A PROJECT REPORT ON LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT OF STEEL INDUSTRY

BY, SWARUP MUKHOPADHYAY

INST ITUTE OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT & STUDIES YEAR OF SUBMISSION 2003-04

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LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT OF STEEL INDUSTRY

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CERTIFICATE FROM THE GUIDE

This is to certify that project work titled Life cycle Assessment of Steel Industry is a bonafide work carried out by Swarup Mukhopadhyay, a candidate for the Post graduate Examination of Indian Institute of Ecology and Environment under my guidance and direction.

SIGNATURE OF GUIDE: NAME: DESIGNATION: ADDRESS: DATE: PLACE:

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ENVIRONMENTAL, OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH & SAFETY POLICY TATA STEEL REAFFIRMS ITS COMMITMENT TO PROVIDE SAFE WORK PLACE AND CLEAN ENVIRONMENT TO ITS EMPLOYEES AND OTHER STAKEHOLDERS AS AN INTEGRAL PART OF ITS BUSINESS PHILOSOPHY & VALUES. WE WILL CONTINUALLY ENHANCE OUR ENVIRONMENTAL, OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH & SAFETY (EHS) PERFORMANCE IN OUR ACTIVITIES, PRODUCTS AND SERVICES THROUGH A STRUCTURED EHS MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORK. TOWARDS THIS COMMITMENT, WE SHALL; Establish and achieve EHS objectives and targets. Ensure compliance with applicable EHS legislation and other requirement and go beyond. Conserve natural resources and energy by constantly seeking to reduce consumption and promoting waste avoidance & recycling measures. Eliminate, minimize and / or control adverse environmental impacts and occupational health and safety risks through adopting appropriate State-of-theart technology and best EHS management practices at all levels and functions. Enhance awareness, skill and competence of our employees & contractors so as to enable them to demonstrate their involvement, responsibility and accountability for sound EHS performance.

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Date: 31st January 2003

(B MUTHURAMAN) MANAGING DIRECTOR

ABSTRACT The Iron and Steel industry is facing a serious challenge today both in the developed countries as well as in the newly industrialized parts of the world. In India, international competition has become sharper with many new players entering the arena with high quality steel. There has been a simultaneous shift in consumer expectations with regard to quality of products and services that a steel maker offers. In the present scenario, the steel industry, as a highly material and energy intensive technology oriented sector, not only needs to address the obvious questions of profitability, innovation and adaptation to new technology but also has to refocus its attention on its overall responsibility to the society in terms of environmental performance. The pervasive nature of steel industry because of the magnitude of its operations and its intensive use of energy and raw materials is readily appreciated by all and, so is its potentially major impact on environment. A major portion of the raw-materials and other resources used in steel making via the integrated production route get converted into and discharged as polluted air, water and solid wastes at considerable energy and capital cost. A material balance of a typical integrated steel plant indicates that the production of one

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tonne of finished steel product generates roughly 420 kg waste stream-mainly slag, dust and sludges. Compared to its Western counterparts the Indian steel sector is beset with problems of higher energy consumption (40GJ Vs 18GJ/tonne of crude steel); higher pollution load (3-6kg of dust Vs 1kg/tonne of crude steel) and; higher raw material consumption. This is probably so because many of the Indian plants were designed when the cost of water, energy and raw materials was low and the need for effluent treatment could be ignored. More importantly, designs were based on discounted cash flow calculations with long term high running costs. Excessive water, energy and, raw material usage seemed an acceptable price to pay for short term savings in initial capital investment to procure rather outmoded technology and machinery. The emergence of the first energy crisis in mid Seventies and the growing awareness about the environmental accountability led to the search for new interventions for improved productivity, profitability and resource optimization through Cleaner Technologies. Management tools like Impact Assessment, Environment Audit, Life Cycle Assessment and Natural Resource Accounting became widely accepted. LCA, in particular, provides a new perspective on products and processes as it examines the industrial systems and evaluates their performance starting from the extraction of raw materials through all the varied operations until their final disposal as wastes back into the ecosystem. By this Cradle to Grave approach LCA provides an objective diagnostic tool to

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take strategic market decisions, material choices, policy initiatives, environmental bench marking and uncover trade-off. An LCA study involving three integrated steel plants in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment & Forests was initiated in 1997 in India. This paper presents the methodology adopted, relative performance of our steel sector in relation to International Bench Marks regarding raw material and energy consumption per unit of crude steel, emissions generated and estimated as per the common basis of measurement suggested in the global study etc. Requisite interventions emerging from the study are also detailed with emphasis on integration of the upstream processes, switch over from end-of-the pipe treatment to cleaner production initiatives, improvements in house-keeping, up gradation of skills and reorientation of marketing and decision making policy and processes etc. Special attention is given to handling and management of wastes and, therefore, wastes minimization initiatives through recycling and reuse for promoting Cleaner Production.

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CONTENTS

I II III, IV, V VI, VII, VIII IX X

XI

TITLE PAGE CERTIFICATE ABSTRACT CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES LIST OF FIGURES NOMENCLATURE

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CHAPTER

TITLE

PAGE No. (1-7) 1

2 5

1.0 INTRODUCTION 1.1 LIFE CYLCE ASSESSMENT

1.2 STEEL AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT 1.3 LCA AS AN ENVIRONMENTALTOOL5

1.4 BASIC FRAME WORK OF LCA

2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 LCA AND THE STEEL INDUSTRY:INITIATIVE AT IISI 2.2 NEED FOR AN LCA STUDY FOR THE INDIAN STEEL SECTOR 2.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE INDIAN STEEL SECTOR STUDY

(8-17) 8 9 12

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3.0 LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT OF THE INDIAN STEEL INDUSTRY 3.1 ENERGY USAGE 3.2 WATER USAGE TREND 3.3 ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE OF STEEL 3.4 MATERIAL RECYCLING AND REUSE 3.5 FUTURE CHALLENGES

(18-26) 20 20 20 24 26

CONTENTS (CON)

CHAPTER

TITLE

PAGE No.

4.0 LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT OF THE US STEEL INDUSTRY 4.1 MACRO ECONOMIC LOOK AT STEEL MAKING 4.2 GENERAL 4.3 PLANT CATEGORIES 4.4 GROWTH TRENDS 4.5 INVESTMENT 4.6 INDUSTRIAL FINANCIAL PROFILE

(27-70) 27 28 28 29 32 32

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4.7 LCA STUDY OF STEEL INDUSTRY 4.8 GOAL AND SCOPE

33 33

4.9 INTEGRATED STEEL PRODUCTION PROCESS 4.10 INVENTORY OF INTEGRATED STEEL MAKING 4.11 IMPACT ANALYSIS FOR INTEGRATED STEEL MAKING 4.12 ALTERNATE WAYS OF STEEL MAKING 4.13 INVENTORY OF SEMI-INTEGRATED STEEL MAKING 4.14 IMPACT ANALYSIS FOR SEMI-INTEGRATED STEEL MAKING 4.15 INTEGRATED VS SEMI INTEGRATED, COMPARISION 4.16 IMPROVEMENT ANALYSIS 4.17 ACTIVITIES INCLUDE

34 37 49 50 51 59 60 67 70

CONTENTS (CON..)
CHAPTER TITLE PAGE No.

4.18 CONCLUSION

70

5.0 REFERENCES

71

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LIST OF TABLES
TABLE NO. TITLE PAGE NO.

NATURAL RESOURCE CONSUMPTION PER TON OF STEEL 16 2.1 IMPORTANT INFLOWS AND OUTFLOWS PER TONNE OF STEEL MAKING SYSTEM 4.1 4.2 INPUT INVENTORY FOR INTEGRATED STEEL PRODUCTION TOXIC RELEASE INVENTORY CHEMICALS FOR STEEL MAKING FACILITIES 4.3 4.4 INTEGRATED SLAG OUTPUT BLAST FURNACE AND STEEL MILL AIR POLLUTANT EMISSIONS 4.5 INPUT INVENTORY FOR SEMI-INTEGRATED 53 48 49 42 (44-47) 17

STEEL PRODUCTION 4.6 TOXIC RELEASE INVENTORY CHEMICALS FOR SEMIINTEGRATED STEEL 4.7 4.8 SEMI-INTEGRATED SLAG OUTPUT BLAST FURNACE AND STEEL MILL AIR POLLUTANTS EMISSIONS 4.9 INTEGRATED VS SEMI-INTEGRATED INPUT COMPARISION 62 58 58 (54 57)

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4.10 TOXIC RELEASE INVENTORY CHEMICALS COMPARISION

(63-66)

LIST OF FIGURES

FIGURE No.

TITLE

PAGE No.

4.1 4.2

RAW STEEL PRODUCTION BY FURNACE TYPE TYPICAL FLOW OF INTEGRATED STEEL PRODUCTION

31 36

NOMENCLATURE

AISI BOF BSP CDQ

American Iron and Steel Institute Basic Oxygen Furnace Bhilai Steel Plant Coke Dry Quenching

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DIOS EAF EIA EPA IISI LCA LCI NERI NRA OHF PCI RINL TRI JIT

Direct Iron Ore Smelting Electric Arc Furnace Environmental Impact Assessment Environmental Protection Agency International Iron and Steel Institute Life Cycle Assessment Life Cycle inventory National Environmental Research Institute Natural Resource Accounting Open Hearth Furnace Pulverized Coal Injection Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited Toxic Release Inventory Just in time CHAPTER-1

INTRODUCTION
1.1 LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT Life cycle assessment is a technique used to assess potential environmental, economic and technical implications associated with a specific product or service. This type of assessment has become a valuable tool for producers studies in industrial ecology

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and with the rising popularity of practicing product stewardship. Product stewardship involves designing, building maintaining, and recycling products in such a way that they pose minimal impact to the wider world. (Graedel, 1995) As defined by the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, an LCA is as follows: The life-cycle assessment is an objective process to evaluate the environmental burdens associated with a product, process, or an activity by identifying and quantifying energy and material usage and environmental releases, to assess the impact of those energy and material uses and releases on the environment, and to evaluate and implement opportunities to effect environmental improvements. The assessment includes the entire life cycle of the product, process or activity, encompassing extracting and processing raw materials; manufacturing, transportation, and distribution; use/re-use/maintenance; recycling; and final disposal. (Graedel, 1995) This type of analysis is a very large and detailed one, and can typically be defined into a series of steps. The first very important part of the study is defining the goal and scope of the project, this gives a detailed overview of the process, product or activity, and which parts will be focused on in the analysis. Also in defining the goal and scope of the project, who, where and how the study will be conducted are key points that need to be defined. After defining the goal and scope, there are three formal steps in the analysis. These steps include: inventory analysis, compiling an inventory of relevant inputs and

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outputs; impact analysis, evaluating the potential environmental impacts associated with those inputs and outputs; and improvement analysis, interpreting the results of the inventory and impact phases in relation to the objectives of the study. 1.2 STEEL AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT Steel is essential for economic development and its versatile range of physical properties and chemical resistances make it the main structural and engineering material in different sectors of development. Steel is a strong material and is continuing to provide benefits to society through safe, environmentally responsible and durable products. The starting point for the production of steel is the smelting of iron ore in a blast furnace, which uses coal in the form of coke to reduce iron ore to molten iron. These process alone uses 70 per cent of the total energy used in steel making. Molten iron is converted into a range of applications in a Basic Oxygen Furnace (BOF) which uses the rapid injection of oxygen to remove the excess amount of carbon and silicon in the iron. Liquid steel at over 16000 C is then cast into different shapes before passing through a series of finishing mills to give it its final dimensions and mechanical properties. The recycling of scrap in an electric arc furnace (EAF) also produces steel. Some 25 years ago, steel making was at its zenith. Steel making was a highly profitable and vital component of national economies. Integrated steel production was the norm, while scrap based production using electric arc furnaces was confined to the lowest grades of steel and played only a marginal role. Today the situation is rather different.

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There is a significant shift in the geography of steel making. In 1900, the USA was producing 37% of the world steel. With post war industrial development in Asia, this region accounts for almost 40 % with Europe producing 36% and North America 14.5 %. There are over 350 steel companies, which have a steel making capacity of half a million tonne or more per year. Today, on a worldwide basis, over two thirds of the steel is produced through the blast furnace route. The blast furnace is a very efficient mechanism for making virgin iron units. However, its role in the developed world will decline, as environmental pressures will force continued reduction in the use of coal reserves for coke making. In addition, the capital costs required to refurnish or build new blast furnaces will mean the gradual reduction in the number of ones which are operating. On the other hand, the electric arc furnace route of steel making has lower capital costs per tonne of output, works on a variable cost basis and can be increasingly supported in the future through supplements to scrap in the form of alternative iron units produced through direct reduction processes. The size of this industry will be significant in the years to come. Over the course of the twentieth century, production of crude steel has risen at an astounding rate, now fast approaching a production level of 800 million tonnes per year. Our present time has brought in additional changes and challenges for virtually allindustrial activities. The steel industry too is facing a challenging time, although the precise nature of these challenges is different in different parts of the world. Steel use

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strongly reflects major economic forces .Put simplistically, steel use (and hence production) increases when economies are growing as Governments invest in infrastructure and transport, building and industry. Economic recession meets with the dip in Steel production as such investments falter. (IISI, 2001)(1). In India too, international competition has become sharper with many new players entering the arena with high quality steel. Concomitant with these developments there has been a simultaneous shift in consumer expectations with regard to quality of products and services that a steel maker offers. All the enterprises in the chain from raw material extraction to the consumer are putting emphasis on cycle time reduction, increased efficiencies in the manufacturing process, increased emphasis on ''just in time,'' and cleaner production. In the present scenario, the steel industry, as a highly material and energy intensive technology oriented sector not only needs to address the obvious questions of profitability, innovation and adaptation to new technology, but also has to refocus its attention on its overall responsibility to the society in terms of environmental performance.

1.3 LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT AS AN ENVIRONMENTAL TOOL

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The search for innovation and cost effective ways to improve industry's performance has led to the development of a wide array of concepts, and management tools for decision making. Tools such as Impact Assessment, Environmental Audit, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Natural Resource Accounting (NRA) are, therefore, becoming increasingly useful for objective analysis related to policy strategies development, product policy development, business strategies including investment plans and product and process design etc. These instruments can be used by the industry either to better design and manage its operations and products; or by the Government to lead the industry towards resource optimization and Cleaner Production. Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) was one of the first such tools developed to predict the impacts of new industrial facilities on the environment. Today EIA has become mandatory in many countries, including India. EIAs, however, have their limitations. Since, an environmental impact assessment considers potential environmental effects during the planning phase before the operations actually start it essentially projects a scenario, which can hopefully be achieved. With experience, industry managers and governments have discovered that this is not enough, and that a wider tool basket is needed to support informed decision making in response to increased regulatory and public pressure, and demand for a cleaner environment. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) or commonly known "Cradle to Grave" analysis, has emerged as a powerful analytical tool for material development and product substitution to

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meet the twin objectives of resource optimization and sustainable development. Steel fraternity world over is engaged in developing rigorous methodologies to appropriately utilize this tool to uphold the competitive position of steel in the world market. Most studies have so far been in the Western world where LCA is attracting attention in response to devising product promotion strategies, meeting customer demands, and anticipating competitor reaction, Government pressure and process/environmental benchmarking. LCA is a new way of looking at products and processes. Also called Ecobalance, it essentially seeks to determine the impact of a product or a process on the environment through its entire life cycle from the cradle to the grave. It, however, has its origins in the premise that the only sensible way to examine industrial systems is to examine their performance starting with the extraction of raw materials through all the varied operations until their final disposal as wastes back into the ecosystem (cradle to grave). By seeking to consider comprehensively the issues associated with the production, use, disposal and recycling of products including the materials from which they are made and assessing the burdens assignable to these over their entire life cycle, LCA provides an objective analysis to make strategic market decisions, material choices, policy initiatives and uncover trade offs.

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1.4 BASIC FRAMEWORK OF LCA A review of international practices in the field of LCA indicates that the standardized framework being promoted as code of practice comprises of a four-step process: 1. 2. 3. 4. Goal definition Inventory analysis or life cycle inventory (LCI) Impact assessment and Improvement analysis

The starting step for any LCA is goal definition and scooping. It involves defining the scope of the study, the identification of the boundaries, the functional unit of the study as also the identification of the target group for whom the study is intended. The next step i.e. the LCI phase (the drawing up of a process tree, filling in the process data and drawing up an intervention table) is the most crucial step in an LCA exercise. An LCI is essentially the backbone of any LCA and requires an exhaustive listing and quantification of energy and raw material requirements, air emissions, effluents and other environmental releases. A number of advanced models are available which help divide the industrial system into specific unit operations which can each be studied and linked back together to form the complete life cycle datasheets for any individual system. The raw output from the model provides enormous amount of data, which can be overwhelming for the average user. It is, therefore, necessary to aggregate the data according to known and significant

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impact indicators. These issues are taken care of in the impact assessment and improvement analysis phases of the study. CHAPTER-2

LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 LCA AND THE STEEL INDUSTRY: INITIATIVES AT IISI LCA has been a topic of growing interest to the steel industry. Several steel companies and associations have already independently carried out LCA studies, each different in purpose, system boundary and methodology. The International Iron and Steel Institute (IISI), Brussels, embarked on an ambitious global LCI study on steel industry products in 1997 with the primary objective of building a data base and developing a common worldwide methodology for cradle to gate steel product LCIs across member companies within IISI. An exercise of this magnitude is considered to be the first of its kind undertaken globally for life cycle assessment of any material. The principal aims of the project were to 5. Produce worldwide LCI data for steel industry products

6. Assist industry benchmarking and environmental improvement Programs. 7. 8. 9. Provide a basis for carrying out impact assessments Obtain life cycle information requested by customers Support communication with industry stakeholders

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10. Support response to environmental claims against steel and 11. Train industry in the field of life cycle assessment.

2.2 NEED FOR AN LCA STUDY FOR THE INDIAN STEEL SECTOR The pervasive nature of the steel industry because of the magnitude of its operations and its intensive use of energy and raw materials is readily appreciated by all and, so is its potentially major impact on the environment. A major portion of the raw materials and other natural resources used in steel making get converted into and discharged as polluted air, water and solid waste at enormous energy and capital cost. Steel production involves various processes that result in extensive consumption of natural resources as shown in Table 2.1 A material balance of a typical integrated steel plant indicates that the production of one tonne of finished steel product generates roughly 420-kg waste stream-mainly slag, dust and sludge. Two and a half decades ago, when steel making was at its peak, and major expansions were planned every where, energy and environmental considerations were secondary. However, with the first energy crisis in the mid 70's the situation changed. Energy considerations became quite important and environmental issues occupied center stage. The steel processing technology has undergone changes in order to adapt to these

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new requirements. There has been major improvements in energy utilization efficiency, labor productivity and pollution control, over the last two decades.

Compared to its western counterparts, the Indian steel industry is beset with problems of higher energy consumption (40 GJ Vs 18 GJ/tonne of crude steel), higher pollution load (3-6 kg of dust Vs 1 kg/tonne of crude steel) , and higher raw material consumption. This is probably so, because many of the Indian plants were designed when the cost of water, energy and raw materials was low and the need for effluent treatment could be ignored. More importantly, designs were based on discounted cash flow calculations with long term high running costs. Excessive water, energy and raw material usage seemed an acceptable price to pay for short term savings in initial capital investment to procure rather outmoded technology and machinery. The need for technological intervention in the steel sector can be illustrated using energy inputs in the steel industry as an example. In India the steel industry accounts for nearly 35% of the total energy consumed by the industry. Since steel in India has been traditionally produced through the conventional BF-OHF/BOF route, nearly 67% of the energy in this process is consumed up to the iron making stage with rolling mills and steel making accounting for another 14% & 8% respectively. Moreover poor quality input energy especially coal results in higher specific energy consumption .In fact in the Indian integrated steel plants, 14.3% of the

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steel is still being made through the energy inefficient Open hearth steel making process with energy consumption ten times more than the BOF process. With over 50% of the steel still being cast through the ingot casting route, the energy burden gets tremendously increased. Similar scenarios are available for raw material consumption and pollutant release from the steel making processes. This is a clear pointer towards the need to address a number of technology - related issues in the steel sector through integrative and diagnostic tools such as LCA so that timely interventions can help steel companies to increase their profitability and improve the quality of their products. Optimal utilization of natural resources is now imperative for sustainable development and this is all the more necessary in the case of developing countries where development operations are still accompanied by avoidable waste of minerals energy, water and manpower. Considering that the concept of LCA could be gainfully used for drawing up raw material, energy conservation as well as pollution control and waste recycling plans in such a key sector such as steel, the first multiinstitutional and multidisciplinary LCA study for the steel sector was launched by the Ministry of Environment and Forests in India in 1997 with the active participation of three integrated steel plants namely, Bhilai Steel Plant (BSP) of the Steel Authority of India Ltd. (SAIL), Tata Iron & Steel Co. (TISCO) and Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd. (RINL) along with leading national consultants in the field of environmental engineering and steel technologies namely, MECON, Dastur Co and National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI). The study also envisaged

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active interaction with the International Iron and Steel Institute (IISI) and Ecobilan, Paris- leading international LCA consultants.

2.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE INDIAN STEEL SECTOR STUDY The main objectives of this study are to: 1. Devise protocols for Life Cycle Assessment for steel and to generate databases and a widely applicable methodology for Life Cycle Assessment of steel that could 1. Serve as a quantitative baseline for the producers and manufacturers to assess the environmental consequences of potential process changes and improvements. 2. Provide ways and means to reduce energy consumption per tonne of steel manufactured 3. Provide guidance in pollution prevention programs through waste reduction and resource conservation opportunities 4. Guide product process technology choices compatible with region specific factors

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2.4 METHODOLOGY The first multi disciplinary, multi institutional LCA study for the Indian Steel Sector was evolved through several brainstorming sessions with the top management of the three steel plants, Ministry officials and the consultants. The jointly funded study was then launched simultaneously at the three steel plants as per the following schedule STAGE 1: GOAL DEFINITION AND METHODOLOGY DEVELOPMENT 1. 2. Formation of a Central LCA Core Group within each participating institution Formation of LCI field teams at each participating steel plant site including mines. 3. 4. Appointment of an LCA Manager (Nodal Officer) at SAIL, TISCO & RINL. Modeling of the steel industry processes at each site, breakdown into independent, discrete process units (modules), define process unit boundaries and define input/outputs at the boundaries of each process unit etc.

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5. STAGE 2 1. 2.

Application of LCI methodology rules to steel industry

Procurement of software from M/s Ecobilan, Paris Installation and operationalisation of software at participating institutions

STAGE 3: DATA BASE BUILDING (LCI) 1. Questionnaire distribution to LCA field teams drawn from different process units from the cradle to steel gate 2. Data collection on site by the steel industry personnel & consultants 3. Entering and treatment of data on a computer based LCI/LCA software (TEAM) 4. Production of LCI spread sheets STAGE 4: TRAINING SESSIONS 1. Training & Interactive Sessions with Ecobilan Experts for Gap Analysis using Ecobilan Model STAGE 5: CREATION OF ECOBALANCES 2. 3. 4. Validation of Results Impact Assessment & Improvement Analysis Report Preparation

The study is a <cradle -to -grave> study which covers all the production steps from raw materials in the earth to the steel gate. Within the scope of the study the system

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function has been defined as the production of crude steel at the factory gate. The functional unit, which enables the system performance to be quantified, is 1 Kg of crude steel at the factory gate. The plant have also used the LCA methodology to inventorise product specific data relating to the production of slabs, billets sections and rails depending on the plant specific product mix. The steel product manufacturing system encompasses the activities of the steel making process and all major upstream and downstream processes for the intermediate products, including the production and transportation of raw materials, energy sources and consumables on the steel works. Terminology has been developed for the various system components as follows. The 'Route' refers to the full cradle to grave system including upstream supplies, transport and by-products credits. 'Site ' refers to the steel works boundaries. 'Modules' are the component unit processes within 'Site' and the 'Route'. Site data were collected with the custom designed questionnaires available with TEAM. The questionnaires were organized for all process stages and ancillary units including the power plants, oxygen plants, etc, each of which contained lists of material and energy inputs, air and water emissions, waste products and by -products etc. The participating plants have made important assumptions depending upon the site-specific conditions prevailing at each site. There are some differences in the process parameters, facilities and capacity of the

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individual process units between the years 1997-98 and 1998-99 which have a marked impact on the LCI results obtained at the sites. The external consultants associated with the respective steel plants participating in this study carried out data validation for the years 1997-98 and 1998-99. Checking the shop wise log sheets and secondary data was checked using various audits at the steel plants namely, the Energy Audits, Emission Audits, Performance and Technology Audits did primary data validation. Data gaps found were clarified and the verified data for the years 1997-98 and 1998-99 was supplied to the steel plants for a final Ecobilan run.

NATURAL RESOURCE Iron ore Coking coal Non coking coal Limestone Dolomite Water Energy Air

CONSUMPTION PER TONNE OF STEEL 1.6t 1.3t 0.4t 0.3t 0.1t 10.0 m3 8.5 G Cal 1800 m3

Table 2.1: NATURAL RESOURCE CONSUMPTION PER TON OF STEEL PRODUCTION

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Inflows Iron ore Coal Limestone Dolomite Middling coal Scrap Outflows Waste(Total) T Scrap sold Carbon Dioxide Energy Feed stock energy Fuel energy Total primary Energy Other Emissions NOX SOX Particulates

Unit T T T T T T

Global Average 1.42 0.599 0.0 0.025 0.140 0.021 1921 22482

1997-98 1.47 0.91 -0.03 0.015 0.191 0.05 0.325 0.09 2562 14410 14730 29142

1998-99 1.48 0.96 -0.16 0.2 0.246 0.049 0.246 0.084 2902 10900 17523 28430

T Kg MJ MJ MJ

Kg Kg Kg

2.153 2.354 1.482 CHAPTER-3

2.27 3.16 2.28

1.82 3.06 2.08

TABLE 2.2: IMPORTANT INFLOWS AND OUTFLOWS PER TONNE OF STEEL MAKING SYSTEM

LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT OF THE INDIAN STEEL INDUSTRY

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Some of the emerging trends in the Indian steel sector are briefly discussed below along with the identification of the technological interventions required at the process stages. 3.1 ENERGY USAGE Steel is a major user of energy. Steel industry consumes directly and indirectly (upstream included) 1.80 x10GJ which equates to 5.5 % of global energy consumption. In the case of Japan for e.g. the steel industry accounts for over 10% of total energy consumption. As a consequence, the focus on energy efficiency has been very strong and as a result, savings of nearly 20 % in total specific energy consumption have been achieved since the 1970's in major steel plants around the world. This is the result of a number of factors namely: 1. Replacement of obsolete steel making such as open hearths (OH)'s with (BOF) and EAF. 2. Replacement of ingot casting with the continuous casting of steel (the % of Continuous cast steel in the Western World has increased from 10% in 1970 to over 80% now). 3. Installation of waste heat recovery units on major production units such as

Sinter strands, blast furnaces, BOF, reheating furnaces and optimization of operating practices & rationalization of products.

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The results of the Life Cycle inventory calculated for one tonne of product (slab/billet) at Plant A for the years 1997-98 and 1998-99 have been presented. The global averages of 26 sites for the year 1994-95 culled out of the IISI study have also been included in the same table for comparison. The LCA results for the Indian steel sector study show that the total primary energy consumption at the steel plants is within the range of world consumption The average energy consumption is, however, high compared to the regional and world averages. Results show that despite the increase in the cost of various energy inputs such as coal, power petro-fuel etc, the energy cost per tonne of saleable steel has dropped by 2.27% due to reduction in specific energy consumption at TISCO. Some of the contributing factors for this quantum reduction at the steel plant have been the reduction in the fuel rates in the blast furnaces, reduction in the specific petro fuel consumption by 35%, reduction in the specific petro fuel consumption for turbo blowers, higher boiler efficiencies, use of cleaner & more energy efficient technologies such as concast over ingot casting resulting in saving of 0.5-0.8Gj/tonne of crude steel, programmed ladle heating control etc. Trends indicate that it is possible to further bring down the energy consumption by nearly 18% up to the hot metal stage and 60% in the rest of the areas through use of both short term and long term measures. 3.2 WATER USAGE TRENDS

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The iron and steel industry uses water for direct and indirect cooling, for gas cleaning and for process reagents. As a consequence, there is demand for water throughout steel production i.e. raw material handling/preparation sintering/palletizing, coke making, blast furnace iron making, BOF/EAF steel making, continuous casting, hot rolling, pickling/cold rolling/annealing/tempering, coating and ancillary operations such as power and steam generation. In terms of pollutant control, a high recycling ratio is essential. Many companies operate highly integrated recycling systems aimed towards reducing water consumption and discharge volumes. Trends indicate that it is possible to achieve water-recycling rates of more than 95 % .At TISCO, a substantial decline in water consumption from 25.9 m3/tcs in 1990-91 to 10.93m3/tss in 98-99 has been achieved. In just one year (1998-99) resource conservation interventions at TISCO have brought down the water consumption by nearly 4 %. At Bhilai steel plant, the interventions identified have brought down the water consumption to 5.28m3/tcs making it one of the best internationally. 3.3 ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE OF STEEL 3.3.1 RAW MATERIALS Coal, iron ore and recycled Steel (scrap) dolomite/limestone are the basic raw materials for steel production. Raw Material consumption and conversion in steel making processes can be measured through estimations of yield. Since, no process can be 100 % efficient, production of one tonne of steel in an integrated steel plant requires several

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times that quantity of raw materials. Range of yields for some selected steel processes (BOF steel making (86-95%); continuous casting (76.6-98%); Hot rolling (84.5-98.8%) pickling, cold rolling, annealing, tempering (82.4 - 93%) and coating (plates - 74.1-94.8%) reveal areas where significant improvements can be brought about through identification of factors affecting yield and measures to contain yield loss (Kakkar, 1998)(3). LCI results indicate general trend of increased resource use as products undergo further processing from simple to more complex products. In mass terms, the IISI results indicate that iron ore and coal consumption dominate the resource use via the BF route. As can be seen in Table 4, the average consumption of coal is high at Plant A for the years 1997-98 and 1998-99 as compared to the global average. Possible reasons for these high values are the high coke rate in the blast furnaces and the grid electricity supply from the thermal power plants. Emerging trends in the Indian study reveal that the raw material consumption in the iron and steel industry can benefit significantly through use of cleaner technology interventions in the coke making and BF stages. Use of technologies such as direct coal injection using non coking coal into the blast furnace alone is likely to extend the horizon for coking coal reserves by hundred of years. Advanced technologies such as stamp charging and PBCC which can use inferior grade coking coals efficiently in place of prime coking coal reserves can play an equally significant role in resource conservation and optimization in the steel sector.

- 36 -

3.3.2 AIR POLLUTION CONTROL - EMERGING TRENDS The steel industry of the 1950's and the early 1960's was a major source of pollution, particularly air pollution in the densely populated areas in which steel production is concentrated in Western Europe, North America and Japan. Addressing the problem of air pollution has accounted for over 50 % of total expenditure on environmental control by the steel industry over the last two decades. Initially, in the western steel plants, the problem was tackled through retrofitting of gas and dust collection systems to existing plants. Later, there was a perceptible shift towards replacement of obsolete plants with newer facilities, which incorporate in their design and operation, the best currently available environmental practice. In Germany, for example, emissions have dropped from 9.3 kg/ton of crude steel or over 300,000 tons of material in 1960 to 2.4 kg/ton by the late 1970's and below 1 kg/ton today. Investments to remove dust emissions have gone alongside removal of gases such as nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide. It is estimated that over the last decade, over 10% of the total capital expenditure by the steel industry on such environmental control have been over $20, 000 million. In contrast, the situation in the steel industry in the so-called " developing countries has been very different. The late 50's and the early 60's saw a period of rapid industrialization in India. The demand for steel (required for "progress") outstripped the

- 37 -

supply by a large margin. The production of large quantities of steel was the primary objective; environmental pollution and concerns did not really figure on the agenda.

The IISI study shows escalating emissions with rising product complexity, broad similarities among BF steel products and greater emissions for BF over EAF production. In general, the ore based process requires more material and energy inputs to its operations and gives rise to greater emissions than the scrap-based process. LCI analysis indicates that it is possible to bring down stack emissions per tonne of product through closure of polluting units and adoption of cleaner technologies. The suspended particulate matter in stack emissions at TISCO, for example, has shown a downward trend from 6.75kg/tcs in 1995-96 to 3.0kg/ tcs in 1998-99. At SAIL although older technologies might still be in use, ecofriendly, energy conserving and cleaner technologies under the modernization programmes initiated in the recent past are leading to tangible benefits in terms of reduction in pollution load at the steelworks. At Bhilai steel plant, replacement of the single conversion single absorption Sulphuric acid plant with a double conversion double absorption plant has brought down the SO2 emissions from 10-12 kg/ tonne to nearly 1.71kg/ tonne of acid produced. Replacement of OHF's by BOF has brought about twin benefits of energy conservation and pollution prevention . 3.3.3 CO2 EMISSION

- 38 -

A number of countries are considering programmes to control the emissions of the 'greenhouse gas ' carbon dioxide despite the scientific uncertainty over the magnitude of the, causes and consequences of global warming. With regard to the steel industry it has been long recognized that carbon inputs (& therefore CO2 outputs) are required as chemical feedstock (reductants) and for energy units. Trends indicate that the carbon consumed (& CO2 released) by the EAF route is substantially less than that for the BF route .The data presented in Table 4 indicates that the CO2 emissions in case of Plant A are much higher than the world average. Possible reasons include higher coke rates, associated with the use of high ash coking coal blends supply of grid electricity from the thermal power plants etc. For the BF steelmaker the most significant improvements are likely to come from the cleaner technologies such as pulverized coal injection (PCI), dry quenching of coke (CDQ) and coke moisture control. These are likely to lead to carbon equivalent savings of 6%, 5% and 1.5% respectively. The Indian steel plants are integrating these emission reduction strategies into their modernization packages so that the twin objectives of resource optimization and pollution containment can be simultaneously met. 3.4 MATERIAL RECYCLING AND REUSE Steel is 100% recyclable, and is the world's foremost recycling industry. It can be repeatedly used without downgrading to a lower quality product. On a world basis, the recycling ratio of steel (defined as the ratio between the total quantity of scrap arising and the actual quantity of scrap recycled) is estimated to be about 80%. Steel is recycled

- 39 -

in both electric arc and basic oxygen steel making and in the former it represents between 90% and 100% of the raw materials charged while in the latter it constitutes up to 30%. By recycling nearly 300mt of scrap each year, the steel industry does not have to extract 475mt of iron bearing ores, saves energy equivalent to 160mt of hard coal and avoids CO2 emissions of 470mt. The IISI study confirms that the energy required to produce scrap based (EAF) steel is less than to produce ore based (BF) steel. However, the recycling of scrap as an integral part of the BOF route must not be overlooked or underrated. The scrap recycled via the BOF plant is effectively replacing the energy and emissions associated with the hot metal produced via the blast furnace route. Multiple recycling scenarios in the context of the Indian steel sector study are being worked out. An integrated steel plant can produce up to 500-700 kg of byproducts and sludge for every tonne of steel. The largest volume of by-products is slag, followed by other solid residues, gases and chemicals. On an average 90% of the BF and 70% of the steel melting slags can be put to use. It is estimated that replacing every tonne of Portland cement with blast furnace cement brings about a reduction of 96kg of CO2 emissions. The utilization of the steel plant wastes at the Indian plants has tremendous scope for improvement The waste generation figures have improved in the years 1998-99 due to an increase in the amount of BF slag used for steel making and cent percent utilization of BOF sludge in sinter making and increase in the amount of flue dust being sold off to outside parties.

- 40 -

At SAIL, efforts towards byproduct management have been intensified in the recent past. Principals among these are, setting up of cast house slag granulation facilities, use of LD slag as railway track ballast and use of wastes such as iron fumes, coke breeze, mill scale as recycled inputs in the blast furnace. Around 70-75% sinter is used in the blast furnace cutting down on precious coke consumption. As a result of these measures, the solid waste utilization at Bhilai steel plant has shown an upward trend with nearly 59% of the wastes being put to constructive use.

3.5 FUTURE CHALLENGES The challenges posed by a competitive market are forcing steel makers to switch over to cleaner production by adopting the best practices at each stage in the life cycle of steel making. This shift may be gradual but is unmistakable. Heavy investment programmes, top management support, employee education and training are all contributing towards enhanced environmental performance. It is hoped that in the coming years, the use of new and innovative management tools such as LCA will increase. The Indian Steel sector study will surely emerge as a path-breaking endeavor in this direction.

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CHAPTER-4 LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT OF THE U.S. STEEL INDUSTRY Thanks to natures abundance supply of iron ore, bituminous coal and limestone, steel has become mans most useful servant. Steel is the most adaptable material at the command of man; it can be made hard enough to cut glass or as pliable as the steel wire in a paper clip. It can be made springy as the steel in springs or strong enough to withstand a pull from extremely high weights. It can be welded into pipe over twelve feet in diameter or as small as one-fiftieth of an inch in diameter for hypodermic needles. Steel can be made resistant to heat, rust and chemical breakdown. So important is this basic metal to modern American life approximately one out of every four persons lives in a community where there is a plant of the iron and steel industry. What may be most impressive is its

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ability to be recycled. This paper will provide a background of the steel industry by giving a macroeconomic snapshot of the industry, followed by a detailed life cycle assessment, and finally a comparison between integrated and mini-mill technology in regard to total environmental impacts. 4.1 MACRO ECONOMIC LOOK AT STEEL MAKING To provide background for completing a life cycle assessment for the steel industry, we should first look at macroeconomic trends in the industry. This will be helpful in understanding how the steel mill fits in with the rest of the economy, by illustrating how the industry interacts in the world economy. This section will be broken down into five subtopics. First will be the introduction or general background, second will be plant categories, third will be growth trends, fourth will be investments, and lastly we will talk about the industry financial profile. 4.2 GENERAL The United States has consistently ranked in the top two among world producers of steel, and this trend doesnt look to be changing any time soon. Although the United States is among the top two producers of steel there production has diminished over the years. In 1950 the United States produced nearly 50% of the worlds steel, but by 1973 that number dropped to only 20%. (Little, 1975) About 130 steel-making plants account for the production of raw steel in the United States. Grouped together with associated

- 43 -

steel rerolling and steel finishing plants, the U.S. industry is composed of some 400 plants employing approximately 500,000 people in 37 states. (Little, 1975) 4.3 PLANT CATEGORIES Raw steel making plants can be categorized into three main groups, but for the purpose of this paper we will discuss only two of them, integrated and semi-integrated steel mills. Both iron and steel-making operations are dealt with in the integrated process. Integrated plants normally start with iron ore and coking coal, these are then heated in a blast furnace to produce molten pig iron (or hot metal). Along with any scrap, the molten pig iron is then charged into steel-making furnaces, which as a result molten raw steel is produced. This raw steel is then fabricated to finished steel products. Because of the economic advantages and flexibility of operation, most semiintegrated plants in the United States use electric arc furnaces. Unlike the integrated plants, the semi-integrated plants charge cold metal raw materials. These materials include scrap, pig iron and sponge iron made by direct reduction. The materials are then melted down and refined in the steel-making furnaces. Small semi-integrated plants also known as mini-mills are included in this category as well. These mills limit their production to bar mill products, rebars and merchant bars. Because of there size, mini- mills have annual capacities of less than 200,000 tons. (Little, 1975)

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4.4 GROWTH TRENDS Assuming that U.S. steel requirements continue to grow, and as long as the U.S. iron and steel industry continues to supply the domestic demand, raw steel production will continue to grow as well. Analyzing some statistics from the American Iron and Steel Institute annual statistical reports can easily show this. We have focused our study on shipments by market classification and U.S. raw steel production. We would like to specifically analyze the total raw steel production of integrated plants vs. mini-mills, and how shipment to market classification has evolved, showing these statistics over time (1950-present). We first looked at U.S. raw steel production statistics provided by the AISI. We chose the time period to look at to be 1950- present. This time period was chosen because the middle of the century was when the EAF started becoming popular among U.S. steel producers and this was around the time the mini-mill was born. We collected and plotted data points for approximately every ten-year interval. This interval was chosen because there were enough data points to show the general growth trend while keeping the data to a minimum. When looking at Fig. 1, you can see total raw steel production rise over time as well as the production from both the EAF and BOF. Mid-century, most integrated steel production processes used open-hearth (OH) furnaces. The integrated producers strayed away from using OH furnace because molten iron could be charged in a BOF, and the BOF had a substantially faster heat time.

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U.S. Raw Steel Production By Furnace Type (thousands of net tons) Year 1995 1990 1982 1970 1960 1956 Total Raw Integrated Steel Making % Steel Production (U.S) (B.O.F) Integrated 104,930 62,523 59.6 98,906 58,471 59.1 74,577 45,309 60.7 131,514 63,330 48.2 99,282 3,346 3.4 115,216 506 0.44 Mini-mills (E.A.F) 42,407 36,939 23,158 20,162 8,379 8,641 % Mini-mill 40.4 37.4 31.1 15.3 8.4 7.5

Raw Steel Production by Furnace Type

140,000 Thousands of net tons 120,000 Total Raw Steel Production (U.S) Integrated Steel Making (B.O.F) Mini-mills (E.A.F) 100,000 80,000 60,000 40,000 20,000 0 1956 1960 1970 1982 1990 1995 Year

FIG.4. 1: RAW STEEL PRODUCTION BY FURNACE TYPE: SOURCE: (AISE)

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Another method we used to show general growth of the industry in the second half of the 20th century was to collect and plot total shipments and shipment categories over the same time span. 4.5 INVESTMENT Like any thing else steel producers are required to have capital expenditures to replace obsolescent facilities, for additions to plant and equipment as well as disposals of plant and equipment. Primarily over the years this has been done to reduce costs, and to improve product quality. In 1986 additions to plant and equipment cost the steel segments 862.0 million dollars, this figure had grown to 2.4 billion dollars in 1995. (AISI, 1995) Disposals of plant and Equipment cost the steel segments in 1986 505.5 million dollars and in 1995 it had diminished to 207.2 million dollars. (AISI, 1995) Pollution control costs, and other capital expenditures would be important to look at as well when figuring out total plant expenditures. 4.6 INDUSTRY FINANCIAL PROFILE The U.S. iron and steel industry had total revenues of 24.9 billion dollars in 1986; this figure had increased 31% by 1995 to 35.9 billion dollars. (AISI, 1995) However, industry after-tax profits as a percentage of revenues generally reflect the cyclic nature

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of the steel industry. After-tax profits have fluctuated over time, from 4.2 billion dollars in 1986 to 1.6 billion dollars in 1995. (AISI, 1995)

4.7 LCA STUDY OF THE STEEL INDUSTRY Following the model given above, we have prepared a life cycle assessment for the steel industry. Similar to all LCA studies, the goal and scope of the study was defined first. After the goal and scope of our study are clearly defined, we compiled an inventory containing a detailed list of the major inputs and outputs of relevant processes. We then evaluated these inputs and outputs based upon environmental risks and hazards associated with then. Upon completion of our impact analysis study, we interpreted the inventory and impacts and suggested possible alternatives. 4.8 GOAL AND SCOPE In our LCA of the steel industry, we have analyzed the environmental aspects of producing steel in the United States. Using integrated steel production as a base case, and several sources for LCA data, we have compiled a relatively detailed inventory of inputs and outputs. From our inventory we were able to identify potentially harmful emissions, and analyze sources, toxicity and carcinogenicity. After reviewing emissions produced by a typical integrated mill, we then focused our study on describing actions taken by the industry to lower these emissions. Specifically, we have emphasized on steel

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making using the electric arc furnace (EAF), and intern, created a second inventory and impact analysis for mini-mill steel making technology. Based on our findings, we have been able to hypothesize on which steel production technology (integrated vs. mini-mill technology) is more environmentally friendly. Our LCA will first focus on integrated steel making. Originally our plan was to create an inventory using the cradle to gate concept. This concept involves compiling an inventory that includes inputs and outputs from mining of ores and coal, until the finished product is shipped from the steel mill. After finishing our preliminary research we found that data for such an inventory would be too detailed and costly for this study. As an alternative we chose to use a similar scope, we decided to use the gate to gate concept. This concept involves tallying an inventory that only contains processes that occur inside the steel mill gates. This approach excludes primarily the mining of ores, and coal. We have compiled an inventory that contains data from several sources. Our consumption data is from the AISI 1995 Annual Statistical Report. Our TRI data was calculated using data from the EPAs TRI Comparative Spreadsheet that corresponds to the 1997 calendar year. From the EPA Office of Air Quality and Planning Standards Source SIC Report made available January 28 2000, we compiled our air emissions data. Slag output data was found in the AISIs "Steel Industry Technology Roadmap", that was published in 1998. Several other sources were also used to complete our LCA of the steel industry.

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4.9 INTEGRATED STEEL PRODUCTION PROCESS To better understand the gate to gate concept for integrated steel making, we must define process being analyzed. The first step in the integrated steel production is the collection of raw materials. This includes the mining of coal, limestone, and ore (most commonly taconite). Also included in this step is the preparation of these materials is the crushing of limestone, and separating and sintering of ore. These processes will not be analyzed in our LCA because we are only looking at processes that occur in the mill, and these processes usually occur near the mines because of high transportation costs. We will be analyzing the coking of coal, because it usually takes place near the mill, and is a large polluting body. The second step in steel production is the combining the raw materials in a blast furnace to produce pig iron. The blast furnace melts the ore and removes the impurities in the form of slag. The resulting iron is contains around 4-5% carbon. This iron is still too brittle to be mechanically forged so it is refined further to produce steel. Next, pig iron is charged with scrap into a basic oxygen furnace (BOF). This furnace will lower the carbon content enough that it can be mechanically forged. The basic oxygen furnace is charged with liquid pig iron plus scrap onto which oxygen is blown creating carbon dioxide, removing carbon from the iron forming steel. The last step in the production of steel is forming finished product. In can be directly poured into molds to form ingots or continuously cast. Traditionally, ingots where cast then transported to a rolling mill. In continuous casting, liquid metal is poured into a tundish, which supplies a

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steady amount of liquid to the caster. As the metal flows it solidifies while passing through rolls, then is cut into slabs. These slabs are then transported to the rolling mill. At the rolling mill the ingots or slabs are rolled to form a variety of finished steel products. Some of these products are sheet steel, pipe, beams, bars, rods and rails. The following flow chart (fig 4.2) gives a step by step depiction of the production process.

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Fig. 4.2: TYPICAL FLOW OF INTEGRATED STEEL PRODUCTION Iron ore, limestone, are mined, and coal is mined and coked. Iron ore, coke, and limestone are then charged in a blast furnace. Molten iron is produced and charged in a BOF, to be injected with oxygen. Molten steel is produced and formed in a continuous caster.

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4.10 INVENTORY OF INTEGRATED STEEL MAKING 4.10.1 QUALITATIVE INVENTORY The first step in compiling an inventory for integrated steel making was to outline the major processes and the inputs and outputs associated with each. Outlined here are the main polluting processes that are encountered while producing steel in an integrated mill, and the inputs and outputs that are encountered each process: COKEMAKING INPUTS OUTPUTS Process residues from coke by-product recovery Coke oven gas by-product such as coal tar, light oil, ammonia liquor, and the remainder of the gas stream is used as fuel. Coal tar is typically refined to produce commercial and industrial products including pitch, creosote oil, refined tar, naphthalene, and bitumen. Charging emissions (fine particles of coke generated during oven pushing, conveyor transport, loading and unloading of coke that are captured by Coal Heat Quench water

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pollution control equipment. Approximately one pound per ton of coke produced are captured and generally land disposed. Ammonia, phenol, cyanide, and hydrogen sulfide Oil Lime sludge, generated from the ammonia still Decanter tank tar sludge Benzene releases in coke by-product recovery operations Naphthalene residues, generated in the final cooling tower Tar residues Sulfur compounds, emitted from stacks of coke ovens Wastewater from cleaning and cooling, (contains zinc, ammonia still lime, or decanter tank tar, tar distillation residues) IRONMAKING INPUTS Iron ore (primarily in the form of taconite pellets) Coke Sinter Coal Limestone Coke oven gas condensate from piping and distribution system

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Heated air

OUTPUTS Slag, which is either sold as a by-product, primarily for the use in the construction industry, or landfilled Residual sulfur dioxide or hydrogen sulfide Particulates captured in the gas, including air pollution control dust or waste treatment plant sludge STEELMAKING INPUTS Molten iron Metal scrap High-purity oxygen Fluxes and alloys added, may include fluorspar, dolomite, and alloying agents such as aluminum, manganese, and others OUTPUTS Basic oxygen furnace control dust and sludge, a metals bearing waste Iron is the predominant metal found in the process wastewater Blast furnace gas (CO)

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Slag Carbon monoxide Nitrogen oxides and ozone, which are generated during the melting process This preliminary inventory of the integrated steel industry covers

three of the highest polluting sectors of production. As seen above there are a large number of outputs coming from coke production. Intern, in coke production there are also a large number of pollutants being emitted. Some outputs, such as certain off gases are collected and reused in other production processes. These processes include firing of blast and steel making furnaces. During iron making there also are several outputs that are emitted. Slag, the largest output being produced, is tapped off the steel and used as aggregate or deposited in a landfill. Off gases from the blast furnace are also collected and used in other steel making processes. The last area of concern in integrated steel making is the BOF. The BOF also produces a large amount of slag and off gas. The slag is generally dealt with in a similar manner as blast furnace slag. But the off gas is comprised mostly of carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides, and is useless for the steel production process. Our data from the EPA and our other sources found in our secondary resources will allow us to compile a detailed list of inputs and amounts based on industry averages. From our compiled inventory data we can start our impact analysis. 4.10.2 QUANTITATIVE INVENTORY

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Using several sources we were able to compile a relatively detailed quantitative inventory for the integrated steel industry. Our main focus was on the inputs, as well as the outputs, for integrated steel production. We started by producing a table containing the largest and most important inputs. These included coke consumption, flux consumption, ore consumption, oxygen consumption, and fuel consumption. The data in fig. 3 is from the AISI 1995 Annual Statistical Report. The left-hand column displays the total yearly output, the right column contains the amount of input consumed per pound of steel produced. This number was found by dividing the total yearly consumption of input by the total steel production from integrated firms. The second inventory that we compiled was toxic release inventory (TRI) chemical data. This data was calculated from raw data provided by the EPAs TRI Comparative Spreadsheet that corresponds to the 1997 calendar year. This spreadsheet gave the amount of TRI chemical produced at every integrated steel firm in the United States. In all the spreadsheet gave data for 70 different TRI chemicals. It also gave the production capacity of each integrated mill.

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Input Inventory for Integrated Steel Production Integrated Steel Production Blast Furnace/BOF 62,523

Raw Steel Production (thousands of net tons) Coke Consumption (thousands of net tons) Flux Consumption (thousands of net tons) Fluorspar Limestone Lime Other Fluxes Ore Consumption (thousands of net tons) Natural Ore Pellets Sinter and Others Oxygen Consumption
(millions of gaseos cubic feet)

- 58 Net tons of input Per ton of steel produced N/A

24,568

0.393

4,313 20 1,108 2,905 280 89,796 1,326 74,515 13,654 215,187 90,698 124,489

0.069 0.000312 0.0177 0.0465 0.00448 1.436 0.0212 1.192 0.218 3.442 1.451 1.997

Blast Furnace Steel Furnace Fuel Consumption Fuel Oil (thousands of gallons) Natural Gas (millions of cubic feet) * Cok e Oven Gas (millions of cubic feet) ** Blast Furnace Gas (millions of cubic feet) ***

108,196 106,698 121,061 810,252

1.73 1.707 1.936 12.959

* Millions of cubic feet based on 1,000 B.T.U. per cubic foot ** Millions of cubic feet based on 500 B.T.U. per cubic foot *** Millions of cubic feet based on 95 B.T.U. per cubic foot

TABLE 4.1: INPUT INVENTORY FOR INTEGRATED STEEL PRODUCTION SOURCE: (AISI, 1995)

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Since the focus of our study was to analyze a typical U.S. integrated mill we wanted to find an average of TRI releases for each chemical. We did this by using the following formula: Average TRI R C = (RCF1 + RCF2 ++ RCFi)/ (PF1 + PF2 ++ PFi) This equation takes the sum of the total release (R) from each firm for a chemical (C) and divides them by the sum of total production capacity (P) of each corresponding firm to get the Average TRI release for a certain chemical (C). This raw data, though, was incomplete in some instances. Not all of the mills reported their emissions to the EPA, leaving blanks in the spreadsheet. To correct for this, we created an algorithm in Microsoft Excel that would show all production capacities and chemical releases for each firm in columns. Before making a calculation we had to manually delete production capacities for firms which we did not have chemical release data for. We then could calculate the average using an algorithm set up to automatically calculate each sum of production capacities and chemical releases, and divide them to get the average. This average is reported in lbs. /short tons of steel produced, and each average TRI chemical release was calculated from all the firms that data was available for. Fig. 4 shows the averages TRI chemical releases for integrated steel production, found by using the method above. The third inventory we calculated for integrated steel production was the slag output. We obtained this data from AISIs "Steel Industry Technology Roadmap" which

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uses 1997 slag output data. Instead of giving industry averages AISI reported this information in intervals. Table 4.2 shows slag output from integrated steel production in lbs./short tons of steel produced. Toxic Release Inventory Chemicals for Integrated Steel Making Facilities TRI Releases and Transfers (lbs./short ton) 3.79 0.022 0.973 0.021 0.125 0.000715 0.0447 0.00829 0.0486 0.0441 0.0227 0.00366 0.0336 0.00816 0.0131 0.00229 0.00172 0.00164 0.00218 0.000869 0.000417 0.0746 0.00811 0.00301

Chemical

MANGANESE COMPOUNDS CHROMIUM COMPOUNDS ZINC COMPOUNDS NICKEL COMPOUNDS AMMONIA PHOSPHORIC ACID ETHYLENE BENZENE HYDROCHLORIC ACID (>=1995 "ACID AEROSOLS" ONLY) LEAD COMPOUNDS NAPHTHALENE ETHYLENE GLYCOL PHENOL CYANIDE COMPOUNDS METHANOL ANTHRACENE TOLUENE XYLENE (MIXED ISOMERS) ANTIMONY COMPOUNDS POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC COMPOUNDS STYRENE ALUMINUM (FUME OR DUST) COPPER COMPOUNDS MOLYBDENUM TRIOXIDE

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PHENANTHRENE BARIUM COMPOUNDS CHLORINE CRESOL (MIXED ISOMERS) ETHYLBENZENE SODIUM NITRITE COPPER MANGANESE PROPYLENE 1,2,4-TRIMETHYLBENZENE BIPHENYL CARBON DISULFIDE CHROMIUM LEAD NICKEL ANTIMONY CADMIUM CALCIUM CYANAMIDE COBALT COMPOUNDS CUMENE DIETHANOLAMINE HYDROGEN CYANIDE Toxic Release Inventory Chemicals for Integrated

0.00776 0.00183 0.0000651 0.0000527 0.000627 0.00789 0.00527 0.157 0.00229 0.0217 4.05E-07 0.00305 0.004 0.00792 0.00122 0.00162 0.000547 N/A 0.000802 0.00936 0.00222 0.0000241 Steel Making Facilities (cont.)

Chemical

TRI Releases and Transfers

PYRIDINE

SULFURIC ACID (1994 AND AFTER "ACID AEROSOLS" ONLY)

ZINC (FUME OR DUST) 1,3-BUTADIENE 2,4-DIMETHYLPHENOL 2-MERCAPTOBENZOTHIAZOLE ARSENIC COMPOUNDS BERYLLIUM CARBONYL SULFIDE

(lbs/short ton) 0.00204 0.0000607 0.00418

0.0000259 0.0000259 N/A 0.000827 9.4E-08 5.19E-07

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CERTAIN GLYCOL ETHERS COBALT

N/A 8.46E-07

DI(2-ETHYLHEXYL) PHTHALATE HYDROGEN FLUORIDE MERCURY COMPOUNDS NITRATE COMPOUNDS O-XYLENE QUINOLINE THIOUREA VANADIUM (FUME OR DUST) Total TRI Releases

N/A N/A 0.0000292 0.113 0.00216 0.0000259 0.0000451 0.000114 5.611468464

TABLE 4.2:TOXIC RELEASE INVENTORY CHEMICALS FOR STEEL MAKING FACILITIES

TABLE 4.3: INTEGRATED SLAG OUTPUT: SOURCE (AISI, 1998)

These averages were calculated by using the formula Average TRI R C = (RCF1 + RCF2 ++ RCFi)/ (PF1 + PF2 ++ PFi)
Integrated vs. Mini-mill Slag Output Comparison

Total Slag Produced (lbs/short ton) Slag Produced by Blast Furnace Slag Produced by BOF Slag Produced by EAF

Integrated Steel Production Blast Furnace/BOF 400-1,340

Mini-mill Steel Production EAF 110-420

Total 550-1,760

300-700

N/A

100-440

N/A

N/A

110-420

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The final inventory we compiled for integrated steel making was air pollution emissions data. This data was collected from the EPAs Office of Air Quality and Planning Standards Source SIC Report, that was made available January 28, 2000. This data, though, is an industry total for both integrated and mini-mill steel operations. Even though it does not focus on integrated production alone it should still be examined in this inventory. Table 4.4 shows air pollutant emissions from blast furnace and steel mill operation.

Blast Furnace And Steel Mill Air Pollutant Emissions Industry Total 116

Number of Facilities Air Pollutant Emissions (in tons per year) CO Emissions NO2 Emissions PB Emissions PM10 Emissions PT Emissions SO2 Emissions VOC Emissions

940055 105880 290.5 29267 59412 215582 43987

TABLE 4.4: BLAST FURNACE AND STEEL MILL AIR POLLUTANT EMISSIONS SOURCE: (EPA, 2000) 4.11 IMPACT ANALYSIS FOR INTEGRATED STEEL MAKING Like its counterpart (EAF), there is typically one large polluting body and thats the steel-making process itself, when using the basic oxygen furnace (BOF). Like the electric

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arc furnace, the basic oxygen furnace too has several types of pollution, with several controls to compliment each type. Types of pollution control can be broken down into three groups, air pollution, water pollution, and solid wastes. 4.11.1 AIR POLLUTION Oxygen furnaces emit gaseous and particulate pollutants; these pollutants are spread throughout the steel making process. In the cokemaking process, coke oven gas, charging emissions, Ammonia, phenol and hydrogen sulfide are all examples of air pollution caused by the cokemaking process. In the ironmaking process, residual sulfur dioxide or hydrogen sulfide, as well as blast furnace gas (CO) which contributes to global warming. And finally the steelmaking process, carbon monoxide along with nitrogen oxides and ozone, which are generated during the melting process, are the main air pollutants in this stage. Treatments include fabric filters and high-energy scrubbers. 4.11.2 WATER POLLUTION The major water pollutants include wastewater from cleaning and cooling, this wastewater contains zinc, ammonia, still lime, or decanters tank tar, as well as distillation residues. The other major pollutants would have to be the leaking of pollutants into the neighboring water itself, and pollutants given off by air pollution control equipment. Treatments for water pollution are the same for BOF as they were for EAF.

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4.11.3 SOLID WASTES The Solid wastes include lime sludge, generated from the ammonia still, decanter tank tar sludge, slag, and dust and sludges from air and water pollution control systems. Like the mini-mill many of these solids may be reused by the manufacturing operations and may be resold as by-products for use in other industries. 4.12 ALTERNATIVE WAYS OF STEEL MAKING For complexity reasons, we have decided to narrow our study down to Electric Arc Furnaces. The inputs of the steel-making process that uses electric arc furnaces (EAF) include scrap, electric energy and graphite electrodes. Fluxes and alloys are also added, and may include fluorspar, dolomite, and alloying agents such as aluminum, manganese, and others. (EPA, 1995) Electric Arc furnace emission control dust and sludge; 20 pounds of dust per ton of steel is expected, this number may be as high as 40 pounds depending on the scrap that is used. (EPA, 1995) Similarly to the inventory done with the integrated base case, we plan to compile an inventory for semi-integrated steel making (mini-mills). With this second inventory we will be able to complete an impact analysis and compare it with the integrated base case. 4.13 INVENTORY OF SEMI-INTEGRATED STEEL MAKING 4.13.1 QUALITATIVE INVENTORY Similar to inventorying the integrated firm, the first step in compiling an inventory for semi-integrated steel making was to outline the major processes and the inputs and

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outputs associated with each. Outlined here are the main polluting processes that are encountered while producing steel in an semi-integrated mill, an the inputs and outputs that are encountered each process: STEELMAKING INPUTS Scrap metal Electric energy Graphite Electrodes

OUTPUTS Electric Arc Furnace emission control dust and sludge Slag Carbon monoxide Nitrogen oxides and ozone, which are generated during melting process.

4.13.2 QUANTITATIVE INVENTORY Similar to integrated steel making, we were able to compile a relatively detailed quantitative inventory for the semi-integrated steel industry. Our focus was the same as the integrated sector, looking closely at the inputs, as well as the outputs, for semiintegrated steel production. We started again by producing a table containing the largest and most important inputs. These included flux consumption, scrap consumption and oxygen consumption, and fuel consumption. The data is also from the AISI 1995 Annual

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Statistical Report. The left-hand column again displays the total yearly output, along with the right column containing the amount of input consumed per pound of steel produced. This number was found by dividing the total yearly consumption of input by the total steel production from integrated firms. The second inventory for the semi-integrated sector that we compiled was toxic release inventory (TRI) chemical data. This data was calculated from raw data provided by the EPAs TRI Comparative Spreadsheet that corresponds to the 1997 calendar year. This spreadsheet gave the amount of TRI chemical produced at every semi-integrated steel firm in the United States. In all the spreadsheet gave data for 70 different TRI chemicals. It also gave the production capacity of each semi-integrated mill. We found again, that all mills did not report each chemical release so we had only divide each total TRI release by the sum of all the reporting mills production capacities. This gave us the average TRI release for each chemical using as much raw data as possible.

Input Inventory for Mini-mill Steel Production

- 68 Mini-mill Steel Production EAF 42,407 net tons of input per ton of steel produced N.A

Raw Steel Production (thousands of net tons) Flux Consumption (thousands of net tons) Fluorspar Limestone Lime Other Fluxes Scrap Consumption (thousands of net tons) Carbon Steel Stainless Steel Alloy Steel Iron Scrap Other Grades Oxygen Consumption
(millions of gaseos cubic feet)

1,319 32 133 993 161 61,700 57,200 1,200 870 880 1,600 55,398 0 55,398

0.0311 0.000755 0.00314 0.0234 0.00379 1.455 1.349 0.0283 0.0205 0.0208 0.0377 1.306 0 1.306

Blast Furnace Steel Furnace

TABLE 4.5: INPUT INVENTORY FOR SEMI-INTEGRATED STEEL PRODUCTION The third inventory we calculated for semi-integrated steel production was the slag output. We obtained this data from AISIs "Steel Industry Technology Roadmap" which uses 1997 slag output data. Instead of giving industry averages AISI reported this information in intervals. Fig. 9 shows slag output from semi-integrated steel production in lbs./short tons of steel produced, as well as integrated steel production.

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Toxic Release Inventory Chemicals for Mini-mill Steel Making Facilities Chemical TRI Releases and Transfers (lbs./short ton) 0.931 0.207 4.765 0.0812 0.245 0.00938 0 0 0.0256 0 0 0.0109 0 0.00265 0.0189 0 0.0173 0.044 0 0 0 0.118 0.0934 0 0.0205 0 0.0728 4.0712 0 0 0

MANGANESE COMPOUNDS CHROMIUM COMPOUNDS ZINC COMPOUNDS NICKEL COMPOUNDS AMMONIA PHOSPHORIC ACID ETHYLENE BENZENE HYDROCHLORIC ACID (>=1995 "ACID AEROSOLS" ONLY) LEAD COMPOUNDS NAPHTHALENE ETHYLENE GLYCOL PHENOL CYANIDE COMPOUNDS METHANOL ANTHRACENE TOLUENE XYLENE (MIXED ISOMERS) ANTIMONY COMPOUNDS POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC COMPOUNDS STYRENE ALUMINUM (FUME OR DUST) COPPER COMPOUNDS DIBENZOFURAN MOLYBDENUM TRIOXIDE PHENANTHRENE BARIUM COMPOUNDS CHLORINE CRESOL (MIXED ISOMERS) ETHYLBENZENE SODIUM NITRITE

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COPPER MANGANESE

0.0619 0.424

PROPYLENE

1,2,4-TRIMETHYLBENZENE BIPHENYL CARBON DISULFIDE CHROMIUM LEAD NICKEL ANTIMONY CADMIUM CALCIUM CYANAMIDE COBALT COMPOUNDS CUMENE DIETHANOLAMINE HYDROGEN CYANIDE PYRIDINE SULFURIC ACID (1994 AND AFTER "ACID AEROSOLS" ONLY) ZINC (FUME OR DUST) 2,4-DIMETHYLPHENOL 2-MERCAPTOBENZOTHIAZOLE ACETONITRILE ARSENIC COMPOUNDS BERYLLIUM BROMOTRIFLUOROMETHANE CERTAIN GLYCOL ETHERS COBALT DI(2-ETHYLHEXYL) PHTHALATE HYDROGEN FLUORIDE LITHIUM CARBONATE MERCURY COMPOUNDS NITRATE COMPOUNDS O-XYLENE

0 0 0 0.34 0.353 0.0801 0.00222 0.0303 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4.816 0 0 0 0 0.00129 0 0.101 0.0111 0 0.095 0 0 5.811 0

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QUINOLINE VANADIUM (FUME OR DUST)

0 0

Total TRI Releases

22.86074

TABLE 4.6: TOXIC RELEASE INVENTORY CHEMICALS FOR SEMI-INTEGRATED STEEL These averages were calculated by using the formula Average TRI R C = (RCF1 + RCF2 ++ RCFi)/ (PF1 + PF2 ++ PFi)
Total Slag Produced (lbs/short ton) Slag Produced by Blast Furnace Slag Produced by BOF Slag Produced by EAF Integrated Steel Production Blast Furnace/BOF 400-1,340 Mini-mill Steel Production EAF 110-420 Total 550-1,760 Integrated vs. Mini-mill Slag Output Comparison

300-700

N/A

100-440

N/A

N/A

110-420

TABLE 4.7:SEMI-INTEGRATED SLAG OUTPUT: SOURCE (AISI, 1998) The final inventory we compiled for semi-integrated steel making was air pollution emissions data, following the same inventory for integrated steel production. This data was collected from the EPAs Office of Air Quality and Planning Standards Source SIC Report, that was made available January 28, 2000. This data, is the same as Table 4.7, but it is important to also look at when assessing semi-integrated production .

Blast Furnace And Steel Mill Air Pollutant Emissions Industry Total 116

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Number of Facilities Air Pollutant Emissions (in tons per year) CO Emissions NO2 Emissions PB Emissions PM10 Emissions PT Emissions SO2 Emissions VOC Emissions

940055 105880 290.5 29267 59412 215582 43987

TABLE 4.8: BLAST FURNACE AND STEEL MILL AIR POLLUTANT EMISSIONS 4.14 IMPACT ANALYSIS FOR SEMI-INTEGRATED STEEL MAKING Due to the process of steel making used by mini-mills, there is typically one large polluting body, steel-making itself, using the electric arc furnace (EAF). This process has several types of pollution, with several controls to compliment each type. Types of pollution control can be broken down into three groups, air pollution control, water pollution control, and solid wastes. 4.14.1 AIR POLLUTION Arc furnaces emit gaseous and particulate pollutants, principally during charging, melt down, refining, and tapping. Metal transfer and teeming may also give off emissions. The furnace size, power, and melt rate all play a factor in the quantity and type of emissions. Treatments include fabric filters and high-energy scrubbers. 4.14.2 WATER POLLUTION The major water pollutants include suspended solids, fluorides, and zinc from air pollution control equipment. Because industrial water can often be recycled many times,

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the possible combinations of individual technologies into a wastewater treatment system are exceptionally large. 4.14.3 SOLID WASTES The Solid wastes include dust and sludges from the air and water pollution control systems. Most of these solids are reused by the manufacturing operations and may be sold as by-products for use in other industries. An effective arc furnace emission control system consists of the following phases: Emissions gathering by hoods and/ or direct evacuation Pretreatment (usually for temperature control) Ducting to collection unit Disposal (Little, 1975) A malfunction in any of the above phases is likely to cause the whole system to be ineffective. Our final assessment will also include upstream and downstream inputs and outputs, such as transportation and rolling operations. It will encompass the entire semiintegrated industry, not just pollution associated with the EAF. 4.15 INTEGRATED VS. SEMI-INTEGRATED COMPARISON After completing each inventory for each sector of steel production, we analyzed the data we found and tried to find out which sector produced more environmental steel. After looking at the impact analysis for each sector we could see which harmed the environment more. First we looked at a comparison of the inputs. We found that per ton

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of steel produced integrated production used more input. This is due to, integrated production needs more oxygen, and needs ore and coke, where semi-integrated production only needs scrap. Next we compared the TRI outputs for each sector of production. We found that on average semi-integrated production produced about 4 times more TRI chemical output than integrated firms. We found this number to be high. This could have been due to the calculation we used to find the industry average, or it could have been true due to the smaller amount of total production from semi-integrated firms. Overall, we think that semi-integrated is a better production technology though. We believe that, for the most part, TRI chemical releases can be eliminated by better cleanup techniques implemented within the plant. We also think that the higher amount of input needed by integrated firms is more of an environmental concern than the higher TRI emission by semiintegrated firms.

Integrated vs. Mini-mill Input Comparison (tons input per pound of steel produced)

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Raw Steel Production (thousands of net tons) Coke Consumption

Integrated Steel Production Mini-mill Steel Production Blast Furnace/BOF EAF 62,523 42,407

0.393

Flux Consumption Fluorspar Limestone Lime Other Fluxes Ore Consumption Natural Ore Pellets Sinter and Others Scrap Consumption Carbon Steel Stainless Steel Alloy Steel Iron Scrap Other Grades Oxygen Consumption
(millions of gaseos cub ic feet)

0.069 0.000312 0.0177 0.0465 0.00448 1.436 0.0212 1.192 0.218 0 0 0 0 0 0 3.442 1.451 1.997

0.0311 0.000755 0.00314 0.0234 0.00379 0 0 0 0 1.455 1.349 0.0283 0.0205 0.0208 0.0377 1.306 0 1.306

Blast Furnace Steel Furnace Electric Consumption (millions of k ilowatt hours) Generated Purchased Fuel Consumption Fuel Oil (thousands of gallons) Natural Gas (millions of cubic feet) * Cok e Oven Gas (millions of cubic feet) ** Blast Furnace Gas (millions of cubic feet) ***

1.73 1.707 1.936 12.959

N/A N/A N/A N/A

* Millions of cubic feet based on 1,000 B.T.U. per cubic foot ** Millions of cubic feet based on 500 B.T.U. per cubic foot *** Millions of cubic feet based on 95 B.T.U. per cubic foot

TABLE 4.9: INTEGRATED VS. SEMI-INTEGRATED INPUT COMPARISON

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The shaded boxes show the higher intake. Toxic Release Inventory Chemicals Comparison Chemical MANGANESE COMPOUNDS CHROMIUM COMPOUNDS ZINC COMPOUNDS NICKEL COMPOUNDS AMMONIA PHOSPHORIC ACID ETHYLENE BENZENE HYDROCHLORIC ACID (>=1995 "ACID AEROSOLS" ONLY) LEAD COMPOUNDS NAPHTHALENE ETHYLENE GLYCOL PHENOL CYANIDE COMPOUNDS METHANOL ANTHRACENE TOLUENE XYLENE (MIXED ISOMERS) ANTIMONY COMPOUNDS POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC COMPOUNDS STYRENE ALUMINUM (FUME OR DUST) COPPER COMPOUNDS DIBENZOFURAN MOLYBDENUM TRIOXIDE PHENANTHRENE BARIUM COMPOUNDS CHLORINE CRESOL (MIXED ISOMERS) ETHYLBENZENE SODIUM NITRITE COPPER

Integrated TRI (lbs./short ton) 3.79 0.022 0.973 0.021 0.125 0.000715 0.0447 0.00829 0.0486

Mini-mill TRI (lbs./short ton) 0.931 0.207 4.765 0.0812 0.245 0.00938 N/A N/A 0.0256

0.0441 0.0227 0.00366 0.0336 0.00816 0.0131 0.00229 0.00172 0.00164 0.00218 0.000869 0.000417 0.0746 0.00811 0.000224 0.00301 0.00776 0.00183 0.0000651 0.0000527 0.000627 0.00789 0.00527

N/A N/A 0.0109 N/A 0.00265 0.0189 N/A 0.0173 0.044 N/A N/A N/A 0.118 0.0934 N/A 0.0205 N/A 0.0728 4.0712 N/A N/A N/A 0.0619

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0.424

MANGANESE PROPYLENE 1,2,4-TRIMETHYLBENZENE BIPHENYL CARBON DISULFIDE CHROMIUM LEAD NICKEL ANTIMONY CADMIUM CALCIUM CYANAMIDE COBALT COMPOUNDS CUMENE DIETHANOLAMINE HYDROGEN CYANIDE Toxic Release Inventory Chemicals for Mini-Mill

0.157 0.00229 0.0217 4.05E-07 0.00305 0.004 0.00792 0.00122 0.00162 0.000547 N/A 0.000802 0.00936 0.00222 0.0000241 Steel Making Facilities Integrated TRI (lbs./short

N/A N/A N/A N/A 0.34 0.353 0.0801 0.00222 0.0303 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A (cont.)

Chemical

Mini-mill TRI (lbs./short

PYRIDINE SULFURIC ACID (1994 AND AFTER "ACID AEROSOLS" ONLY) ZINC (FUME OR DUST) 1,3-BUTADIENE 2,4-DIMETHYLPHENOL 2-MERCAPTOBENZOTHIAZOLE ACETONITRILE ARSENIC COMPOUNDS BERYLLIUM CARBONYL SULFIDE CERTAIN GLYCOL ETHERS COBALT DI(2-ETHYLHEXYL) PHTHALATE HYDROGEN FLUORIDE MERCURY COMPOUNDS

ton)/year 0.00204 0.0000607

ton)/year N/A N/A

0.00418 0.0000259 0.0000259 N/A N/A 0.000827 9.4E-08 5.19E-07 N/A 8.46E-07 N/A N/A 0.0000292

4.816 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 0.00129 N/A 0.101 0.0111 N/A 0.095 N/A

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5.811

NITRATE COMPOUNDS O-XYLENE

0.113 0.00216

N/A

QUINOLINE

0.0000259

N/A

THIOUREA VANADIUM (FUME OR DUST) Total TRI Release

0.0000451 0.000114 5.611468464

N/A N/A 22.86074

TABLE 4.10:TOXIC RELEASE INVENTORY CHEMICALS COMPARISON Our calculations show that per ton of steel produced, semi-integrated steel production process, on average, produces 4 times more TRI chemicals. 4.16 IMPROVEMENT ANALYSIS There is no better way to reduce pollution than to prevent it from occurring in the first place. Unfortunately eliminating and preventing pollution altogether is impossible. We have decided to narrow our study down to the improvement of three main pollutionemitting sectors, the integrated steel making process, semi-integrated steel making process, and the industry as a whole. 4.16.1 INTEGRATED One of the steel industrys greatest environmental concerns is the coke making process. Two of the major problems with the coke making process are with coke oven air emission and quenching wastewater. In response to expanding regulatory constraints, U.S.

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steel makers are turning to new technologies to decrease the amounts and sources of pollution. The main focus on pollution prevention in the coke making process has been narrowed down to two main areas: reducing coke oven emissions and developing cokeless iron making techniques. (EPA, 95). Eliminating coke with cokeless technologies is another way to reduce pollution generated during the steel making process. An example of this would be the Japanese Direct Iron Ore Smelting (DIOS) process. In this process molten iron is produced directly with coal and sinter feed ore. A second example of this type of cokeless technology is the Hismelt process. This process uses ore fines and coal, and by using ore directly in the smelter, it has achieved a production rate of 8 tons per hour. The third and final example of this type of process is known as the Corex process. This process has complete coal desulfurizing, and is amenable to a variety of coal types. The power that is generated by this process exceeds what an iron and steel mills require. The excess power can then be sold to local power grids. Another step that can be taken in the reduction of pollutants is by reducing coke oven emissions. There are several technologies that are available or that are under development to reduce the emissions from coke ovens. The first is known as the Pulverized coal injection process. The substitution of pulverized coal for a portion of the coke in the blast furnace can replace about 25 to 40 percent of coke in the blast furnace, which substantially reduces emissions. Second, is the Nonrecovery coke battery. By allowing the gasses given off from the coke making process to combust, the by-products that are typically recovered are consumed. Lastly, alternate

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fuels can be used. Other fuels such as natural gas, oil, and tar/pitch can be injected into the blast furnace. These alternate fuels can only replace coke in limited amounts. 4.16.2 SEMI-INTEGRATED The main pollution producer in the semi-integrated category is the Electric Arc Furnace (EAF). Dust generation and its disposal are a serious problem, but one that has potential for pollution prevention through material recovery. Because of its high concentrations of Pb and Cd, EAF dust is a RCRA listed waste. One process, though not yet technically or economically competitive for all mills is the in-process recycling of EAF dusts. This involves palletizing and then reusing the pellets in the furnace.

4.16.3 INDUSTRY In addition to air emissions, another area of significant environmental concern is quenching water from coke making. Some plants in Europe have decided to shift from water quenching to dry quenching in order to reduce energy costs. Unfortunately because of the major construction changes, and the state of the steel industry, the likely hood of this pollution prevention opportunity being adopted in the United States is not good. Other areas in the manufacturing of iron and steel where opportunities may arise for pollution prevention are process modifications, materials substitution, and recycling. Redesigning or modifying process equipment; pollution output, maintenance costs, and energy consumption can be reduced. An example of this would be, replacing single-pass

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wastewater systems with closed-loop systems to minimize chemical use in wastewater treatment and to reduce water use. Using less toxic materials in the production process, such as using scrap steel with low lead and cadmium content as a raw material instead of using desulfurized slag. Last and in our opinion the most crucial part of eliminating pollutants is recycling. In the iron and steel industry scrap and other materials are recycled extensively to reduce the raw materials required and the pollutants associated with it. Some of these recycling

4.17 ACTIVITIES INCLUDE Recycle or reuse oils and greases Recover acids by removing dissolved iron salts from spent acids. Use a bipolar membrane/electrodialytic process to separate acid from metal byproducts in spent NO3 HF pickle liquor. Recover sulfuric acid using low temperature separation of acid and metal crystals.

4.18 CONCLUSION

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After completing our LCA for the steel industry using the integrated sector as a base case and following up with a similar analysis for the semi-integrated sector, we plan to compare these two ways of steel making. By doing this, we hopefully will have a clearer perception as to which process is more environmentally friendly.

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CHAPTER-5 REFERENCES 1. 2. 3. IISI, 2001. -Annual Steel Statistics. Anonymous (1999), Worldwide LCI database for Steel Industry Products Kakkar M.K., (1998), Best Practices for Cleaner Production in Iron and Steel Industry. J. Env Studies & Policy Vol I, (2) 89-96. 4. American Iron and Steel Institute, Annual Statistical Report. American Iron and Steel Institute, Washington D.C. 5. USEPA, 1995 "Profile of the Iron and Steel Industry.Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C. INTERNET 1. http://www.ta.doc.gov/Reports/Steel/cd91a.pdf 2. http://www.newsteel.com/features/NS9912f3.htm 3. http://www.recycle-steel.org/fact/main.html 4. http://es.epa.gov/oeca/sfi/irondata.htm 5. http://www.census.gov/econ/www/manumenu.html 6. http://www.census.gov/prod/2/manmin/mp94.pdf 7. http://www.census.gov/prod/www/statistical-abstract-us.html 8. http://www.ltvsteel.com/htmfiles/enduser.htm 9. http://www.mlc.lib.mi.us/~stewarca/steelynx.html

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10. http:// Tata Steel internet/144.0.1.102