PJSC ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih (AMKR, Dnipropetrovsk region) is implementing a number of projects to increase the efficiency of blast furnace No. 6 and reduce energy costs.

"In blast furnace shop No. 1 of AMKR, several large projects are being implemented at once, aimed at improving the operation of blast furnace No. 6," the company said in the Metallurg corporate newspaper.

It is noted that to melt cast iron in a blast furnace, hot blast is required – air at a temperature of more than 1,000 degrees Celsius, enriched with oxygen. It is fed into the oven under pressure.

"Air heater No. 2 of blast furnace No. 6 did not always cope with this task; there were emergency failures and production losses. Therefore, the WCM implementation team, taking advantage of the fact that the sixth furnace was now stopped for repairs, decided to implement a ten-step project to improve the operation of this heater," the company said in the information with reference to the senior gas foreman of furnace shop No. 1 Serhiy Koschuk said.

In turn, WCM engineer Ruslan Kryvenko said this is a unique case in his practice, when several large-scale improvements are implemented by one team at once: "Usually every major project is a separate team, but this is a special case."

Based on the results of the implementation of the projects, it is expected to make blast furnace No. 6 a more reliable unit and significantly reduce production losses.