MMK continues large-scale reconstruction of its coke and chemical production facilities

2023-07-14

Jul. 14, 2023 - Viktor Rashnikov, Chairman of MMK's Board of Directors, briefed the Plenipotentiary Representative of the President of the Russian Federation in the Urals Federal District Vladimir Yakushev and Governor of the Chelyabinsk Region Alexey Teksler on the progress made towards the construction of MMK’s new coke oven battery No. 12. Investment in the project is estimated at over RUB 80 billion.

At present, the project is focused on the technological setup of the first battery unit, with construction of the dry coke quenching unit almost completed. This fall, another unit will be launched; refractory masonry and equipment installation have been fully completed at this site, and the heating process is currently underway. Both of these units will comprise the first stage of the project, which will see the coal tower, dry coke quenching unit, coal preparation unit, coke sorting facilities, desulfurisation and denitrification unit, liquid ammonia storage, air-compressor and fire pumping stations, and engineering facilities come into operation in 2023.

The project’s second stage will see the construction of two more coke oven battery blocks with 50 furnaces apiece, each with a coal tower and process units. In addition, a waste heat recovery boiler and two turbine generators behind the dry coke quenching unit with a total capacity of 40 MW will be put into operation, which will make it possible to supply the coke battery complex's power needs. The launch of the second stage is scheduled for 2024. The new coke battery will have a production capacity of 2.5 million tonnes of dry coke per year, which covers almost half of MMK's coke demand.

China’s Sinosteel Equipment & Engineering Co., Ltd. is the general contractor of the construction project. More than ten contracting organisations are involved in the construction of the complex, with more than three thousand people working at the construction site every day. In total, they are set to pour more than 220 thousand cubic metres of concrete, and install 34 thousand tonnes of steel structures and 50 thousand tonnes of equipment.

As noted by Chairman Rashnikov, the implementation of this large-scale investment project has major environmental significance for MMK and Magnitogorsk as a whole. With the launch of coke battery No. 12 and the planned reconstruction of coke batteries No. 7-8, five obsolete batteries will be phased out of operation. The modernisation of MMK’s production facilities will enable the Company to reduce gross emissions of pollutants by 11.35 thousand tonnes per year, as well as to carry out waste-free production thanks to the introduction of a dry coke quenching unit. The dry quenching technology makes it possible to utilise coke heat, as well as to obtain steam for technological needs and power generation. The new battery will also play an important role in decarbonising MMK’s production process by reducing CO2 emissions in the amount of 2.2 million tonnes per year.

The construction of coke battery No. 12 is part of the comprehensive reconstruction of MMK's coke and chemical production facilities. At present, the modernisation of the chemical products recovery and processing shop is nearing completion, and commissioning of a new biochemical plant is underway. The modernisation of MMK’’s coke and chemical production will drastically reduce the man-made impact on the environment and will support the fulfillment of environmental goals that were set as part of the federal Clean Air project.