VIEWPOINT
Indian steel industry a perspective
With a strong economy, amongst the fastest growing in the world and with rising income levels and consumer spending patterns, India’s steel appetite is likely to match the developed countries in the next one to two decades. This is how a recent report of the ICC claims and it does not look like a dream to be not achievable under the present circumstances even at a time when the country is plagued by the inflation soaring to 12% which the government is trying hard to control and the industry taking a somewhat backseat in a political scenario wherein all the parties are busy eyeing towards the next general election to take place very soon.
AUTOMATION
Concept of laboratory automation in an aluminium smelter
Just as the products made by aluminium are constantly changing it is necessary to monitor the production process for
more cost effective production by reduction of maintenance costs and equipment down times, energy savings and constantly higher product quality. Since the phases and chemical composition of intermediate products and aluminium cannot be measured as
easily as the temperature, complex technical systems are needed here which are combined into a aluminium plant production
laboratory. The work steps required for this such as sample transport, processing, analysis and evaluation can be automated
to a great extent today.
IN FOCUS
Press Note on Completion of Four Years of the UPA Government (Ministry of Steel, Government of India)
On completion of four years of the Government, the performance of the Minsitry of Steel and its PSUs were reviewed. A Press Conference was held on 23 May 2008, which was chaired by the Hon'ble Minister of Chemicals & Fertlisers and Steel, Ram Vilas Paswan. Jitin Prasada, Hon'ble Minster of State for Steel; RS Pandey, Secretary (Steel), SK Roongta, Chairman, SAIL and other officials of the Ministry and its PSUs were present on the occasion.
The Indian government must ensure the Indian steel industry to remain competitive
During the last year, production of finished steel grew by 16.5%, from 44.5 MT in 2005-06 to 49.4 MT in 2006-07. It is estimated that by 2015-16, India would become the second largest steel producer globally with an annual production of 137 MT, growing at a CAGR of 12%. Subsequently, India is expected to reach 220 MT of steel production by 2020, says a report of Indian Chamber of Commerce submitted to the Ministry of Steel. Excerpts of the report…
GLOBAL STEEL SCENARIO
Steel Market Prospects
In the recent period the dynamics of steel market have engaged the attention of policy planners more than ever. For the last one and half decade there is a perceptible shift of economic growth from the developed to the developing countries, particularly to the countries in Asian region. As steel industry plays a crucial role in the industrial and economic development of the country, it is no wonder that a vibrant and robust steel industry has already taken shape in not only some of the developing countries but in the emerging economies as well. This group of emerging countries which also includes the BRIC countries comprises countries on the threshold of a growing industrial sector. In addition to BRIC countries some of the other major emerging steel producing countries are:- Turkey, Vietnam, Middle East and East Europe. The recent assessment of steel demand by IISI in its short range outlook exercise indicates high growth of steel consumption in the emerging countries.
Indian steel’s consistent & remarkable performance
Steel, a versatile product with wide range of applications from a small pin to manufacture of automobiles ship, railway
system, aircrafts, big construction projects, housing nuclear power stations, ports and so on. The Indian steel is in the midst
of massive development and has recorded a remarkable performance on a consistent basis. Indian steel is now capable of making world class steel and the products are well accepted in the global market. India will soon be recognized as a global leader in steel in the days to come. The National Steel Policy 2005 had visualized a production level of 110mt by 2019-20, which is soon to be surpassed with the present trends in production and consumption.
Need to improved access to resources & markets driving consolidation on a global scale
The growth in steel demand has entered a new phase with demand being chiefly driven by the emerging economies, such as Brazil, Russia, India and China and Asia – especially, China, Europe and North America dominating steel production. The three largest steel producing countries in 2007 were China (349.4 MT), Japan (112.5 MT) and the US (93.9 MT). Despite the ‘heightened risks’ pervading the world economy, it is expected that the global steel production will grow at a rate of 4% until 2015.
REFRACTORY
World refractory market shrink slowly, total production keep increasing over time
The International Refractories Congress (Irefcon) 2008 in Kolkata had a definite fall out in the notion that the refractories
industry in India has got a face lift in the last couple of years due to the booming steel industry in the country – both in terms of adopting newer technologies for better product development in a more economical way and investments inflows in India. Not only the big Indian players like Tata Refractories, Ace Refractories, IFGL, OCL, Vesuvius etc. came in a big way; the smaller players also had a good time in their respective business areas. Even the foreign players like Eirich, Laeis, Almatis, Elkem paid more attention to the country in recent times in terms of collaborations and marketing efforts in the country.
IRON ORE
Iron Ore is the primary raw material used in the manufacture of steel
Approximately 1.6 tons of high-grade iron ore of iron ore pellets are needed to produce one ton of crude steel. Since the latter accounts for more than 90% of all metals used and almost 20 times greater than the annual consumption of all other metals combined, iron ore is more critical to the global economy than any other mineral commodity.
Manganese is the fourth most used metal with 34 million tons mined in 2006
Manganese enjoys applications in steel (nearly 90% of all manganese consumed), portable batteries and aluminium beverage cans, improving alloys and compound properties. Different steel grades require different manganese quantities, most of it being in the form of manganese ferro-alloys. Industrialised countries require a little over 7.5 kg of manganese per ton of steel.
IRON ORE BENEFICIATION
Hari Machines and allmineral GmbH – Forging ahead in the Iron ore beneficiation field in India
Hari machines together with its global partners – Almineral GmbH, Germany has bagged the biggest Iron Ore Beneficiation contract from steel major Jindal Steel & power Ltd. For its “ 11 MTPA beneficiation plant” at Barbil, Orissa.
STEEL MARKET
Wider horizons, a catalytic effect to the emergence of a new trend, India’s domestic steel price yet to touch the peak
India has moved two places up in the global steel ranking and is now the 5th largest producer of crude steel with revised figures for production, ahead of South Korea and Germany. An expert committee of union steel ministry revised the production data for crude steel in the 2006 calendar year to 49.45 MT against 44 MT reported earlier. The steel ministry has also revised the target steel production in India to 80 MTPY by 2011-12 from 65 MTPY projected earlier. The ministry asserted that the country will produce 175 MT of steel by 2020 against 110 MT as envisaged in the National Steel Policy 2005.
STEEL TECHNOLOGY
High-Strength Steels for Aerospace Forgings
The selection of material for a forged part usually requires some compromise between opposing factors - for instance, strength vs toughness, stress-corrosion resistance vs weight, manufacturing cost vs useful load-carrying ability, production cost vs maintenance cost, and so on. Material selection also involves consideration of melting practices, forming methods, machining operations, heat treating procedures, deterioration of properties with time in service, as well as the conventional mechanical and chemical properties of the alloy to be forged.
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