Iron & Steel Review June 2011 Issue

Highlights of the Issue

Global Steel Perspective

VIEWPOINT

India to drive global steel demand high
The year 2011 is expected to be exclusive in its own way. It is believed that the situation for India will be realtively better than the rest of the world.

SPECIAL FEATURE

Global Steel Perspective
Steel Industry is a booming industry in the whole world. The Asian countries have their respective supremacy in the production of the steel all over the world. India being one among the fastest growing economies of the world has been considered as one of the potential global steel center.

TOPICS & TRENDS

• ABB India releases 2011 first quarter results

  Power and automation technology major, ABB Limited India released its first quarter (Q1) results for 2011. Results continue to point towards a revival with base orders growing at 8% and revenues showing an increase of 22% on execution of the strong order backlog combined with higher sales of short cycle products and services.

• SAIL Chairman assures full investment support to MEL for new facilities

  The management of Maharashtra Elektrosmelt Ltd. (MEL), the only subsidiary of Steel Authority of India Ltd. (SAIL), has been advised by SAIL Chairman Mr. C.S. Verma to draw up an expansion plan with the objective of ensuring fulfillment of 100% requirement of ferro-alloys of SAIL's integrated steel plants which are currently in capacity expansion mode. Higher ferro-alloy production by MEL would go a long way in meeting the raw material security concerns of SAIL. MEL, in Chandrapur, Maharashtra, is India's largest manganese-based ferro-alloys producer with a product-mix that includes carbon ferro-manganese (FeMn) and silico-manganese (SiMn). The process of the company's amalgamation with SAIL is in its final stage.

• SAIL to finalize Consultant for Chiria Mines

  Leading steel manufacturer Steel Authority of India (SAIL) is finalizing a consultant to outsource the mining at Chiria. SAIL has already selected Australian consultants, Hatch Associates, to arrange the detailed project report for development of the mine.

• Domestic steelmakers eyeing tie-ups with global majors

  Indian steelmakers are eyeing to form tie-ups with global majors such as ThyssenKrupp and ArcelorMittal, for accessing new markets, instead of bidding for these large units, which will be expensive.

• SAIL hosts meeting of Indian contenders for Hajigak deposits

  Representatives of the 15 Indian steel & mining companies who had visited Afghanistan recently to inspect iron ore deposits at Hajigak in Afghanistan met at Ispat Bhawan, the corporate headquarters of Steel Authority of India Ltd. (SAIL) in New Delhi, at SAIL’s invitation, to deliberate upon their future course of action. These Indian companies, including SAIL, are among the 22 companies shortlisted by the Afghanistan Ministry of Mines for grant of mining licenses at Hajigak, which carries an estimated 1.8 billion tonnes of high quality magnetite with 62- 63% Fe content. The Afghanistan government has indicated preference for companies which will offer development plans from mining of iron ore to vertically integrated processes, including making of steel.

• JSW Steel moves on with positive Q4 earnings

  On the back of rising raw material prices, the market was not gaming much on steel producers’ earnings without backward connections. However, Mumbai-based JSW Steel Limited has amazed the street with its positive fourth quarter earnings.

• Miglani family acquires Brahmani Industries

  The Miglani family, which jointly controls high-grade steelmaker Uttam Galva Steel along with ArcelorMittal India, has acquired Brahmani Industries, a greenfield steel plant.

• NMDC: Acquisition of two Australian iron ore mines

  India's leading iron ore manufacturer NMDC is in advanced stage of acquiring 50 per cent stake in two iron ore mines at Australia, in Western and Southern part, by this month and is hopeful of finalizing two extra deals by July.

• Finance Minister takes up Tata Steel project with Vietnam

  The Prime Minister of Vietnam Nguyen Tan Dung has assured Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee that land acquisition issues for the proposed Tata Steel's $5-billion facility in Vietnam would soon be resolved. The project has been pending since 2007.

• GIL announces Audited Consolidated and Standalone Full Year Results for FY2011

  India’s biggest graphite electrode producer Graphite India Limited (GIL) announced its Audited Consolidated and Standalone Full Year Results for the financial year 2011.

STEEL INTERNATIONAL

Outotec to supply flash smelting technology to Iran
Finnish mining and metal manufacturing equipment supplier Outotec has signed a contract with Tech Talk company of Dubai, for the supply of flash smelting technology for the expansion of National Iranian Copper Industries Company’s copper smelter located in Sarcheshmeh, Iran. The total value of the contract is around EUR 61 million.

RHI AG: First quarter 2011 revenues rise 20.9 pct
RHI AG has witnessed its first quarter 2011 revenues up by 20.9 per cent amounting to 413.8 million euros, as compared with the same period of 2010.

RHI AG acquires SMA Mineral Magnesia
RHI AG, the world market leader for refractory products, has acquired Norway-based SMA Mineral Magnesia AS, for NOK 100 million (about 13 million euros).

New billet caster concept from Siemens shortens project time
A new billet caster concept with a designed throughput rate of maximum 400,000 tonnes per annum was developed by Siemens VAI, which enables quality products to be cast with economy billet casters commensurate with local market conditions.

FOCUS

• SMS Group graspes opportunities of the upswing

  The SMS group of metallurgical plant and machinery construction companies attracted an order intake in business year 2010 totaling EUR 2.931 billion (2009: EUR 2.341 billion) and generated sales of EUR 3.036 billion (2009: EUR 3.891 billion).

• Building Core Competence - Can be used as leverage by Indian Steel Industry to compete in global competitive environments

  Core competence means building up strengths in a specific area such as design and development of products as in the case of Philips's optical media competence, or Sony's micro motors and microprocessor controls. Honda's core competence in engines and power trains gives it a distinctive advantage in car, motorcycle, lawn mower, and generator businesses. Canon's core competencies in optics, imaging, and microprocessor controls have enabled it to enter, even dominate, markets of photocopiers, laser printers, cameras, and image scanners. Other examples of core competencies could include mechantronics (the ability to marry mechanical and electronic engineering), video displays, bio-engineering, and micro-electronics. In fact, a company's core competencies help it to acquire a place for its brands in the arena of global competition, and the superior edge of these competencies enable these brands to dominate competitors.

• Role of IPICOL in the industrialization of Odisha

  Economic Reform Programme initiated by central / state government together with globalisation process have opened up immense opportunities for rapid industrialization and every state government wish to take the full advantage of it as a means of economic growth. It is in this context that a rational approach to future industrial possibilities for Odisha, be considered and necessary action plan initiated. IPICOL can play a vial role in this respect, as it has gained experience from the past activities and can re-oriented its functioning to suit the present needs.

• Iron Ore resources in India-Value addition

  In the fast growing Indian economy, the per capita consumption of steel in the country is bound to grow significantly from the present 47 kg as against the world average of 190 kg and that of 400 kg in developed countries. The estimated steel production in India by the year 2020 is expected to be of the order of 200 MTPA. In such a scenario, there will be proportionate jump in the iron ore requirement to meet the demand of the Indian steel industry. With the depleting high grade iron ore reserves and revision of threshold value of iron ores to 45% Fe, it is obligatory on the part of mining industry to exploit Low/Lean grade iron ores which are hitherto considered a waste.

STEEL MARKET

Prices of Steel witnesses a high
The steel industry is showcasing a sign of ‘price upturn’ on a global note and standing on the forefront is the market arena of U.S. where the Hot Rolled Band price increased to $150 per tonne within the last couple of months. The Chinese steel market has also witnessed a high in prices with the Indian mills declaring two price hikes in January 2010 for HRC by a cumulative Rs. 2,500-3,500 per tonne ($55-77 per tonne), with ex-work price presently being at Rs. 35,000 per tonne ($769 per tonne) approximately.

IRON MAKING

Gas Cleaning system design for environmental friendly iron making
The dust removal efficiency of any separator is dependent on the particle size distribution, on the separation mechanism (i.e. gravitational or centrifugal force) and, to a lesser degree, on the inlet dust loading.

The Coke-Oven WatchCat
During the cokemaking process, coking coal is heated in the absence of oxygen at temperatures typically ranging from 1,000°C to 1,300°C for 15 to 30 hours to remove volatile components. A high-quality coke product is thereby generated that satisfies the chemical, energetic and physical properties required for use in a blast furnace. Cokemaking takes place in gas-fired coke-oven batteries comprising 30–100 individual ovens per battery. The ovens are exposed to enormous thermal and mechanical wear and require regular monitoring and maintenance to ensure high productivity, long service life and an optimized product quality.

ROLLING TECHNOLOGY

PP Rolling Mills Manufacturing (PPRM): The Quest for Excellence
The Indian steel sector is gearing up to meet the incremental demand coming up in the future with sustained growth. About 70 mtpa of steel capacity are scheduled to be added in the next five years. If all projects come on stream as per schedule, India is expected to become the second largest steel producing country in the world by Fiscal Year (FY) 2015.

STEEL MAKING

One step closer to fully Automatic Steelmaking
With 40 years of experience in electric steelmaking, Siemens VAI focuses on continuous improvements, especially when it comes to optimizing energy usage to melt steel. Siemens VAI also helps improve the characteristics of the steel produced, with special attention given to efficiency and minimal interruptions. Refining Combined Burner (RCB) technology is one of the most important parts of our approach to optimize the EAF process. The product family consists of the Simetal RCB injection technology for gas and Simetal RCB Oil for oil – both with supersonic oxygen injection – and Simetal RCB Temp for temperature measurements. The elements in the product family are implemented in a new modular panel design marketed under Simetal RCB Modular Injection Panel.

HOT-STRIP ROLLING

A new generation of DownCoilers
The reliable and efficient coiling of advanced steel grades extending from soft thin-gauge strip to thick-gauge high-strength steels is often an insurmountable challenge for conventional coilers in hotstrip mills. More powerful coiling equipment is required to allow the product mix of a hot-strip mill to be extended to assure, for example, the coiling of high-strength steels with thicknesses up to one inch (25.4 mm), structural steel grades with yield strengths up to 1,100 N/mm2, or tubular steels such as API X80 or X100.

COLD-ROLLING AND GALVANIZING

Hot Dip Galvanizing Line for latest High_Strength Steels Commissioned at voestalpine Stahl
Suppliers to the automotive industry have been facing constantly increasing demands in terms of production quality, quantities and costs. As a consequence production lines have to deliver superior quality, less scrap and higher production rates, while consumption of resources has to be minimized. To meet these market demands, voestalpine Stahl GmbH, the leading Austrian steel producer, decided to invest in a new hot dip galvanizing line, No. 4 in Linz, Austria. The new line is rated to produce 450,000 t/a of cold rolled steel strip in widths from 750 _1,750 mm and thicknesses from 0.4 to 2.0 mm. Moreover, it is equipped with the latest furnace technology, a zinc bath, a skin pass mill, a tension leveller and a coater. The main technical parameters of the line are summarized in table 1. The range of materials to be processed on the new plant covers various new steel grades, e.g. extra_deep drawing quality (EDDQ) steel, high_strength low alloyed steel (HSLA), CP steel, and TRIP steel. The line has been laid out to produce zinc coatings in the range from 60 to 350 g/m2.

COLD ROLLING

Optimizing the Tension Leveling Process
Within the production chain of pickled cold-rolled metal strips, scale breakers are typically installed at the entry of the pickling section to break the oxide layers on the strip surface (which often emerge during and after hot rolling). Tension levelers are normally located at the exit of strip-processing lines, such as continuous galvanizing or finishing lines. The tension levelers improve strip flatness by reducing flatness deficiencies such as center or edge buckles and strip camber, and minimize residual stresses of the finished strip. When running through such machines, the strip is bent alternately around multiple non-driven rolls with small diameters while high tension stresses are applied.

AUTOMATION

Corus automates refractory brick production with Rockwell Automation
The Corus steel corporation based in IJmuiden in the Netherlands, runs a unique operation at its refractory brick factory. This is the only place in the world capable of manufacturing bricks with such high refractory qualities to withstand the extreme heat of the steel production process.

PRE-ENGINEERING BUILDING

Pre-Engineered Metal Buildings
The technical norms of pre-engineered metal buildings entered the construction sector at the onslaught of 1990's and over the period of time, achieved extensive acceptance among the group of end-users.

PROCESS TECHNOLOGY

New Coal Distribution System for Blast Furnace Coal Injection
Blast furnaces are fed with ground coal through a number of feed points/lances arranged around the circumference of the blast furnace. Usually, a uniform distribution of the coal to the single lances is demanded. Especially at very high injection rates an uneven distribution of coal may limit the full utilization of the coal injection benefits. The even distribution of the coal depends on different operational parameters: kind of feeding/distribution system, arrangement of piping between distributor and injection lances, pressure fluctuations of the blast furnace, etc.

REFRACTORY

Sintering studies of combined gelation-precipitation processed Al203 - Zr02 nanocomposites
High performance ceramics are becoming increasingly more important as strategic materials for further development of technology. Alumina with a combination of good thermal, chemical and mechanical properties is an important member of the high-tech ceramic family. A dispersion of fine ZrO2 particle is also useful to improve the fracture toughness of ceramic materials [3]. The present work includes preparation of Al2O3 containing a dispersion of ZrO2 by combined gelation and precipitation method for studying the effect of ZrO2 addition on mechanical and physical properties. Sol-gel [5] process has emerged as an important method of preparing alumina ceramic powders and aluminium sulfate lends itself easy to gel formation. Therefore, a modified Sol-Gel process[2] was used to prepare Al2O3-ZrO2 nanocomposites. This work includes characterization of composite gel powders. A comprehensive sintering study has also been reported of all these Al2O3-ZrO2 nanocomposites.

ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT

4rth generation of COROMAX pulse generators for ESPs
The tendency in air pollution regulations is a decrease of the accepted levels for fine particles. E.g. the EU has imposed lower limit on ambient concentration of fine particulate matter (PM2.5). It is well known that pulse energization is the most effective means in charging and filtering fine particulate when using ESP’s.

COMPANY PROFILE

Iron Ore Pellet Plants - Indigenous reliable supplier for Pelletising Discs and Process Fans - Rotoauto
Rotoauto Engineering Solutions Pvt. Ltd. based at Chennai is a multifaceted heavy engineering enterprise with focus on large rotary process equipments catering to core industries like Steel, Power, Cement, Petrochemical, etc. In the steel industry, Rotoauto is a well established OEM with expertise in design, manufacture and supply of Iron Ore Pelletising Discs (Balling Discs) and Process fans.

COMPANY NEWS

The right fair at the right time
Interesting business prospects are being expected by the SMS group when the doors of the Düsseldorf Trade Fair open for the international Trade Fair Quartet GIFA, METEC, THERMPROCESS and NEWCAST from June 28 till July 2, 2011. The SMS group is a group of companies internationally active in plant construction and mechanical engineering relating to the processing of steel and nonferrous metals. It is subdivided into the SMS Siemag and SMS Meer Business Areas. For the last event in 2007, the Trade Fair halls were bustling with around 77,000 specialist visitors from all over the world. An even greater throng of visitors is expected this year, with packed halls and a high quality of visitors.

STEEL TECHNOLOGY

iSteel- A new approach to reduce transformation costs and environmental impact; results at Ferriere Nord
EAF steelmakers today, face many challenges in a competitive and rapidly changing global market. For the melting operation, steelmakers are demanding improved process optimization based on a holistic approach. Factors considered are cost, total energy, productivity, yield and environmental impact. Increased awareness has generated the need for a more conscientious approach to the use of natural resources and the release of pollutants into the environment.

A highly dynamic process - Technical development at SMS Siemag AG
The power of technical innovation has always been a topic of great importance at SMS Siemag. The continuous work in this area, and the new developments resulting from it, characterize more than 140 years of history of the company and have been instrumental in strengthening SMS Siemag's role as a world leader on the market for metallurgical and rolling mill technology.

New process model for BOF Converter
On meeting all the quality and safety requirements and in view of a constantly rising pressure for cost reduction in the steel industry, automation plays a decisive role. This means, for example, that the process model is the key component for process optimization and control in an oxygen steelmaking plant. The BOF process optimization system developed by SMS Siemag monitors and optimizes the steel production on the BOF converter and provides maximum efficiency, quality and productivity of the plant even under adverse conditions.

WEB TECHNOLOGY

Web-based uTool Application Delivers Plant Information
This article describes how to use existing web technology with a Data Center approach to create a unifying environment to deliver mill data over a plant network. Old programs are given new life by linking them together in a secure space that can pass context data at runtime. Tools are integrated on the website with other analysis and maintenance functions including production reports, model logs, knowledge bases, diagnostic reports and status dashboards.

PRE-METEC 2011

GIFA, METEC, THERMPROCESS, NEWCAST - A global leading trade fairs point the way forward
After 4 years of long waiting, finally the world's biggest trade fairs have punched the clock! Arrangements for the four international technology trade fairs GIFA, METEC, THERMPROCESS and NEWCAST are now in high gear. Visitors and exhibitors from around the world are much excited to flock to trade fairs in Düsseldorf.