 

though of before i.e. @ more than 10%. Pegging 

the growth driver at Manufacturing we ourselves 

have grown 8 times during the last decade. 

We identified newer technologies, we formed JV/ 

alliance with the leading companies of the globe and 

today have emerged as a company globalizing to 

attain sustainable development. These facts are well 

authenticated our recent venture for coal abroad, 

by operating the largest underground coal mines in 

India and commission the much awaited BOO Coal 

Washery in NK Area. 

We at MIEL strongly advocate the fact that Coal is 

the back-bone of our economy. Coal not only in India 

but has been one of the world’s main energy 

resources for decade together and has emerged 

as an undisputed leader in the Energy scenario 

world wide, more so in India where 70% of 

Commercial Energy is generated from Coal. The 

Balance is taken care by Hydrel, Nuclear, 

unconventional source of Energy and fossel fuel. 

The vision of 2030 in India indicates multiple increase 

in demand for coal, though environment concerns 

shall have to be addressed to, for effective use of 

coal. The tentative projections for Coal demands 

for the terminal years of XI plan (2011-12) and XII 

plan (2016-17) are 620MT and 780MT respectively. 

In the demand scenario power sector plays the major 

role. Some non-coking coal is also used in sponge 

iron manufacture, Cement & other allied Industries. 

Both the production and distribution cum 

transportation are challenges to the coal industry at 

large. Quality of Indian Coal reserves both for coking 

and non-coking coal (Thermal coal) is also a big 

concern. 

As per survey conducted by Geological Survey of 

India (GSI) the total coal reserves are 234 billion 

tonnes. 86% of these reserves are Thermal Coal 

(Non-Coking) and 13.6% as coking coals & balance 

the high sulphur tertiary coal. The ash of both coking 

& non coking reserves in general is high compared 

to demand of Consumers. Dependence of the Power 

Sector ‘Inferior’ quality Indian Coal has been 

associated with emission from the power plant of 

particulate matter, toxic elements, No x , Co 2 and fly 

ash. In addition large volumes of the water are 

needed for cooling. There is also vast requirement 

of land for ash disposal. 

Since India can not live without coal, one of the 

solution is to adop clean coal technologies both at 

the power plant end and coal source. Monnet 

identified and allied with a US based company to 

bag the first contract to set up a BOO washery for 

any State Electricity Board. 

At power plant end, Technologies like Circulating or 

Pressurized Fluidized Bed Combustion (FBC), Super 

Critical Boilers and Integrated Gassification 

Combined Cycle (IGC), Super Critical Boilers and 

Integrated Gassification Combined Cycle (IGCC) 

would not only mitigate the pollution problems 

associated with coal combustion, but also have 

higher thermodynamic efficiency. These 

technologies are very suitable for country like India. 

Coal beneficiation is the most sought after method 

to reduce the inherant high ash in Raw Coal. Major 

public sector under taking CIL(Coal India Ltd.) has 

ambitious plans to meet the demand of coal & its 

beneficiation, but realising the magnitude of the 

problem, doors have been opened to private sector 

and import of coal has also been allowed from foreign 

countries by the Govt. of India. Incentives for import 

of Coal has been announced by Govt. Reducing of 

import duty on Coal to zero by Govt. is a major step 

in this direction. 

In private sector Monnet Ispat & Energy, Calcutta 

Electricity Supply Company, Bengal EMTA ,Jindal 

Iron & Steel, PANEM, BLA and HINDALCO. have 

stepped in for production of Non-Coking Coal for 

their Sponge Iron Plants as well as for Power Plants. 

MoC, Govt. of India has also allotted Coal Blocks to 

Power producing public sector companies like NTPC 

and other State Electricity Boards besides the private 

companies, thus widening the production base of 

coal. The transportation capacity of Country to 


transport this huge quantity of coal also need to be 

looked into. 

The Ministry of Environment and Forest has come 

in to raise the environmental concerns caused by 

transportation of the high ash coal to power plant 

across the country which are main cause of 

environment hazards down under. MOEF (Ministry 

of Environment and Forest) Govt. of India has put 

an embargo against use of unwashed non-coking 

coal for power generation except in pit head power 

plants. This embargo has indirectly addressed to 

transportation problem of this high ash coal as on 

average 20% of unwashed coal moved across the 

country for power generation is ash which is useless 

to power plants and infact source of other operational 

problem to them. If coal is washed at source this 

Quantity shall not have to be transported, thus 

effective adherence to MoEF directive will save 

transportation of the 20% undesired element of coal 

and in directly add to the transportation capacity of 

Railways. Which can be utilised to transport more 

washed coal and other essential goods. 

The washing of this huge quantity of Non-Coking 

Coal is itself a challenge, more so when CIL is not 

fully equipped with required washing capacity as 

present. 

Preparations are afoot in CIL/PSU’s Electricity 

Boards to take the help of Private Sector in Washing 

the Non-Coking Coal on “BOO CONCEPT”. Monnet 

Group has accepted this challenge and has 

established a new Company with American 

Collaboration called “Monnet Daniels Coal Washeries 

Pvt. Ltd.”, which is in process of installing a 3.5 MT 

capacity Washery at NK area of CCL near Ranchi 

under “BOO CONCEPT’ for Punjab Electricity Board. 

The Washery is expected to be commissioned by 

June ’07. Raw Coal will be supplied to this State of 

art Washery by CCL (CIL) where it will be beneficiated 

and despatched to Punjab Electricity Board for 

Power Generation in their Power Plants in Northern 

India. This Washery will beneficiate Coal with the 

help of Daniels Heavy Media bath, imported from 

USA and also use Belt Filter Press for recovery of 

Coal Fines. The Belt Filter Press is a State of art 

equipment imported from UK. These equipments 

alongwith other equipments will enable Washery to 

attain sharp separation of coal and help Washery to 

become economically viable besides helping in coal 

conservation. The erection & commissioning of this 

Washery is being completed in a record time of 8-9 

months. 

MDCWL is also planning to install 2.0 MT Merchant 

Washery near Bachra (Piparwar), Jharkhand in CCL 

command area, and a 5 MT Washery for their 

upcoming Power Plant at Angul (Orissa). Both these 

Washeries are expected to become operational 

within next two years. Apart from these two a cople 

of state of the art captive washeries are also on anvil 

in the state of Orissa and Raigarh. 

We at Monnet have always been acknowledged for 

introducing safety and cleaner environment. Our 

efforts have been appreciated by DGMS awarding 

us with the awards of safety for two consecutive years 

and UNFCCC by registering our project under clean 

development Mechanism. 

Ushering prosperity, development by implementing 

our project we are not only anchoring India in the 

growth trajectory but also fueling it to merge as one 

of the most developed nation of the country. 

“Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it.” 

Confucius 


VISIT OF SIMA DELEGATION TO MUSCAT, OMAN TO ATTEND 

“THE ARAB STEEL SUMMIT 2007” ON 12 TH TO 14 TH MARCH 07 

REPORT BY: 

Mr. Prakash Tatia Mr. Amitabh S. Mudgal 

Vice President (Mktg.) Vice President (Mktg.&Corp. Affairs) 

Vikram Ispat Monnet Ispat & Energy Ltd. 

The Arab Steel Summit held from 12th - 14th March,07, organized by the Arab Iron and Steel Union (AISU) in 

collaboration with Ministry of Commerce & Industry and Sharq (East) Sohar Co. More than 350 delegates 

from around 45 nations from various sectors attended the Summit, which is a huge response from all over the 

world. 

During conference various topics related to Iron and Steel industry were covered like Steel Market Potential in 

Middle East, Indian Sponge Iron Industry future prospects, World steel industry forecast by IISI, various players 

in Middle East and their expansion plans, upcoming technologies in steel sector etc. We keep on reading a lot 

about steel growth in China and India, however it seems that the Gulf who is also buzzing with steel activity 

has not been given due attention. The entire Gulf is experiencing a big construction boom which is resulting 

into a heavy demand for Steel particularly the long products. As any developing economy under going a 

construction / infrastructural boom will ultimately also have more demand for flat, the same is also going to 

happen in Gulf. 

SIMA delegation consisting of 12 members representing 

both (Gas based & Coal based) Sponge Iron sectors 

visited Muscat – Sultanate of Oman to attend this 

important Arab Steel Summit. 

Looking at the future growth emerging in Middle East 

and Asian region for Steel industry visit of our delegation 

was very useful. It helped in understanding the latest 

technological development in steel industry, demand 

supply scenario of different continents, future scenario 

of various metallic. Apart from sharing information such 

events help to develop the platform for networking also. 

Looking at Indian Iron & Steel industry growth 

perspective, such kind of visits on regular basis in 

different parts of world is quite useful. Such visits give 

a support to the related industries like our Sponge Iron and its growth in future. 

Mr. Amitabh S Mudgal of MIEL on behalf of SIMA presented a paper titled “ Future Prospects of Indian Sponge 

Iron Industry”. The paper was a window for all delegates to have a glance at the booming Sponge Iron 

Industry of India. The paper was not only appreciated by all delegates but also highlighted the opportunities 

which India provides for setting up Sponge from Industry in India. Mr. Tatia of M/s. Vikram Ispat is one of the 

Question/Answer session invited BHP and other miners to set up pelletization plant in India. 

The Arab Steel Summit 2007 program started from 12th and concluded on 14th March. The Organizers have 

also presented memento to SIMA delegation. On behalf of SIMA our Executive Director, Mr. S.S. Bhatnagar 

received memento from Arab Iron & Steel Union. On behalf of SIMA Mr. Bhatnagar also invited AISU to visit 

India to attend Annual General Meeting of SIMA. 

All members of delegation are thankful to SIMA for arranging this purposeful and very fruitful visit to Arab 

Steel Summit in OMAN. 


SIMA delegation at Arab Steel Summit 2007 organised by 

Arab Iron & Steel Union on 12-14 March 2007 at Muscat 

SIMA Executive Director Mr. S.S. Bhatnagar presenting souvenir to 

Mr. Mohamed Saleh Al-Jabr, Chairman Arab Iron & Steel Union during 

the Arab Steel Summit 2007. 

SIMA delegation at Midrex Stall. 

SIMA Executive Director receives souvenir from the Chairman, Arab 

Iron & Steel Union. 

Mr. Amitabh S. Mudgal, Vice President, Monnet Ispat & Energy Ltd. 

making a presentation during Arab Steel Summit 2007 at Muscat. 

SIMA delegation in duscussions. SIMA Executive Director with Mr. Younes Haidar, Regional Director, 

Arab Iron & Steel Union and Mr. George N. Matta, Marketing Director, 

EZDK, Egypt. 




SPONGE IRON INDUSTRY IN ORISSA 

Back Ground: 

The industry was an early starter in the State. Barring 

the semi commercial unit of Sponge Iron India Ltd. 

established in 1980, commercial production in the 

country started with the plant established in 1984 

by Orissa Sponge Iron Ltd, which was quickly 

followed by Tata Sponge Iron Ltd. in 1986. Since the 

liberalization of steel sector Sponge Iron Industry 

attracted investment by small medium entrepreneurs. 

The State Industrial Policy of 1992, 1996 and 2001 

gave importance to the industry by placing it in 

favoured thrust area. The industries grew steadily. 

2 plants were established in 80s, which rose to 7 

plants in 90s. Since year 2000, 82 plants came into 

operation while 27 plants are in various stages of 

construction. 

These are all coal based sponge plants of varying 

kiln sizes and capacities. Smallest group of kilns (25 

to 50 TPD) are 54 in operation and 7 under 

construction. It is worthwhile mentioning that 13 

plants are having single such kiln of which 9 are 

operating and 4 in progress. As the economics of 

the single small plants is not encouraging, they are 

planning to upgrade their capacity by adding 

additional kilns. 

Gouri Shankar Agarwal,Chairman, 

Orissa Sponge Iron Manufacturers Association 

The most prevalent kiln size is 100 TPD. Among the 

operating plants, there are 103 kilns of the size and 

7 are being added. Besides there are 23 kilns under 

construction in new plants. Out of this single kilns 

are operating in 18 plants while 3 kilns are under 

expansion of the operating units. Besides 5 new 

plants are having single kiln under construction. The 

operational economics warrant upgrading of these 

single kiln units to at least 200 TPD capacity. 

Of the large size kilns of 300 to 500 TPD capacity 

there are 14 kilns in operation while 2 operating 

plants are expanding by 1 kiln each. Besides there 

are 13 plants of this size under construction and 

one of them proposes future expansion by one 

additional kiln. 

Capacity: 

The cumulative installed capacity of 82 operating 

plants is 5.272 Million Tonnes. The combined 

capacity addition on completion of 27 plants under 

construction will be 2.22 Million Tonne. The ultimate 

capacity of all plants will be approximately 7.492 (say 

7.5) Million Tonne per annum. 

Production: 

The production in the operating units are as follows: 

· 2003-04 and 2004-05, yearly : 1.925 MT/Year 

· During 2005-06 the production increased to : 2.26 MT. 

· The Capacity utilization of the Operating plants is : 57.11% 

The low level of production is mainly due to non-availability of Coal and Iron Ore of suitable quality. 

Investment: 

The investment for the Sponge industries is Rs. 3359 

Crores. All the industries shall have to establish 

WHRB based power units for which additional 

investment of Rs. 2268 Crores is required. It is 

estimated that cumulatively 567 MW power will be 

generated by the plants, which will be fully utilized in 

converting sponge to steel after meeting power 

consumption in sponge making. 

Employment: 

The employment potential of the industry is assessed 

at 18557 direct and 19228 indirect, totaling 37785. 

Land: 

The land occupation by these industries is 2998 

Acres or 1199.2 Hectares. Besides land will be 

required for solid waste disposal yards and 

plantation. 

Water Supply: 

The industry will require 900MLD (Million Liters per 

Day), which is not fully met from ground water and 

surface sources as available in the locality. 

Projects for bulk industrial water supply in all the 

clusters need to be speedily executed by tapping 

surface flow and underground sources. 


Power Grid: 

Similarly the power transmission system is to be 

strengthened to cater quality power as well as to 

facilitate evacuation of power from the captive 

WHRB-FBC cogeneration units. 

Iron Ore Requirement: 

Iron ore requirement, is of the order of 15 MTPA of 

high grade. The state has Iron ore reserved of 5671 

MTPA out of which high grade (Sponge grade) is 

2425 MT. This includes 3045 MT under captive mines 

1837 MT under non-captive mines and 1243 MT in 

virgin deposits. The state produced 54.6 % MT in 

2005-06 from 107 working mines. The ores were 

fed to domestic as well as export market. It is 

disappointing that the sponge industries are suffering 

from non-availability of Iron Ore. Besides the price 

escalation during the last 4 years has been hitting 

hard. Most of the sponge plants do not have captive 

mines. 

Coal Requirement: 

The coal requirement of the industries in state is 

about 12 MTPA of high grade, non-coking coal with 

ash content of 25% or less. Coal available to the 

plants by linkage is almost wholly of ‘F’ grade. It 

needs to resort to washing for which 24 MTPA coal 

will be required. Orissa has reserves of 62 Billion 

Tonne of non-coking coal largely of lower grade. 

Linkage have not been made for all the operating 

plants as yet. 

Development: 

At present kilns are operated using lower grade Iron 

Ore and Coal as the standard quality materials are 

unobtainable as well as price constraints. It has 

therefore become necessary to preprocess Iron Ore 

and Coal at plant or at customized central units. It 

includes low-grade ore concentration, pelletisation 

and washing of coal. Operation and maintenance 

system needs improvement for maintaining quality 

and output efficiency. Although the kiln operation is 

semi mechanized there is scope of upgrading and 

integrating control systems. Waste utilization, safety 

measures, environmental cleanliness and pollution 

abatement are some of the important tasks, which 

will continue to engage attention of the entrepreneur. 

Cost Impacts: 

Apprehensions as to economic viability and long life 

of the industry has been bothering the entrepreneurs 

in absence of assured supply of raw materials of 

proper quality at affordable cost. Other operational 

cost impacts are on account of transport, inadequate 

infrastructure and service facilities. In a highly 

competitive environment and market instability the 

industry is adopting higher value addition through 

down stream process units for conversion to steel 

and rolled products. Co-generation with CDM benefit 

is attempted to cut down the power cost besides 

environmental gain. 

Transportation: 

The plants are spread over 9 districts and most of 

them are located within 10 clusters of 20 Kms. radius 

each. Nearly 30% of the plants are within 25 Kms. 

radius of source of Iron Ore & Coal. 70% of the plants 

require to transport either ore or coal or both to 

distances of 100 to 200 Kms. As the connecting 

roads are presently in very bad shape, transport 

charges are exorbitantly high. Rail connectivity and 

rolling stock availability is poor for bulk movement 

of raw materials as well as the products. Therefore 

links and sidings handling system and improvement 

of the existing rail and road routes require to be 

undertaken within short span of time, if required 

under public, private partnership. 

Solid Waste Management: 

The solid waste generation at the sponge plants 

consists chiefly of coal char, which is about 15% to 

20%of raw feed by weight. Minor quantities of 

sludges are generated. The ash and dust collected 

from the pollution control systems and the power 

units need to be scientifically disposed off for which 

waste disposal yards are to be planned and 

managed. Waste recycling is also being tried. 

Contribution to Exchequer: 

The industry with its current authorized capacity has 

potentiality of contributing to Govt. Exchequers 

annually as follows: 

State Govt. : 651.87 Crore 

Central Govt. : 1678.5 Crore 

MOU Plants: 

The State Govt. has inked MOUs with 45 companies 

for establishing steel units in the state with capacities 

above 0.25 MTA. These units will have combined 

capacity of 81.4 MTA. Out of the above 31 plants 

shall be in sponge route, having total capacity of 

15.85 MTA Sponge Iron. These include 23 existing 

sponge manufacturers. Investments under these 

projects total Rs. 180440 Crore. Land and water 

requirement of the plants is 16157 Ha. and 3.3 BLD 

respectively. Their employment potential both direct 

& indirect is 28000. 




Suresh Thawani becomes the new Managing Director of Tata Sponge Iron Ltd. 

Mr.Suresh Thawani joins Tata Sponge as the Managing Director of 

the company with effect from 10th March 2007. He replaces Mr.Ashok 

Pandit after the latter retired on completion of his term on 9th March 

2007. 

A Graduate in Metallurgical Engineering from IIT Kharagpur (1972 

batch), Mr Thawani started his career as a Graduate Trainee in 

Tata Steel in 1972. He has spent three decades in Tata Steel. 

Mr Thawani holds multifarious experience of working in Scientific 

Services Division, Sales and Marketing, Production Planning and 

Raw Material Commercial Division of Tata Steel. He was the Executive Director 

(Operations) of Standard Chrome Limited during 1995-96. Around 1997, he was deputed 

to Timken Company, USA and Luken Steel, USA to explore business opportunities for 

them in India and South East Asia. He worked as the CEO of Nilanchal Refractories 

Limited and thereafter served for three and a half years as the Managing Director at 

Jamshedpur Injection Powder Limited, a joint venture company promoted by Tata Steel, 

SKW Stahl Metallurgie AG, Germany and Tai Industries, Bhutan prior to assuming the 

Managing Directorship of Tata Sponge. 

Mr. N K Patnaik 

Mr. N K. Patnaik, Vice Chairman, SIMA joined Monnet Ispat & Energy 

Ltd. as Chief Executive Officer for Angul Project, Orissa w.e.f. March 

2007. On behalf of members Sponge Iron Manufacturers Association, 

we wish Mr. Patnaik all success in his new challenging assignment. 

S. K. Ghosh 

On behalf of the members of Sponge Iron Manucaturers Association, 

we convey our heartiest congratulations to Mr. S K Ghosh who has 

been redesignated as General Manger of Orissa Sponge Iron & 

Steel Ltd. w.e.f. 1st April 2007. A well-earned and well-deserved 

promotion, we wish Mr. Ghosh all success in his new and responsible 

assignment 





S K SARAWAGI & COMPANY PRIVATE LIMITED 

MINING TO MAKING STEEL 

IRON ORES MANGANESE ORES DRI STEEL 

CORPORATE OFFICE: REGISTERED AND HEAD OFFICE: 

10—1-31, SIGNATURE TOWERS 1, SAROJINI NAIDU SARANI 

NANDAN NIRMAN, LEVEL 4 ROOM 506, SHUBHAM BUILDING 

WALTAIR UPLANDS KOLKATA-700 0017 

VISAKHAPATNAM - 530 003 

PHONE 91 891 6667401-04 91 33 22809007 / 8 

FAX 91 891 2561447 91 33 22831618 

MINING OFFICE : DRI AND STEEL WORKS OFFICE 

SARAWAGI HOUSE, KASPA ST OF-7, ASHOKA MILLENIUM 

CHIPURUPALLE, DIST VIZIANAGRAM NEAR NEW RAJENDRA NAGAR 

ANDHRA PRADESH RING ROAD NO 1 

PHONE 91 8952 283225 RAIPUR (C.G)-492 006 

PHONE 91 771 4073258 

FAX 91 771 4073084 

CONTACT PERSON: NAVEEN SARAWAGI 

NAVEEN@SARAWAGI.COM 


SULFUR CONTROL IN THE DRI PRODUCT 

FROM IRON OXIDE REDUCING KILNS 

V. SRINIVAS, SR. ENGINEER, MID INDIA ENGINEERING LTD. 

One of the most important problems on the chemical 

content of the DRI product resulting from the direct 

reduction of ores is the level of sulfur in the DRI 

since severe process difficulties are posed to 

processors using such DRI for the making of steel 

by even small amounts of sulfur in their feed stock. 

Accordingly, a strict upper limit of 0.03% sulfur by 

weight in the DRI product should be achieved and 

preferably even lower sulfur levels would be 

desirable. To this end, a conventional practice in 

the process for directly reducing iron ores in a rotary 

kiln using coal fed at both the ore feed and discharge 

ends, is to add a sulfur control agent, such as 

limestone or dolomite, to the charge at the feed end 

of the kiln. 

The important factors in the process affecting the 

sulfur levels in the DRI and steps and means for 

properly controlling these factors 

(1) high temperatures in the kiln bed; 

(2) Low level of char in the kiln discharge materials; 

(3) Inadequate control of limestone or dolomite 

feeding; 

(4) Recycling of used limestone or dolomite in the 

char from the kiln discharge that is returned to 

the kiln; 

(5) The fines content of the ore feed; 

(6) the sulfur level in the feed coals; 

(7) the sulfur level in the ore feed; 

(8) inadequate control of the feed end bed and gas 

temperature profiles to promote oxidation of the 

sulfur in the feed end coal; and 

(9) contamination of the product pellets by char, 

grease or etc. 

(1) Kiln Bed Temperatures 

Mainly sulfur absorption problems occur in the bed 

over about the last one-third of the kiln length, and 

more specifically in the region where high residence 

times and the highest bed temperature. 

(2) Char Level in the Kiln Discharge Materials 

Closely regulating the ore, coal, and char feeding 

to the kiln to maintain the specified range of fixed 

carbon (5-15%) by weight in the total discharge 

materials from the discharge end of the kiln, 

contributes significantly to maintaining low levels of 

sulfur in the DRI. 

(3) Sulfur Control Agent Feeding 

Limestone or dolomite is added to the kiln feed as 

the control agent for sulfur removal, generally in the 

range from 1% to 5 % by weight of ore feed further 

important consideration is that the sizing of the 

particles of limestone or dolomite feed must be 

closely controlled to achieve incorporation of the 

control agent into the bed when feeding it with the 

ore through the feed end of the kiln. If the particles 

are too small, substantial losses of the control agent 

may occur in the exhaust gases passing out of the 

feed end, but, on the other hand, large limestone 

particles cannot effectively absorb the sulfur. 

Therefore, the control agent particles should 

preferably be of an intermediate size with respect to 

the other feeds, that is, such a size as 1-4 mm. 

(4) Recycling of Used Control Agent in the Return 

Char 

Limestone or dolomite that has passed through the 

kiln may have absorbed a relatively great amount of 

sulfur so that if it is re-fed to the kiln in the recycle 

char system, it can act as a sulfur source, thus slowly 

increasing the total sulfur load to the kiln. 

(5) Ore Feed Screening 

Analysis of the sponge iron or DRI particles has 

shown that any sulfur incorporated into the product 

is deposited on, or in close proximity to, the particle 

surface. Thus, to minimize sulfur content, the surface 


area of the DRI formed should be minimized. Since 

total surface area increases sharply with the fines 

content of the charge. 

(6) Feed Coal Sulfur Level 

As sulfur is introduced into the process by means of 

the feed end and blown coal, the sulfur level in the 

feed coals is an important consideration. Sulfur is 

present in the coal in inorganic form as pyritic sulfur 

or in organic or even sulfate form. Although the actual 

chemical form of the sulfur in the coal has been 

determined by experience to be not of great 

importance, still, regardless of its form, it poses a 

problem in the process and will, if not controlled, 

contaminate the DRI product. It follows that the higher 

the sulfur content of the coal the more effort is 

required to control that sulfur. As a result, regular 

analyses should be performed on the coals used in 

the process, and while the process may run 

acceptably with coals of up to 3% sulfur, it is 

preferred that coals with less than 2% be used. 

(7) Ore Feed Sulfur Level 

It has been found also that ore containing the iron 

oxide to be reduced in the process should have a 

less than 0.03% sulfur content or a weight percent 

of sulfur which is less than that desired in the DRI 

product. 

(8) Kiln Feed End Temperatures 

The oxidizing environment at the feed end of the 

kiln may be used to advantage in removing some of 

the sulfur from the kiln feeds. By operating at gas 

temperatures of greater than about 750.degree. C. 

in this region rapid “roasting” of the pyritic sulfur 

component in the feeds is promoted with the result 

that oxides of sulfur are rapidly formed and removed 

from the charge together with a proportion of the 

organic sulfur which is lost with volatile evolution. 

This high temperature operation substantially 

reduces the quantity of sulfur delivered to the high 

temperature reducing or “working” zone of the kiln 

where sulfur absorption into the product may occur. 

(9) Product Pellet Contamination 

“Tough times never last, tough people do.” 

Robert Schuller 

Contamination of the DRI pellet product by sulfurcontaining 

char, grease or the like, while one of the 

less complex factors affecting the product, may occur 

in a random manner so that it can be difficult to trace 

and eliminate. If either or both of these materials 

contaminates the product to any significant degree, 

unacceptably high sulfur levels can result. Detection 

of this contamination may be accomplished initially 

by visual inspection of the product on the separation 

section conveyor belts. If the grease condition is 

observed, the process should be stopped and any 

grease leakage into the cooler eliminated. The 

performance of the magnetic separators should be 

carefully monitored to avoid the return of any sulfur 

to the product stream, since if the magnetic field in 

a separator is too strong, it may draw DRIcontaminated 

char-containing sulfur into the product 

stream. 

Control and regulation of the above factors the direct 

reduction process may be continuously carried out 

with a resulting product having sulfur levels below 

desired level by weight in the DRI. 


TENOVA HYL CONTINUES EMPHASIS ON ENVIRONMENTAL IRON & 

STEEL MAKING WITH ENERGIRON TECHNOLOGY 

The first industrial scale direct reduction plant back 

in the mid 1950’s was a success on a number of 

fronts for HYL. The purpose of providing a quality 

pure iron feedstock for electric furnace steel 

making was achieved, and step by step a growing 

use and acceptance developed for the product, 

which led to today’s burgeoning DRI industry 

worldwide. 

When the 1M Hylsa DR plant in Monterrey, Mexico 

was put into operation, the environment was not 

a major consideration. The 1950’s was an era of 

increased industrialization worldwide following 

WWII and little attention was paid at the time to 

the ecological effects of industrial growth. The 

plant consumed over 4 times the natural gas that 

today’s process requires, and since it was a batch 

process in open retorts, particulate matter and 

gaseous pollution were obvious side-effects of the 

technology. 

Fortunately, those days have long passed and 

today’s technology from Tenova HYL is green and 

streamlined. The process is now being marketed 

and developed jointly with Danieli & C. under the 

new Energiron trademark. Not only is the process 

itself the most environmentally friendly, but new 

collateral technologies such as the HYL HYTEMP 

System have made steel making more efficient 

and clean by transporting the DRI hot in a fully 

enclosed pneumatic system to modern electric 

furnaces. An added advantage of these 

technologies is that they are also more efficient 

and more cost-effective than ever. 

Reducing Gases 

In an Energiron plant the reducing gas is produced 

in two ways: in an external steam reformer, and/ 

or directly in the shaft reactor by means of “in 

situ reforming” reactions. 

The ratio between reforming and “in situ 

reforming” can be varied to balance production 

Thomas Scarnati 

Manager- Marketing & Sales 

HYL Technologies, SA.De C.V, Mexico 

and investment costs exigencies. The Energiron 

scheme can be based on 100% external reforming 

to 100% “in-situ” reforming (ZR) or any 

combination (small reformer + oxygen injection). 

This is a unique characteristic of the Energiron 

process flexibility. The most adequate scheme will 

depend on the local cost structure of energy and 

raw materials. As an example, the scheme with 

external reformer consumes more gas, but the 

power is minimized, while the ZR scheme minimizes 

the natural gas consumption but requires more 

power (electricity + oxygen). Also, the product 

quality has to be considered: the scheme with 

100% external reforming produces DRI with up to 

2.4% carbon or up to 3.5% carbon if there is some 

oxygen injection, while the ZR produces DRI with 

= 4% carbon. The most adequate scheme must 

be selected based upon the production cost 

analysis up to liquid steel, to consider all factors. 

Potential Pollution Sources 

Direct reduction is based on the chemical 

conversion of iron oxides to metallic iron and iron 

carbide by the action of reducing and 

carburization agents. To accomplish this, different 

sources of reducing/carburization agents can be 

used, such as natural gas, coal, fuel oil, and coke 

oven gas. As with all industrial processes, there 

are wastes and by-products which must be dealt 

with. 

The potential sources of pollution in a DR plant 

can come from several distinct areas, which are 

carefully monitored. In recent years it has become 

critical for some technologies to incorporate the 

means for minimizing or eliminating pollutants in 

order for client companies to comply with strict 

environmental regulations. Polluting wastes from 

direct reduction plants, regardless of the 

technology used, can be mainly dust, SO x , NO x 

and suspended solids in water effluents. 


• Dust is generated during handling and 

transportation of iron ores, DRI, solid 

reducing agents and ash; the latter two 

only using alternate sources of reducing 

gases, other than natural gas. Typically, 

the material handling of an Energiron plant 

consists of the iron ore and product 

handling systems. These systems include 

bins, screening units, coating unit, 

conveyors, and transfer stations. Air 

pollution caused by dust is minimized by 

installing appropriate dust collectors in the 

main generation points, typically in trasfer 

locations and screening units. 

• Flue gases containing the polluting 

elements SO x and NO x , are derived from 

the combustion systems of the reducing 

gas generation units, gas heaters and 

rotary kilns. The amount of SO x and NO x 

can be decreased in gas based processes 

by an adequate control of combustion 

operations, and by desulfurization of the 

fuel gas stream to be used, both as 

process gas (reducing gas) and as fuel. 

The process chemistry of each technology 

will determine how difficult or how easy this 

control will be. In the case of the 

Energiron technology, SO x is selectively 

eliminated in the CO 2 absorption unit and 

NO x is easily controlled by low-NO x type 

burners, allowing compliance with even the 

strictest standards. 

• Suspended solids in the effluents from the 

water systems consist mainly of iron oxide 

and DRI particles, collected in the wet 

systems of the different sections of the 

plant. These solids can be dried and 

concentrated to be sold or reused as 

feedstock in the reduction units. 

Environmental Impact 

Emissions from Energiron plants are in 

accordance with the most stringent environmental 

regulations anywhere. This is achieved in large 

part due to the process design itself; while other 

processes require heat recovery equipment which 

tends to increase the NO x levels, the Energiron 

Process is efficient by design due to its process 

configuration and heat recovery systems. 

Depending on the type of plant, heat recovery 

systems consists of: 

• With external reformer - the efficiency is 

achieved by generation of steam, which is 

required for natural gas reforming and for 

CO 2 stripping. Prior to end-using, the steam 

is used in some steam turbines for power 

co-generation, reducing significantly 

electricity consumption. 

• With “in-situ” reforming, the steam required 

in CO 2 stripping is generated in the top gas 

heat recuperator. 

Thus, while achieving high overall thermal 

efficiency in the plant, there is no significant need 

for preheating the combustion air in the reformer 

or in the heater to high temperatures, thus 

eliminating the possibility of high NO x generation. 

For other DR processes, this is not the case and 

the choice between decreasing thermal efficiency 

or installing expensive de-NO x units remains. 

The tables summarize the environmental impact 

of Energiron plants, comprising solid wastes, 

emissions to the air and water, and noise. These 

levels comply with the strict standards imposed in 

such areas as the USA, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia 

and other nations with the most modern 

environmental standards, including new standards 

proposed but not yet enacted. 

Tenova HYL together with Danieli has been 

working on a project for a plant of 1.6 million tpy 

capacity being built for GHC in Abu Dhabi, where 

environmental controls are also among the 

strictest anywhere. Still, the values achieved are 

well within the requirements for compliance. 

Table I 

Solid Wastes (kg/ton DRI) 

Recycled Dumped Total 

• Dust collected 3.20 - 3.20 

• Iron oxide fines - 26.70 26.70 

• DRI cooling losses - 6.45 6.45 

• Others 0.25 0.35 0.60 


Table II 

Emissions to the Air 

Combustion System Dust Collection 

(mg/Nm 3 ) (ppmv) (mg/Nm 3 ) 

• Particulates

additions and a decrease in electrodes 

consumption in the EAF. 

Environmentally, the enclosed system eliminates 

the release of DRI fines as waste and is in fact a 

double advantage in that the fines are introduced 

into the EAF along with the pelletized/lump DRI, 

thus increasing the overall yield. Using a 

continuous melting practice, the EAF roof is never 

opened, thus conserving the yield and avoiding 

loss of fines from charging or furnace blowoff. 

Since the HYTEMP System allows the transfer and 

use of reduced fines from the DR reactor to the 

EAF, a study over several years was conducted 

in-plant to try and determine the amount of solids 

carried over by the fumes extraction and dust 

collection system of the EAF shop. 

The monitoring is done at the Precipitation 

Chamber and at the Bag House by collecting and 

weighing the solids by-monthly. As evidenced in 

the figures, it was determined that there is no 

distinctive relationship between the amount of 

solids in either of the collection points and the % 

of DRI in the charge,nor the ratio of hot DRI used. 

This confirms that the HYTEMP System does 

not contribute to the loss of Fe units in the offgas 

of the furnace. 

Summary 

KNOW YOUR NEW MEMBERS 

HARE KRISHNA METALLICS PVT. LTD. 

Registered : Survey No. 20 

Office & Works Kasan Kandi Road 

Village & P.O. Hire Baganal 

District Koppal 583 228 

Karnataka 

Phone : (08539) 264124-126 

Fax : (08539) 264122 

Email : admin@hkmetallics.com 

Annual Capacity : 0.75 Lakh Tons 

Contact Person : Mr. Sandeep Agarwal 

Managing Director 

HI-TECH POWER & STEEL LTD. 

Registered Office : 199C, (First Floor) 

Main Road 

Samta Colony 

Raipur (C.G) 

Phone : (0771) 4075263/265 

Fax : (0771) 4075263/264 

Email : mhil-ryp@hotmail.com 

Annual Capacity : 0.60 Lakh Tons 

Contact Persons : Mr. Ashok Kumar Agarwal 

Director 

Mr. Binod Kumar Agarwal 

Director 

As any industrial technology, the demand now is 

for better productivity while at the same time 

protecting the environment. Use of alternative 

fuel and reducing sources, more efficient process 

design and new technologies such as the 

HYTEMP System, have given Tenova HYL an edge 

in today’s strictly regulated iron and steel industry.

May 2007 - SIMA

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